"Seeds of Faith"

~Get Ready~

1. You will need a mustard seed for each family member.

(Look in the spice section of the grocery store)

2. Place each one in a small glass jar, like baby food jar's;

or if you have time, use an iron and seal each seed between

two two by two inch pieces of wax paper.

3. Also get a picture of a full-grown mustard tree

(Check on the Internet or in an encyclopedia).

~Read the Word~

"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 your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." (Matt. 13:31-21)

Week 1: The Tiny Seed

Place a seed in front of each family Member, then read the passage.

Now place the picture of the tree in the center of the family.

Talk about the following Questions:

1. Can you imagine this tiny seed turning into a large tree?

2. What do you think that Jesus meant when he said the kingdom of God is like this small tree?

3. How is our faith in God like the mustard seed?

End your time with a prayer and ask God to help your faith grow.

Post the picture of the tree on the refrigerator.

Have each person keep his or her seed during the month

as a reminder of our faith and what it can become.

Week 2: The Gardener

Make sure everyone has his or her seed, then ask one of the older children to read the passage.

Talk together about the ways God has planted, nurtured, weeded and watered your family's faith by asking the following questions:

What are the roots of faith in your family?

Do you know the first Christian in your family tree?

Over the next week, see if you can find out.

End your time by thanking God for being faithful to your family.

Week 3: Growing Together

After reading the passage, ask each person to share one way he or she has recieved protection or support from another family member. Now read the passage again. As you read, ask each family member to place his or her seed in the center of the family, one at a time.

End your time by asking God to help your family grow closer to hime and to each other.

Week 4: The Gardener

Once Everyone has his or her seed, assk the youngest reader in the family to read the passage. Have everyone talk about what they think heaven is like. We know very little about heaven, but we know we will be with Jesus and praising him forever.

What activities and attitudes can your family adopt to make life on earth more like heaven?

End your time by thanking God for the promise of heaven.

Memory Verse of the Month: Matt. 13:31-32