Kingdom Seeds

by Devin Murphy on June 27, 2025

Matthew 13:8-9 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

 

Every year I am blown away by the joy of hearing hundreds of children sing songs of praise to Jesus during our vacation bible school. VBS is an enormous amount of work that comes and goes quickly in the span of a week. In that week though, children learn the stories of the Bible, how to sing and praise God, how to make art and express themselves, bond as friends, and experience profound love from staff and volunteers that they have often just met. It is a beautiful thing to witness even if it is exhausting work.

VBS, like so many moments in ministry, is a planting of small seeds in the hearts and minds. Only God will know the impact or the story of what took root, but we plant and labor in hope. In some cases, it opens doors to further connections with the church, other events and even worship. In others, it is a solitary touchpoint between us and so many families and children in our community. In either case, we are convinced that God will work through this telling and living of the Gospel to shape and transform the lives of people in ways we probably could only begin to imagine.

It is one of the great joys of ministering at Hope that I frequently see this spirit of care and trust in the power of God to work through small seeds. It could be a quilt made by the ladies of our church for one of our precious baptismal babies, a selfless act of care demonstrated by distributing a packed lunch, or even the courage to invite a friend or neighbor to service. Every act of Christian love and proclamation has the potential to be the turning point in someone’s life towards a real and lasting relationship with Jesus.

Of all of Hope’s many good traits, I pray that this Spirit of sowing, the hopefulness to wait for God’s harvest in our lives and the lives of those around us never leaves us. It is who we are, who we are called to be, and what we need in our lives.

Sowing always with you,

Pastor Devin Murphy 

 

About the Author
Devin Murphy

Devin is married to Melissa Murphy, and they have four children together, Penny (10), Devin Jr. (8), Jamie (5), and Jenny (10 months). Prior to accepting the call at Hope, Devin deferred placement for several years to work on a Ph. D. in Biblical studies with a focus on Paul’s understanding of gift in 2 Corinthians. Devin has completed all of his coursework and exams and is still in the writing stage of his dissertation. He was blessed to have many opportunities to work as an adjunct instructor for the seminary, teaching Greek, Hebrew, and other exegetical courses while working on his dissertation. A month prior to arriving at Hope, Devin was ordained at his vicarage congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church on May 21. In his spare time, Devin enjoys playing games with his wife, going on little adventures with his kids, and talking theology with his friends.

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