Message from Pastor Jim 9/9/2025

Dear Beloved Church Family,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

This week, as I was sipping my afternoon juice drink (the kind strong enough to wake the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane), I came across Luke 17:5–10. The disciples, bless their hearts, looked at Jesus and said, “Increase our faith!” Now that’s a prayer I can get behind. Who among us hasn’t whispered that same request when life hands us more than we bargained for?

Jesus’ response is both encouraging and humbling. He tells them that even faith the size of a mustard seed—so tiny you could lose it between your fingernails—is enough to uproot mulberry trees and send them flying into the sea. (I don’t know about you, but I’d pay good money to see a mulberry tree take a swim!)

And then Jesus pivots, reminding the disciples that faith isn’t about showing off spiritual superpowers. It’s about simple obedience—doing what God asks of us, not for applause, but because we love Him. Like good servants, we don’t strut around expecting medals for feeding the dog, taking out the trash, or forgiving our neighbor who “accidentally” mows two feet into our yard. We just do what we’re called to do, trusting that God sees our faithfulness, however small it feels.

The beauty of this passage is that Jesus isn’t demanding big faith. He’s asking us to take the little faith we already have and put it into practice. Sometimes that looks like praying for a friend, even when we don’t know what to say. Sometimes it’s choosing kindness over sarcasm (hard, I know). Sometimes it’s just getting up and showing up when we’d rather stay in bed with the covers pulled over our heads.

Friends, faith isn’t about size—it’s about direction. A mustard seed of faith in the right soil, pointed toward Jesus, will always grow.

So this week, let’s not fret about whether our faith is “big enough.” Let’s simply take the little we’ve got, plant it in trust, and let God handle the growing. And who knows? Maybe one day we’ll look out the window and see mulberry trees doing the backstroke.

With joy and gratitude,
Pastor Jim