Seeds of the Kingdom; Luke 8:1-3

Delivered during the Sunday morning worship service, 9/4/2022. Sandwiched in between the story of the woman of ill repute and the parable of the four soils, Luke provides us with one of his signature summarizing paragraphs. Throughout his Gospel as well as the book of Acts, Luke continually gives his readers "snapshots" of the state of things, whether it be the ministry of Jesus, the progress of the Kingdom of God, or the growth of the germinal church-- we are given valuable insight into the way ministry was conducted in the earliest times. As Jesus launches His second preaching tour, Luke shares with us the nature of His ministry and some of the seeds of the Kingdom, who will one day germinate to become the church. We will analyze the centrality of Christ's preaching ministry, and discuss those who accompanied Him. Particular attention will be given to the extraordinary fact that women were among those who went with Him on the road and ministered to His needs. Ultimately we will compare our own ministry focus and see how closely it aligns to the work and lives of the seeds of the Kingdom.