Matthew 3:24 – 43
Lead in #1: When it was learned that there were weeds growing with the wheat, the master’s slaves asked if he wanted them to pull the weeds. But the master answered, “No, let the weeds grow with the wheat.” And so, in life, darkness coexists with light. We see how this is true in organizations, in the church, in our families, and in ourselves.
Prompt #1: Why do you suppose it is that God allows the weeds to grow with the wheat?
Lead in #2: It’s sad that we humans are a bundle of inconsistencies. At times we shine with Christ’s light, and then at times our mood turns dark. There are times when we radiate goodness, and at other times we act in very small and petty ways. These inconsistencies speak to us personally of how weeds and wheat coexist within us.
Prompt #2: Where is it that you recognize the “bundle of inconsistencies” operating in your own life?
Lead in #3: Looking at our lives, we see weeds growing with the wheat. Our first impulse might be the same as the master’s slaves, to pull them up. Yet, as Paul suggests in II Corinthians 12, it’s in our very weakness that he (Christ) is strong.
Prompt #3: Reflect on a time when God used the weeds in your life to draw you closer to Him.
Lead in #4: It’s said that our very strength can become a weakness when overused. That’s how what was once wheat in our life can turn to weeds.
Prompt #4: Can you think of a time when what you thought was your greatest strength became your greatest weakness because you were blind to how it was being used?
Lead in #5: As we look at our own stories, we might see how they reflect our own version of the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat.
Prompt #5: How do you see the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat being worked out in your own life?
Lead in #6: The growth of the seed happens regardless of the famer’s hope for what profit that seed might bring to him. So too with the breaking of the Kingdom of God into our world. My only responsibility is to do my part in planting the seed and then to let go of the outcome. Any attempt to control the outcome will block the process.
Prompt #6: If our only responsibility in doing God’s work is to be used by God and then get out of the way of the outcome, what endeavor are you working on where it is hardest for you to let go of the outcome?