He Who Began This Good Work Will See It Through

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray was out of town for his parents' fiftieth anniversary, so another member of the church family stepped in to lead worship and bring the message. He preached from Luke 13:10-21, focusing on the healing of a bent woman and the parable of the mustard seed, and he tied both together around one question: what does the kingdom of God look like, and can it be trusted? The passage opens with...

Read together

1. Luke 13:10-21 the main passage read aloud and expounded upon, covering the healing of the bent woman and the parables of the mustard seed and yeast
2. Isaiah (unspecified passage) quoted to the effect that God's word will prosper, produce fruit, and accomplish everything God intends
3. Philippians 1:6 cited to support the idea that God will continue the good work he began in believers until Jesus returns
4. Luke 12:32 quoted to show that it gives the Father great happiness to give us the kingdom
5. Ezekiel (unspecified passage) quoted as a prophecy about Jesus and God's kingdom, describing a cedar whose branches shelter birds of every sort
6. Hebrews (unspecified passage) quoted at the close: hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise

Talk about it

1. The worship leader contrasted how the synagogue leader responded to the woman's healing with how the crowd responded. When have you found yourself putting a rule or a principle ahead of the person in front of you, and what did that cost?
2. He described the marks of maturity in our lives as something we often only notice looking back, like an orchid that quietly grows a new bud. Where do you see evidence, looking back, that God has been at work in you even when you were not aware of it?
3. The parable of the mustard seed pictures the kingdom of God starting small and growing into a tree where birds of every sort make nests in its branches. What does it mean to you personally that God's design for his kingdom is a place of refuge for all kinds of people?
4. He said that going to Guatemala and seeing the body of Christ at work in a different culture made the family tree of God feel real and powerful to him. Have you ever had an experience, whether traveling or closer to home, that enlarged your sense of what God's kingdom actually looks like?
5. He closed by asking himself whether there is any part of Jesus' life that he cannot trust, and said he keeps hearing Jesus ask through the Gospel of Luke, 'Do you trust me?' Where is that question landing on you right now, and is there an area of your life where trusting Jesus feels hard?