While Your Mission Field Seems Too Big for You

Call Stories Continues

7.26.2026

[Texts]

1 Kings 3:5-12◾Psalm 119:129-136◾Romans 8:26-39◾Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Grace and peace to you, the beloved of God.

Over these past weeks, we’ve been listening for the ways God calls ordinary people both in Scripture and in our own lives. We’ve been noticing how even small “yeses” to God can create ripple effects of grace and courage in a community.

Last Sunday, we reflected on how our own “yeses” to God join the ‘yeses’ God’s people have spoken throughout Scripture. Today, we continue that journey by listening to more call stories—stories that help us recognize how God is moving in our lives right now.

Wherever you’re coming from, whatever your week has held, you are part of this story too. God is still calling. God is still speaking.

Jesus said, “Let those who have ears listen.” So together, we are learning to listen again. We listen for call stories that might affirm our own—and maybe even spark new ripple effects of how God is working in our individual lives and in our shared life together in this season of transition.

Let’s begin with King Solomon.

Solomon is a young leader who knows he needs help.

In 1 Kings 3, Solomon stands at the edge of a mission field that feels far too big for him. He recognizes his inexperience and admits that he cannot lead on his own—especially as he follows a legendary king, his father David.

So what does he do?

He prays.

He asks for wisdom.

He names the ripple effect he’s standing in: David’s faithfulness and God’s steadfast love, and he offers himself as the next vessel God can use.

Solomon’s call story begins with humility, honesty, and availability.

And that wisdom, to the Psalmist, is the Word of God, the Word that has the power to keep life in order. Psalm 119 steps in with this powerful line: “When your word is opened, it gives light.”

The Psalmist longs for God’s word so deeply that it moves him to tears. He knows that God’s wisdom doesn’t just inform, it transforms. It shines. It protects. It moves the heart.

Solomon shows us availability.

The Psalmist shows us longing.

Where do you see the similarity of your own call story to the Scriptures so far?

Now let’s talk about Paul in Romans 8. His mission field covers the entire Mediterranean world. To many, it sounds exhausting—but not to Paul.

He’s traveling by foot and by boat. No internet. No quick communication. Just face‑to‑face teaching and letters that take weeks to arrive.

And in the middle of corrupt teachings, persecution, and being part of a tiny minority of believers, Paul offers this powerful faith statement: “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.”

Nothing.

Not distance.

Not danger.

Not discouragement.

Not exhaustion.

Paul’s call story is one long, courageous yes.

Then Jesus comes along in Matthew 13 with stories that stretch our imagination. He says the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, so tiny you could lose it between your fingers. And yet it grows into something huge.

If you’ve ever felt your call story is tiny, easily lost among bigger stories, Jesus wants you to keep listening.

He says the kingdom is like yeast: quiet, hidden, but powerful enough to make the whole dough rise.

And some of us might be tempted to hide our call stories, to tuck them away.

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He keeps going, saying the kingdom is like treasure: hidden, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be revealed.

I can almost hear Jesus saying to his disciples and to us,

“Are you still following me?”

I imagine Jesus’ eyes lighting up as he tells these stories. He wants us to feel the excitement. He wants us to see that God’s kingdom is not far away. It's already rising, already growing, already shimmering beneath the surface of our lives.

Our call stories are like seed, yeast, and treasure.

Yes, we may sometimes feel as tiny as a mustard seed.

But seeds grow, especially when God sends soil, water, and sunlight our way.

Yes, we may feel shy and quiet like yeast. But yeast is alive. It is active. It rises. And our faith, our trust in God, is contagious in the best way.

And yes, God calls us not only to grow and rise, but also to reveal treasure in the lives of others. We are part of God’s treasure‑revealing work.

Are we still listening?

We are part of God’s treasure‑revealing work.

We might say to Jesus, “All of this sounds wonderful—and it is… but it isn’t easy.”

And then we hear the voices of King Solomon, the Psalmist, and Paul,

reminding us to talk to God, to pray.

As we pray, we name what blocks us.

What stops us from opening the Word of God that shines our way?

What keeps us from receiving God’s wisdom that helps us discern what is right?

What pulls us back from trusting God’s love, love strong enough to keep our faith living like a mustard seed, contagious like yeast, and priceless like treasure?

As we look inside our lives, what is the size of that blockage?

What obstacles keep us from being part of the ripple effect?

God invites honest conversations on how we may offer our “yes” to the seed, the yeast, and the treasure, and let them take over our individual and collective lives.

And when we find ourselves stuck again,

may we be like Solomon—praying for wisdom to know right from wrong.

May we be like the Psalmist—asking God to be gracious and put our lives in order.

May we be like Paul—trusting the Spirit to intercede when we lose words to pray.

How is our ripple effect in our midst and beyond?

Imagine now that we are part of the ripple effect of God’s kingdom—

a ripple that grows big and strong like a seed,

a ripple that rises and keeps expanding like yeast,

a ripple that creates the next ripple to reveal treasure hidden among us.

Imagine that gentle wave touching your life

rising with God’s blessings,

dipping low through challenges,

and still moving outward with grace…

not alone, but beside one another, our siblings in Christ.

What does that wave say to you?

My answer is simple:

I love it.

I enjoy it.

And I am grateful for you and your companionship in this season

moving outward as the ripple grows bigger like seed,

lifting one another like yeast,

discovering treasure in each other’s lives,

moving up and down through blessings and challenges,

always held by God.

Thank you to each of you.

And thanks be to God.

Amen.