Curriculum
A Mustard Seed Faith
Memory Verse:
“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’” (Luke 17:5-6)
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
Jesus told the disciples and His followers that even a little bit of faith in God counts. When we’re genuine and honest, God can grow our little faith into something much bigger.
Scripture Summary
Jesus taught around 30 parables throughout His ministry. He knew that much of His teaching would be difficult for people to understand. Since they were used to living under the strict law of the Old Testament and under the watchful eyes of legalistic religious leaders, Jesus used stories to help make His points.
The disciples made a genuine request for Jesus to increase their faith. How often do many Christians ask the very same thing? Faith is foundational to Christian belief. It is through our faith and the work of Jesus that we are saved and healed.
Jesus replied to the disciples with a parable about a mustard seed. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, only one or two millimeters in diameter. Yet a mustard tree can grow upwards of 20 feet high and nearly as wide. Since agriculture was a predominant industry back in Bible times, the disciples quickly got Jesus’ message.
Even if people have an incredibly small amount of faith, God can grow it into something quite majestic. Just like a mustard seed, the growth of our faith often goes unnoticed at first. Then faith becomes more visible as it grows bigger and stronger.
Jesus also warns against people thinking too highly of themselves. Obedience to God is our duty as Christ-followers. People often want accolades or extra benefits from serving God. That entitlement isn’t what God intended. He desires for us to respond to Him out of love and obedience, rather than from a place of spiritual pride.
Why Is This Important
Jesus doesn’t want us to be discouraged or derailed by our small faith. Nor does He want us to be prideful in what we do for God. It’s best to be honest with God. He can grow a small amount of faith into something much bigger.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6)
This is a familiar verse, for sure. But today, consider a couple of new takeaways:
- God doesn’t pass the baton.
- His work is not complete until Jesus returns.
God doesn’t pass the baton. He is the one who began the work in your
life—and He’s still going strong. He doesn’t clean us up and get us on the right path just to let us go on our own. No! He’s just as loving, present, faithful, and hard-working today as when we first responded to His invitation. God is the One who is working. We don’t need to take the baton from Him or somehow move into more independence or being more in control.
God’s not done yet. No matter how hard I try, I cannot speed up God or His processes by working harder. God’s not done working on my behalf until Jesus returns. Period. I might as well take a deep breath and enjoy the moment—just like He has asked me to do. I can’t force His work. I can submit to Him and His ways in obedience and enjoy the journey.
Take a moment to ponder your answers to these questions:
- In what way have you attempted to take the baton from God recently?
- How can you see God at work in your life in the past week?
- When have you felt God moving too quickly (or too slowly)?
- How can you remember God’s good work in your life throughout your day today?
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for working so hard in my life. I’m sorry for the times I try to take the baton from You. Please help me trust You to complete Your work in Your time. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
You’ll Need: Bibles, Scissors, “Mustard Tree” handout
Get Ready: Cut apart the handout.
“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be up- rooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’” (Luke 17:5-6)
Use this activity to help kids learn the Bible memory verse:
- Read aloud Luke 17:5-6.
- SAY: Today we’re learning that God is powerful, so even a little bit of faith can do great things. Let’s do something to help us think about that.
- Explain to kids that they’re going to play “Hot or Cold.” Choose one child to be the finder.
- Have the finder leave the area for a moment while the others hide one of the mustard trees.
- Invite the finder back in, and have kids help him or her find the hidden mustard tree by saying “hot” or “hotter,” as he or she moves toward the mustard tree and “cold” or “colder” as he or she moves away from it.
- Once it’s found, have the finder read aloud the part of the verse.
- Repeat until all six mustard trees have been found.
- Have kids work together to order the parts of the verse correctly.
- Repeat it aloud several times.
ASK:
- In our game, we got closer to or farther from the mustard tree. Explain whether there are times your faith feels stronger or weaker. Why?
- Explain whether you think your faith changes God’s power.
SAY: God is powerful, so we only need a teeny-tiny bit of faith and we’ll see Him do amazing things! But regardless of the size of our faith, God’s power is always incredible.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: Bibles, Bulletin board paper, Markers, Clear tape, Mustard seeds, Image of a mustard tree
Get Ready: Write “Mustard Seed Faith” across the top of the bulletin board paper, and then place it on the floor where kids can gather around.
