The parable of the mustard seed
Kids at home 10th January
Sometimes Jesus told stories when He wanted people to really understand important lessons. If the lessons were hard then Jesus sometimes told simple stories to help people understand the things that were hard to understand. These stories were called parables.
Over the next few weeks we are going to be learning some of the parables that Jesus told and looking at what Jesus is teaching us in each one! Today we are learning about the parable of the mustard seed.
Let’s start with some worship! Feel free to sing and dance or just watch and listen, Jesus doesn’t mind how we worship, he just loves it when we spend time with him and sing his praises!
Great Big God – Vineyard Kids
You are Good – Bethel Kids
This is Amazing Grace – Bethel Kids
Deep Cries Out – Bethel Kids
Story time
The parable of the mustard seed
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
Matthew 13:31-32 NIV
Some things to talk to your family about…
- Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a little mustard seed. This seed is very tiny at first but this is just the beginning of something. When this little seed is planted it grows into a huge tree, a tree so big that birds come and sit on its branches!
- Jesus is reminding us that things might look very small at the beginning but they can become something much bigger and end up making a huge difference!
- There were only a few people who knew Jesus as their friend and believed in Him to start with but the number of people who followed Jesus and became His friend grew and grew (just like that mustard seed!) by one person sharing the good news of Jesus with another person and that person then sharing that news with someone else and so on and so on. After a while, Jesus had lots of followers and the Kingdom of God had grown, just like that mustard seed that grew into a big tree!
- That tiny seed made a HUGE difference, and even though we can sometimes feel small, Jesus is telling us that we can also make a huge difference! God’s Kingdom is still growing today and we can help grow it by telling others all about Him! Isn’t that exciting?
- Jesus also wanted people to know that everything we do to help others is important. The big things are important and the little things are important. Sometimes we can do a little thing and it ends up making a BIG difference to someone else.
Some important points to remember…
- What type of seed does Jesus say is the smallest seed planted in a garden?
- Can you remember what is amazing about a very small mustard seed? What happens when it’s planted?
- Why do you think Jesus wanted people to hear this story? What do you think He wants to teach us through this story?
- Why do you think it is important to help people even if we can only do what seems like a ‘little’ thing?
- Is there anything ‘small’ that you can do this week that might make a big difference to someone else? Can you think of someone you could tell about Jesus or someone you could pray for? Is there anything that you could do at home this week to help your someone in your family? Remember, there are often things that we can do for others which feel small to us but make a huge difference to them!
Memory Verse
‘The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed’
Matthew 13:31 NIV
Prayer is one way that we can help others and help the world around us. It might sometimes feel like a small thing to do, or we might not think that our prayers will make much difference, but the Bible tells us that our prayers make a HUGE difference! Why don’t you and your family make a prayer list as we head into this new year and write down (or draw) all of the things and the people that you’d like to pray for. Why don’t you pray for someone or something on the list together every day?
Prayer time
Dear God,
Thank you for the bible, thank you that we can read your word and hear these stories from Jesus! Help us to learn from these stories and have faith that you can take a tiny thing like a seed and grow it into something huge, like a tree! Help us to remember that the little things that we do make a difference.
We pray that you’ll help us to be like that little seed and spread your amazing word. Help us to be brave and find time to tell other people about you so that more and more people get to know you and how amazing you are! We pray that we will see your Kingdom grow!
Amen.