Matthew 13:31-35
Miraculous Mundane
Jesus does the miraculous in the mundane. In Matthew 13:31-35, the kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a tree and like yeast worked all through a large batch of dough: small, hidden and slow. If we only look for big spiritual moments, we miss what God is doing in ordinary days, so we stay present, pray first and pay attention to what he is already doing.
Message notes
Daniel Correa opens with “Maycember,” the chaos at the end of the school year, and with summer camp two weeks away. He was saved at camp, and he loves how a student can meet Jesus on the first day and be baptized before going home. But students go back to the same routines, and that is where it gets hard. The question for the morning is how Jesus does the miraculous in the mundane.
In Matthew 13:31-32, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed. The crowds wanted a king, armies and buildings, and Jesus talked about a seed they used every day for cooking, preserving meat and medicine. Daniel compares mustard paste to Vicks VapoRub in a Filipino household. When his sons planted an apple seed, they asked if the tree would be ready in two minutes, then five. We want the tree today too, but we water and Jesus grows it. His first point: be present in the mundane.
He illustrates it with a week of flooding. To get the kids in bed by 7, he started the shower early, then let his daughter keep eating. A cup flipped over the drain, and water filled the bathroom and the closet. Their life group, upstairs neighbors and family showed up with towels, and the kids went to bed at 8:30 or 9. They had gone on autopilot, and life crept up on them.
The second parable is yeast worked into about 60 pounds of flour, enough bread for around a hundred people. Nobody checks on a woman kneading dough. Daniel says the kingdom starts small and hidden in our hearts, and the quiet prayer and worship nobody sees is necessary. His second point is to pray first, not as a last resort. When one of his sons fell and Daniel offered a bandage and ice, the boy said, “Dad, pray.” He also honors his own father, who showed up to every game, practice and recital without ever announcing it, and taught him faithfulness by doing it.
Finally, Matthew says Jesus spoke only in parables, fulfilling Psalm 78. The crowds had hardened hearts because they only wanted Jesus to fulfill their own picture of the kingdom. Daniel retells a story he borrowed from Pastor Wayne about a drowning man who turns down a surfer, a jet ski and a cruise ship while waiting for God. He closes with a prayer to notice Jesus in ordinary days.
From the message
If we’re only looking at the miraculous, then we’ll completely miss what he’s doing in the mundane.
We want prayer to be our first response and not our last resort.
When we seek God himself, we find answers. When we’re looking to God for the sake of looking to God, we’ll find answers.
Life Group discussion guide
Miraculous Mundane, Matthew 13:31-35. May 31, 2026.
Start here
What is one ordinary routine in your week that you could do on autopilot?
Read Matthew 13:31-35
Open your Bibles and read it out loud together before you start.
What does it say?
In Matthew 13:31-32, what does the mustard seed start as, what does it become, and what comes to perch in its branches?
In verse 33, what does the woman do with the yeast, and how much flour does she mix it into?
According to verses 34-35, how did Jesus speak to the crowds, and what does Matthew say this fulfilled?
What does it mean?
The crowds were expecting a king with armies and buildings. Why would Jesus describe the kingdom with a seed and some yeast instead?
Daniel said nobody sees a woman’s quiet work kneading dough, just as nobody sees our private prayer. Why does Jesus build his kingdom through hidden, slow work?
What do we do with it?
Where are you on autopilot right now, just trying to get through today to get to tomorrow? What would being present there look like this week?
When something goes wrong, what is your first move: fix it, worry or pray? What would it take to make prayer your first response?
Pray
Ask Jesus to open your eyes to what he is doing in your ordinary days: the drive to school, the dishes, the night routine. Pray for a habit of praying first, and for patience to trust him with slow growth.
New Hope Hawaii Kai. Watch the message and read the notes at newhopehk.org/sermons/miraculous-mundane/