Greetings this morning in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I know you share a heavy heart with me this morning. As we watched the news last night, both Heather and I thought back to the chorus we sang on Sunday.

Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here
We pray

On Sunday, I walked through a few of these lines. I told you I personally feel as though the darkness is winning when the attacks across the world seem to increase in severity and frequency.

As the body of Christ, we are challenged to sing, "Let the darkness fear." We are not to be afraid, rather the darkness should fear.

As we work through the parables, I would like to remind you of two little parables this morning.

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

–Luke 13:18-21 ESV

These two little parables have some similarities:

• Both of these parables describe the Kingdom of God.
• They are both dealing with very small items in New Testament culture (a mustard seed and yeast).

I know you might be thinking now, "Pastor, I'm not sure how this relates to our current situation? Mustard seeds and yeast?"

I think Jesus' challenge in this parable for us is not to miss the little things. Kingdom work is in the little things.

Take a moment and think about the life of Jesus.

• From the cry of a newborn in a stable
• to men walking away from their boats and nets one morning
• to the touch of a robe by a hurting, lonely woman
• to the words spoken over Jarius' daughter
• to the feet washed in an upper room
• to the One hanging between two criminals
• to the women carrying spices to anoint a body
• to a couple confused guards at an empty tomb

These stories were all technically 'little' things. These 'little' things are some of the most significant stories in our faith- and that is my point.

The Kingdom of God doesn't measure 'little' the way our world does.

God's Kingdom is in the prayers we pray. It is in the tears we shed. It is in the hugs we share. It is in the truth we proclaim.

Lord, build Your Kingdom HERE
Here- in the mess, in the hurt, in the loss, in the tears, in the little things
We pray.

Tags: Luke