Mustard Seed, The
Description
Here are some worship resources inspired by Jesus’ description of the kingdom of heaven as a mustard seed.
Scripture
Matthew 13:31-32Mark 4:30-32
Luke 13:18-19
Prayers
Opening Prayer
God of small seeds and mighty plants, you take our meager lives and with your love cause them to produce acts of loving kindness for you in this world. You hear our cries and find us when we are lost and wandering in fear. You bring us home with you so that we may be made whole, rejoicing in your goodness. Help us to joyfully serve you all our days, knowing that you are always watching over us. Prepare our hearts to receive your word and our spirits to respond in eagerness to serve you. In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.
~ written by Nancy C. Townley, on the Worship Connection page of the Ministry Matters website.
http://www.ministrymatters.com/
Prayer of Confession
Lord Jesus Christ,
we remember with gratitude those people
who generously sowed the seeds of faith in our lives.
[Pause for a time of reflection]
Above all. we recognize how you have blessed our lives
with the gift of the Holy Spirit
so that our faith has miraculously and mysteriously grown.
We confess the times we fail to involve ourselves
in planting any seeds of faith in the lives of others;
the times when our personal agendas become more important than yours;
the times when we have denied others the opportunity to expand their faith
through our lack of interest or involvement;
the times when our lives become so entangled with the values of the world
that we forget what you have said and done and promised.
Lord Jesus Christ, we know that when we become disconnected from you,
our lives becomes parched and unfruitful and our faith becomes stunted and dry.
Bless and renew our lives, we pray,
so that we remain connected to you at all times and in all places,
strengthening our faith to expand and, growing strongly and vigorously,
to bear the fruit of your mercy, your love, your undying life.
Amen.
~ written by Moira Laidlaw, and posted on Liturgies Online.
http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/
Our Small Difference
We may not be able to confront queens,
or challenge presidents;
We may not have the capacity to divert resources,
or uplift communities;
We may not have the voice to silence the noise of war,
or the words to negotiate peace between armies;
But, as we follow you, O Christ, we are able to do something.
And so, we pray that you would inspire us
to commit to and act on
the small difference we can make:
May we bring peace
through small acts of gentleness
and reconciliation;
May we bring wealth
through small contributions
and collaborations;
May we bring safety
through small acts of consideration
and acceptance;
May we bring wholeness
through small acts of care
and service.
And in the small ways, O God,
may our small difference make a big contribution
to your saving work in our world.
Amen.
~ written by John van de Laar. Posted on Sacredise.
http://sacredise.com/
Spoken Resources
Contemporary Call to Worship
What mysteries there are in God’s world!
We, so sophisticated, stand in awe at the wonders of the natural world.
We look at the tiniest of seeds and wonder what will happen
From that small seed will grow a large shrub.
Although we consider our gifts to be small and insignificant,
God will use our gifts in miraculous ways.
Praise the God of small seeds and mighty power.
Amen.
~ written by Nancy C. Townley, on the Worship Connection page of the Ministry Matters website.
http://www.ministrymatters.com/
A Word with the Young
Here’s a chance to use your imagination with the collection of parables in the Gospel. Invite your local baker to speak about making bread and how the smallest amount of yeast can transform flour. If you go with the mustard seeds and try to hand these out it can get very messy trying to pick one seed out of a bowl as they are the size of a pinhead! So why not use pumpkin seeds to hand out to everyone and buy - or get from a grower - the biggest pumpkin you can find. This image would be more familiar to everyone. You not only have a large pumpkin which can feed lots of people - you have a whole lot of new seeds to plant more pumpkins. Or if sunflowers are available - hand a seed out to everyone and then show a sunflower and describe one large flower can produce over a thousand seeds. I know because I counted them once! From tiny things big things can grow. When we share Jesus’ love in even the smallest way it can grow and blossom in people’s lives and who knows what might happen. (Perhaps people from the congregation can share stories from their own lives about how faith was planted in their lives and how it has grown.) The challenge is to start the growing process right now.
~ Moira Laidlaw, Liturgies Online.
http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/
Songs
Contemporary Hymn: To What Can the Kingdom of God Be Compared
As trees from tiny seeds can grow
As yeast expands the lifeless dough
As light unhampered shines around
So does God's gracious love abound
As hidden treasure is reclaimed
We God's new people are renamed
For us the pearl long sought is found
Christ is our treasure sure and sound
We are not promised weedless fields
Nor are we given equal yields
But God's true faithfulness shall stay
With us supporting all the way
As coins once lost are found with joy
As Jesus loves each girl and boy
So we now found by God rejoice
Lifting in praise one heart and voice
~ Henry K. Oliver, Jane Parker Huber. Copyright © 1981 Jane Parker Huber (Admin. by Westminster John Knox Press). CCLI Song # 482407. If you use this song in worship, be sure to report it on your CCLI license.
Tune suggestions:
O WALY, WALY (“Though I may speak with bravest fire”)
Listen to it here: http://www.hymnary.org/tune/o_waly_waly
FULDA (“Where cross the crowded ways of life”)
CANONBURY (“Lord, speak to me that I may speak”)
http://www.hymnary.org/tune/canonbury_schumann
Contemporary Hymn: By Faith
By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation's grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight
By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the pow'r of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God's own hand
A place where peace and justice reign
We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight
By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the pow'r to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave
By faith the church was called to go
In the pow'r of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In ev'ry corner of the earth
By faith the mountain shall be moved
And the pow'r of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name
~ Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Stuart Townend. Copyright © 2009 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Gettymusic (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.). CCLI Song # 5469291. If you use this song in worship, be sure to report it on your CCLI license.
Listen to it here: http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/songdetail.aspx?iid=1053926
Contemporary Song: We Could Change the World
Could we live like Your grace is stronger than all our faults and failures
Could we live like Your love is deeper than our hearts could fathom
Could we live like this
Could we live like Your name is higher than every other power
Could we live like Your ways are wiser than our understanding
Could we live like this
Could we live like this
Yes our God is
All He says
All He says He is
Jesus, in Your name we could change the world
We stand in Your love
In Your power
All You say we are
Jesus, in Your name we could change the world
We believe that Your grace is stronger than all our faults and failures
We believe that Your love is deeper than our hearts could fathom
So could we live like this and shine in all the world
Could we live like this
We're saying Yes, Lord
Yes, Lord
What else could we say
We're saying Yes, Lord
Yes, Lord
We're going all the way
We're going all the way
We're going to live like this
Tag
Yes, our God is
All He says
All He says He is
~ Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin, Jason Ingram. Copyright © 2011 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Said And Done Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) SHOUT! Music Publishing (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Sony/ATV Timber Publishing (Admin. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC) Windsor Hill Music (Admin. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC) West Main Music (Admin. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC) worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing). CCLI Song # 6016485. If you use this song in worship, be sure to report it on your CCLI license.
Listen to it here: http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/songdetail.aspx?iid=1849633
Images
Additional Resources
Video: Mustard Seed
http://re-worship.blogspot.ca/2011/07/video-mustard-seed.html
Notes
This worship resource was created/compiled by Christine Longhurst. You are welcome to use it free of charge, and where appropriate, please note the source. If you are printing any of the resources for distribution, please print the source as well. The content of the worship resource does not necessarily represent the views of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, which oversees the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. For more worship resources by Christine Longhurst, see http://www.re-worship.blogspot.ca or http://www.faithmatters.ca.