Note: This PowerPoint is not meant to be shown to the audience; it is simply the outline and notes for use by the speake

1. Note: This PowerPoint is not meant to be shown to the audience; it is simply the outline and notes for use by the speaker.

2. Two reasons directly related to our assembling together: Acts 20:7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread… Heb. 10.24-25 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another… It is this last reason associated with our assembly that we will discuss today…

3. Too Small? "Father, where shall I work today?"And my love flowed warm and free. Then He pointed me out a tiny spot,And said, "Tend that for me."I answered quickly, "Oh, no, not that. Why, no one would ever see,No matter how well my work was done. Not that little place for me."And the word He spoke, it was not stern, He answered me tenderly,`Ah, little one, search that heart of thine.Art thou working for them or Me? Nazareth was a little place,And so was Galilee."—Sunday School Times.

4. "Ripley's Believe It or Not" says that Craig Dawson has an unusual habit. He keeps an eye on the ground as he jogs. This is not for balance, safety or even shyness. He is looking for spare change. During the past 25 years, he has found $8,100 dollars in lost coins. There is a lesson for all of us in this. This reminds us of the power of a small act done consistently over the long haul. Little things can become big things. "Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes….“ Song of Solomon 2:15 Ben Franklin is credited with having said the following: "For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost; being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for the want of care about a horseshoe nail."

5. Whether its little acts of kindness, little words of encouragement, little acts of unkindness or little acts of thoughtless deeds, little things play a big role in, and are a major part of, our lives. Their impact can far outweigh the size of the words or deeds. Furthermore, "Men trip not on mountains, they stumble on stones." Reminds me of a song we used to sing as kids in Sunday School,       "Oh be careful little hands what you do!       Oh be careful little hands what you do,       God is up above,       He is looking down in love,      So be careful little hands what you do." 

6. (Luke 13:19 NKJV) "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches." (Mat 13:33 NKJV) Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

7. I. Mustard Seeds and Leaven Lumps • Jesus’ original audience and those who first read Matthew’s gospel understood this example right away.1. They knew mustard seeds and leaven lumps. • 2. Both small, the seed the size of a freckle (it takes 750 to weigh one gram), the leaven no larger than the end of your thumb. • A tiny mustard seed can grow to three times the height of an average man and boast branches large enough to house an entire flock of birds. • A pinch of fermented dough can feed forty people three meals a day for several days. • What begins minute ends massive.

8. II. A Timely Reminder • A. Perhaps the early church needed this reminder. • What clout did a tiny manger and a bloody cross carry set against centuries of Jewish tradition and Greek philosophy? • How could a backwoods movement headed by a rural carpenter gain traction in a religious world dominated by Epicureans, Stoics, and Gnostics? • This is a kid on a skateboard competing in the Daytona 500.

9. B. Perhaps we need this reminder today. • 1. We sometimes fear the smallness of Jesus’ story. This fear might keep us from seed sowing. • 2. Can the Sunday school account of Jesus hold its own in the Ivy League? • 3. Do terms like "sin," "salvation," and "redemption," stand a chance in this sophisticated day of humanism and relativism? • C. The Answer • 1. Apparently, we do need this reminder. • 2. Where are the Romans who crucified Christ? • 3. The Epicureans who demeaned and debated Paul? • 4. The Gnostics who mocked the early church? • 5. The great temples of Corinth that dwarfed the early church? • 6. Do worshipers still sacrifice to Zeus? No, but they still sing the praises of Jesus, and address the true God in His name.

10. God does uncommon works through common deeds. • III. What difference do selfless deeds make? • A. Have you ever wondered if your work makes a difference? Have you ever questioned the dream you had to make a difference? • B. God’s answer would be, "Just do something and see what happens." • C. That’s what he told the citizens of ancient Jerusalem. For sixteen years, the temple of God had lain in ruins. They had abandoned the work. The reason? Opposition from enemies, indifference from neighbors. But most of all the job dwarfed them. • D. To build the first temple, Solomon had needed over 150,000 men and seven years. What a gargantuan task! The workers must have thought, What difference will my work make? God’s answer:

11. He answered through Zechariah the prophet: “For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.“ (Zec 4:10 NKJV) E. Just Begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else.

12. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flack from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane.On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded.Technicians opened the missiles and found them empty of any explosive charge. They were clean and harmless and with one exception, empty. The exception contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it a message had been written in the Czech language. It said, "This is all we can do for you now.“ A courageous assembly line worker was disarming bombs and scribbled the note. He couldn’t end the war, but he could save one plane. He couldn’t do everything, but he could do something. So he did.

13. God does big things with small deeds. Against a towering giant, a pebble from a creek seems futile. But God used it to topple Goliath. Compared to the tithes of the wealthy, the widow’s coins seemed puny. But Jesus used them to inspire us. And in contrast with sophisticated priests and powerful Roman rulers, a cross suspended carpenter seemed nothing but a waste of life. Few Jewish leaders mourned his death. Only a handful of friends buried his body. The people turned their attention back to the temple. Why not? What power does a buried rabbi have? We know the answer. Mustard seed and leaven lump power. The power to tear away death rags and push away tombstones. The power to change history. In God’s hands, small seeds grow into sheltering trees. Tiny leaven lumps expand into nourishing loaves.

14. Small deeds can change the world. • Read the chapter. • Sow the mustard seed. • Bury the leaven lump. • Make the visit. • Make the phone call • Write the check. • Supply the need. • Spend the time. Cannot PAY someone to do our good deeds for us! Not the preacher Not an organization Not someone we trust with the task It doesn’t count.

15. What do you have? • Moses had a staff. • Aaron had a rod. • David had a sling. • Samson had a jawbone. • Rahab had a string. • Mary had some ointment. • Dorcas had a needle. • All were used by God. • What do you have?

16. Little things and weightier matters; justice, mercy & faith – Matt. 23.23 Cup of cold water – Matt. 10.42 Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit – Zech. 4.6 Day of small things – Zech. 4.10 Small things we can do to the Lord – Matt. 25.31-45 Visit orphans and widows – James 1.27 God inhabits the tiny seed and empowers the tiniest deeds. (2 Cor 9:10 NKJV) Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness…” Don’t discount the power of your “small” deeds.