GROW PLAN: April 21-27, 2025

Day One

Matthew 12:33-37

Careless Words
Jesus tells us that you can tell a good life or a bad life from the fruit it produces. If we walk with Him, we will produce good fruit. If we live on our own, we will produce bad fruit. These remarks are a continuation of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees, who had accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus points out that what comes out of our mouths is an “overflow of the heart.” If there is good in us, then good things come out of our mouths. If there is evil stored in us, then evil comes from our mouths. Jesus says men will be held accountable for their careless words on the day of judgment. Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, who have revealed their hearts by their words. They didn’t want the disciples to pick and eat grain on the Sabbath. They would rather they go hungry. They didn’t want Jesus to heal a man on the Sabbath. They would rather he kept his disability. They didn’t like people saying good things about Jesus because he cast out demons, so they said He was in league with the devil. Their words showed that they didn’t care about people or the truth. Their words revealed the sinful rot of pride in them, their lack of compassion and their obsession with the rules they had made. We too, reveal what’s inside us through our words. When we think carefully about what we say, it’s usually easy to defend our words. When we speak quickly and carelessly, we can often let the sin inside of us show up in our words.

Think about what you say to people or what you post on social media. What do your words say about you? Do your words and actions reflect your Lord?

Day Two

Matthew 12:38-45

 Give Us a Sign

The Pharisees and teachers have a lot of nerve to ask for a sign. They just saw a withered hand grow and straighten! They just saw demons cast out. They have seen Jesus perform many miracles. They have heard about countless others. They don’t need another miracle to convince them. They are just using this to make an excuse for why they don’t believe. Jesus was having none of it. He told them they represent an evil generation. The only sign they’ll get is the sign of Jonah. While the people of Nineveh repented at Jonah’s prophecy, and the Queen of the South came to hear Solomon, this generation would not respond to Jesus, who is so much greater than Jonah or Solomon. But the Pharisees and teachers refuse to recognize that Jesus is greater. They are unwilling to see who He is and how they should respond to Him. At this point in His ministry, Jesus is being open about His identity as the Messiah. He has said that He is greater than the law, greater than the Sabbath. Now, He is saying He is greater than Jonah and greater than Solomon. There are consequences to rejecting Christ. He has been casting out demons, but, if they keep Jesus out of their lives, those demons might come back, with friends. We can’t clean up our lives on our own. We will just get messed up again. We need to fill ourselves with Jesus to make a lasting difference.

 When have you tried to clean up your life on your own? How did that work out? Submit to Jesus’ plan for your life and watch Him work in you.

 Day Three

Matthew 12:46-50

 We Are Family

Jesus made a very simple but incredibly important point here. How much does He love us? He loves us like family because we are family. Jesus has been telling the disciples that He must be more important to them than their earthly families. He has told them that the Gospel would divide families, but we must be more devoted to Him than we are to our parents, spouses or children. He has told us that He must be the top priority in our lives. And here He showed the disciples that this priority went both ways. Jesus’ earthly family was outside, waiting to talk to Him. But He pointed to His disciples and said they were His family. “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven” is His family, he said. The devotion and priority that we must give Jesus is not a one-way street. He responds by loving us as if He had grown up with Him in His household. When we submit to His will, we get His guidance, His help, His mercy and His love. We are not just forgiven; we are fully adopted into the family of Jesus.

 Do you consider yourself to be a beloved member of Jesus’ family? How does your life resemble “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven?” How could it better reflect Jesus’ words?