SAY: Today we’re learning that faith the size of a mustard seed can do great things because God is so powerful. Let’s do something to help us think about this.
Follow these steps to explore the Bible passage:
- Read aloud Luke 17:5-6.
- Show kids the image of the mustard tree, and invite them to each draw their own mustard tree on the bulletin board paper.
- SAY: Here are some examples of faith. Read aloud each of the following Scriptures, and have kids each tape a mustard seed on their tree after each example is read. Have kids identify what happened when the people had faith.
- Joshua 6:2-4, 20
- Exodus 14:9-11, 14, 21-22
- Mark 2:1-5, 11-12
ASK:
- Tell about someone you know who has faith in God’s love and power.
- How does seeing what God does when others have faith help you have faith, too?
SAY: The Bible is filled with examples of how God’s power was shown when people had faith. We can have faith, too, and we can watch the amazing things God does. If you want to have mustard seed faith, add a seed to this mustard tree (hold up the image) with your name. (Allow time.)
Snack
All the Tiny Seeds Snack
You’ll Need: Dried strawberries, Napkins
Follow these steps for the “All the Tiny Seeds” snack:
- Have kids clean their hands.
- Give each child some dried strawberries on a napkin.
- Invite kids to share what they remember about the Bible passage.
- Have kids look for little seeds in their dried fruit.
- Invite them to talk about times their faith is as small as the strawberry seeds.
- Invite them to talk about times their faith is a little bigger, but still the size of the other seeds.
- Enjoy!
SAY: The size of your faith isn’t what’s important. What matters is that God’s power is big enough to move a tree into the sea.
Game
Mustard Seed Bowling
You’ll Need: Empty water bottles, Balls, Masking tape
Get Ready: For each group, set up three water bottles (bowling pins) in a triangle shape on the floor. Place a tape line 10 to 15 feet from each set of pins. Place a ball on each group’s masking-tape line.
SAY: Today we found out that faith in God that’s as small as the size of a mustard seed can do amazing things because what’s important is God’s power. And God’s power is bigger than anything we can imagine. Let’s play a game that reminds us of what Jesus said we can do with mustard seed faith.
Follow these steps for the game:
- Divide the class into small groups.
- Have each small group sit near their group’s tape line.
- Explain to kids that they’ll be rolling “mustard seeds” toward the “trees” to uproot them.
- Have kids take turns in their small groups to try knocking down the trees.
- Have each child keep a running total of the number of trees he or she uprooted with a mustard seed throughout the course of the game time.
- Have everyone stop, and invite kids to share their running totals. Congratulate everyone.
ASK:
- How did this game make you think of your own faith in God?
SAY: God’s power is great, so it only takes a tiny bit of faith to see big results. And it’s important to remember that God is for us, so whatever God brings to us is for our good.
Craft
Shield of Faith
You’ll Need: Bible, “Shield” handouts, Child-safe scissors, Markers, Yarn, Hole punch
Get Ready: Print the “Shield” handout on card stock, one per child.
To make the craft, have kids follow these steps:
- Give each child a handout printed on card stock.
- Read aloud Ephesians 6:10-11, 16.
- Help kids write “Mustard Seed Faith” on their shields.
- Have them decorate their shields.
- Use the hole punch to make a hole on each side of the upper part of the shield.
- Help kids tie a piece of yarn between the two holes to make a handle.
SAY: Take home your craft as a reminder to have faith in God because He’s powerful and He loves you.
Prayer
Prayer Circle
You’ll Need: Small ball
Lead kids to pray in this way:
- Have kids sit in a circle.
- Show the ball, and explain that they’ll pretend it’s a mustard seed.
- Share a prayer request, and then roll the ball to a child.
ASK:
- What do you need faith for right now?
- Have the child share and then roll the ball to someone else.
- Continue until all the children have shared.
- If kids come up with more ideas, you can continue rolling the “mustard seed.”
- Close in prayer.
PRAY: Dear God, we need help with these things. We have mustard seed faith, and we trust You to give us what we need. In Jesus’ name, amen.
