TLIC Family. 100 DAYS WITH JESUS. DAY 29: THE DAY JESUS TALKED ABOUT HIS KINGDOM.

THINK TOGETHER.

Do you have any favorite stories about a king or queen and their kingdom?

READ TOGETHER.

Mark 4:30-32. ³⁰And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

If you were going to live in a kingdom, what would you want that kingdom to be like? Maybe a frozen kingdom like Elsa? Or an underwater kingdom like Ariel?

And who would you want the kingdom to be for? Can anyone live there?

Did you know that Jesus is a king with a kingdom? What kind of kingdom do you think Jesus has? Loving? Kind? Forgiving? Strong?

In Mark chapter four, Jesus tells another parable. Do you remember what a parable is? In this parable, Jesus says that his kingdom is like a tree. A mustard tree. Jesus says that his kingdom is like a seed that gets planted in the ground and then grows up into a tree. The mustard seed is an extremely tiny seed. But, Jesus says, that the tiny mustard seed can grow up into a large plant with lots of branches. Then, the birds come and make nests in the branches of the mustard tree.

What does this parable mean?

Jesus is telling us that his kingdom will begin tiny but then grow and grow. The kingdom of Jesus started with just a few people, the 12 Disciples and just a few more. But now there are millions and millions of Christians all over the world. Every day more and more people become Christians. The Kingdom of Jesus is still growing like a mustard tree.

And who gets to be in Jesus’ kingdom? Well, Jesus’ kingdom is open to anyone. Just like any bird can build a nest in the mustard tree, any person who wants to trust Jesus can be in his kingdom.  

Are you in Jesus’ kingdom? You can be! When you trust in Jesus to save you and take away your sins, and when you trust him to take care of you all the way to Heaven, then you are like a little bird living inside the big tree of his kingdom of love and kindness. And when you live in God’s kingdom of love and kindness, then you can also be loving and kind like our king, King Jesus!

Because of Jesus we can live in God’s kingdom of love and kindness.

With Jesus we can love and be kind to others too.  

DO SOMETHING TOGETHER

Go outside and see if you can spot any birds in the trees. What do trees provide for birds and other animals? What does Jesus provide for us?  

PRAY TOGETHER

Jesus, you are inviting me to live in your kingdom like a little bird in a big tree. Help me to be loving and kind like you. Amen.