 Day Four

Matthew 13:1-17

 Speaking in Parables

Some of Jesus’ parables, like the Good Samaritan, were told to make spiritual principles easier to understand. Others, Jesus said, were told to hide some spiritual truths. There are reasons for this. Much of what Jesus taught the disciples wouldn’t really sink in and be understood until after His resurrection, when they received the Holy Spirit. Some of the principles that Jesus was teaching were for the Church to understand once Jesus had established it. His parables would be remembered and understood properly at the right time. And, as Jesus pointed out in these verses, some of the truths that He is telling them are for the people of His kingdom and not for those who have rejected Him. You cannot enter the kingdom of God without accepting Jesus. The people at the time faced one real issue: Who is Jesus? They had to answer that question. And if they decided to reject Jesus, they would not enter the kingdom He was teaching about. Remember Jesus’ words about how much He had done in those cities, but they did not believe. They had closed their eyes and put their hands over their ears. They refused to hear and see who Jesus is, so they would not learn the principles of God’s kingdom.

Are you included in the kingdom of God and in the family of Jesus? If so, praise Him for all He has done in your life. If not, don’t wait any longer. Talk to a group leader or Pastor Chris as soon as possible.

Day Five

Matthew 12:18-23

 Good and Bad Soil

So often we judge success and spiritual victory by someone agreeing to accept Christ, someone repenting of their sins and admitting they need a savior. That is wonderful. It’s an absolutely necessary first step, but it’s not the standard for success that Jesus teaches us here. The standard Jesus teaches is changed lives, people who submit to Him, commit to Him and continue to abide in Him. The first three types of soil that Jesus mentions can be people who repented from their sins and admitted they needed a savior, but it just didn’t stick. They either didn’t fully understand the Gospel, or they had an emotional reaction that lacked a real commitment, or they let the world seep back into their lives and take them away from the Lord. The measure of success is the good soil that Jesus mentions. This is the person who understands the Gospel, commits to living the way the Lord wants Him to, and experiences God producing fruit in their lives. The standard for success is not declaring that we are a follower of Jesus. The standard is living as if we are following Him. The Lord wants us to live the Gospel, to be completely changed by it.

 Are you living as a follower of Jesus? Is your soil producing a crop for Him?

 Day Six

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

 Waiting for Harvest

The parables in Chapter 13 tell us about God’s kingdom. And to the Jewish people, particularly the disciples, who were the only ones who had the parables explained to them, the parables set out characteristics of God’s kingdom that they did not expect. They expected that when God’s kingdom was established that they, the righteous, would rule with Him over the rest of the world. But Jesus is telling the disciples that the citizens of God’s kingdom will live among the unrighteous of the world, until God’s judgment comes. What is the application of this parable for us? We are not to try to purify the church or the world by ripping out the weeds. Particularly when young plants, the weeds were almost impossible to tell from the wheat. As the plants matured, their roots would be intertwined with the wheat roots, so it was hard to pull up one without destroying the other. It is not our job to separate the weeds from the wheat. That is the Lord's job. This was a hard message for the Jewish leaders. Their goal was to separate God’s people and everyone else. Jesus tells us to be in the world but not to let the world in us. We know we may be very close to some weeds, but our job is to produce the best crop for the Lord that we can regardless of our surroundings.

 Give thanks to the Lord that you are wheat rather than weeds to be burned. Ask Him what He needs you to do to bring Him a larger crop.

GROW GROUPS

God’s design is that we follow Him together. We grow more and we grow faster when we aren’t trying to do it on our own. We need other people to become the people God created us to be. We have for adults, youth, and children to learn to follow Jesus with one another. There are opportunities for those who have been following the Lord a long time and for those who are just beginning their spiritual journey. There is also a unique “Building a New Life” ministry night, designed for those who want to learn how to start living life God’s way.

SUNDAY MORNING GROUPS

Men’s Group @ The Journey - Sundays at 9:15am

Women’s Group @ The Journey - Sundays at 9:15 am

JourneyKidz Groups (nursery - 5th grades) - Sundays at 10:30 am (during the Worship Gathering)

OTHER WEEKEND/WEEKDAY GROUPS

There are groups that meet throughout the week at various locations for adults, youth, and kids. If you contact us or fill out a CONNECT CARD on Sunday, letting us know you would like information on group options, we can help you determine which might be the best fit to help you grow in your relationship with God and others!