A Children’s Sermon on Mark 4:26-34 — The Mustard Seed

Preface for Parents and Pastors

Here is my children’s sermon on Mark 4:26-34, just in time for “Proper 6(11)” of year B. That’s the fourth Sunday after Pentecost this year. 

And that’s what was in my head as I wrote my children’s sermon on Mark 4:26-34.

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 4:26-34

Good morning kids! I’m so glad to see you this morning. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.

Today our story from the Gospel of Mark is stories that Jesus told. 

Most Sundays, the stories we hear in church are about things Jesus did when he was with his friends or helping and healing people. 

We don’t always get to hear the things Jesus taught. 

When Jesus sat down to teach people, he almost always told stories.

I think when Jesus taught about things, he must have been responding to something that happened. Here’s how I imagine today’s story might have come up.

The Kingdom of God

One day, Jesus was getting ready to take his friends into town to heal people and help people. Just then, Peter, James, and John came up to him. They had big grins on their faces. And they had some papers in their hands.

“Good news!” said Peter. “We have a plan!” 

“Yeah!” said James. “It’s a great plan!” 

“Yeah!” said John. “You don’t need to worry one bit. We’ve got it covered.”

“Hmm…” said Jesus. “I wonder. Tell me: what is this plan about?”

“It’s about the Kingdom of God!” said Peter. “We’ve been in the fishing business a long time. Now we’re in the kingdom business. You need a business plan.”

“I see…” Jesus said.

But Peter was on a roll: “You always say the Kingdom of God is near. Well, we have a plan to bring it right here! We’ve developed a strategic plan,” he said, and he unrolled his papers.

“Yeah!” said James. “Right here! Right now!” 

“Yeah!” said John. “Bring it on!” 

Then all three of them laughed and gave each other high fives.

Jesus sort of looked at them. His brow crinkled up. He wasn’t exactly smiling. He looked kind of worried, actually.

“Okay, tell me,” Jesus said, “What do you think you can do to bring the— No, don’t tell me. I have an idea. Let me tell you a story. I’ll tell you what the Kingdom of God is really like.”

Farmers and Seeds

Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is not so much like a business. It’s more like a farm.”

“A farm?” they said. They looked kind of disappointed.

“Yeah,” Jesus said. “A farmer takes his bag of seed out to his field and he scatters his seed on the ground. You know what he does then?”

“No,” said Peter. “What?” 

“He goes back inside his house,” Jesus said. “He goes to bed. He gets up and does other things. Days and days go by. God sends rain to water the field. God sends sunshine to warm the soil. After a while, when the plant grows a full head of grain, the farmer harvests the grain.”

“How does that happen?” asked James. “How does it grow?”

“The farmer doesn’t know,” said Jesus. “Only God knows. But it happens.” 

“Doesn’t the farmer have to do something?” asked John. “Can’t he make it grow faster, or bigger? Doesn’t he have a plan?”

“Nope,” said Jesus. “The farmer’s job us to plant the seed and wait. God grows the plant.”

“That sounds kind of boring,” said Peter. 

Jesus said, “Actually planting seed takes a lot of work. And watching plants grow up is really interesting. Amazing things happen when seeds grow into plants.” 

“What kinds of things?” asked John.

“Think about a mustard seed,” said Jesus. “It’s so tiny! But listen…”

A Mustard Seed

A farmer took a tiny little mustard seed and planted it in the rich brown soil. 

Days passed. 

Rain fell. 

The sun shone.

And the little mustard seed said “Ooh, I need some room to stretch out!”

Then the seed sent a nice little root down into the ground.

Days passed. 

Rain fell. 

The sun shone. 

And the little mustard seed said, “Ooh, I think I need even more room to stretch out.” 

Then the seed sent a nice little shoot, straight up toward the surface.

“Ooh!” said the seed. “It’s nice and warm up here.”

So the seed wiggled, and pushed, and soon its shoot was above ground, right out in the sunshine.

“Ah…” said the seed, “That feels so good.”

So it stretched toward the sun and all of a sudden, “Pop!,” out came a little green leaf.

As days passed, the stalk grew taller, and more leaves came out to warm in the sun. Before the seed knew it, branches were growing out of the stalk and it was a full grown bush!

The Birds

One day a bird came by and stood near the mustard bush.

“’Scuse me!” said the bird. “My wife is going to lay an egg soon. I need to build a nest. Your branches look so strong and shady…”

The Mustard bush quickly said, “Do you want to build your nest on my branches? I would love to be your new home!”

“Don’t ask me!” said the first bird. “Ask the bush!”

And the bush said “Of course you can build your nests on me! I’m so glad to have you!”

Soon there were lots of birds, in lots of nests, on all the branches of the great big mustard bush.

And it all started with one tiny little seed.

“Well,” said Jesus, “Now you know what the Kingdom of God is really like.”

Wondering 

I wonder what Peter, James, and John did with their business plan?

I wonder what kind of seeds the Kingdom of God grows from? 

I wonder if any of those seeds have been planted in you?

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