(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) numbers will be given where available)
Welcome to our Sunday Service, this week comes courtesy of The Vine at Home and Twelve Baskets
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Opening Prayers
Take time to read this prayer:
God of all creation,
I worship you.
You know me: what I need, what I rejoice in, what I’m nervous about.
You see me: as the unique individual you created with all my little habits and
characteristics.
You hear me: when I pray aloud or silently.
You meet me: here and now and I am content.
God of all creation,
I worship you.
Amen.
Wonder to yourself if you are really able to say the words. Imagine what it would be like to
hear someone else say them for you.
Notice how you feel as you read them.
Take time to tell God what you’ve discovered.
Then when you are ready and if you feel able say them aloud:
God of all creation,
I worship you.
You know me: what I need, what I rejoice in, what I’m nervous about.
You see me: as the unique individual you created with all my little habits and
characteristics.
You hear me: when I pray aloud or silently.
You meet me: here and now and I am content.
God of all creation,
I worship you.
Amen.
You may now wish to say the Lord’s Prayer in a version or translation with which
you are familiar.
Reading
Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52
Responding to the reading
What a precious collection of parables we have as our gospel today! This section of
Matthew’s gospel feels like ‘story time’ with Jesus, as he offers not one image of the
Kingdom of God, but several.
A tiny mustard seed.
A handful of yeast hidden in flour.
A treasure buried in a field.
A pearl of great value.
A fishing net gathering all kinds of fish.
It is as though Jesus is saying: the Kingdom is too big, too rich, too surprising to be
captured by a single picture. It brings to mind the quote from John Berger: ‘It is no longer
possible to tell any story as if it was the only one.’
Perhaps that is one of the first lessons for discipleship: God’s reign is often found where
we least expect it, and if we think we’ve ‘got it’, we probably haven’t…
The mustard seed is tiny, almost insignificant. Yet it grows into something large enough to
provide shelter. The yeast is hidden and invisible, yet it transforms everything it touches. In
a world that often celebrates what is big, powerful, and immediate, Jesus points instead to
the small, the quiet, and the overlooked.
The Kingdom begins with a conversation, a kindness, a prayer, a protest for justice, a
moment of forgiveness, a community meal, a decision to keep loving when it would be
easier not to. These things can seem insignificant, but God delights in working through
small beginnings.
Then Jesus tells of the treasure and the pearl. In both stories, someone discovers
something so valuable that everything else is reordered around it. This is not about giving
up joy; it is about discovering what truly matters.
Many of us spend our lives pursuing things that promise fulfilment: success, security,
recognition, certainty. None of these are bad in themselves. But Jesus asks: What is your
treasure? What is so life-giving, so beautiful, so true that you would gladly organise your
life around it?
For Christians, the answer is not a doctrine or a rulebook. It is the experience of God’s
love and the invitation to participate in God’s work of healing and reconciliation in the
world.
Finally, there is the net that gathers fish of every kind. It is a striking image. The net is
wide. It gathers diversity. It does not sort people before drawing them in. God’s Kingdom is
always broader than our assumptions. The grace of God reaches further than our
categories and welcomes more people than we might expect.
So today, reflect on these questions:
- What small signs of God’s Kingdom can you see around you?
- What treasure are you truly organising your life around?
- How might you become more open to the surprising, expansive work of God’s
grace?
The Kingdom of God rarely arrives with fanfare. More often it grows quietly, like a seed
beneath the soil or yeast within dough, but it is growing. And when we glimpse its beauty,
we discover that it is worth everything.
May you have eyes to recognise the treasure of God’s presence, courage to nurture small
seeds of hope, and faith to trust that even the smallest acts of love can help transform the
world.
Song – 255 STF – The kingdom of God is justice and joy
Blessing
Go out, with the Spirit of God going ahead of you.
Go from this moment, knowing that there is a bigger story of love, which you can play a
part in.
Go from this time, blessed, loved, inspired,
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
