Faith to Change

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). Arrange participants in pairs or groups of three. Ask, “Have you ever been told to ‘just do your job’ or ‘stay in your lane’? What did that feel like?”

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read Luke 17:5-10.

1. What do you think the mustard seed represents in this story? [The mustard seed stands for faith—just a little bit—but Jesus says even that is powerful when we trust God.]

2. In verses 7–9, Jesus describes a servant who finishes laboring in the field, only to be told to serve dinner without thanks. What kind of social system does this story describe?

3. The servant says, “We are worthless slaves; we have only done what we ought to have done.” Is this humility or internalized oppression? How might Jesus be exposing the way unjust systems make people complicit in their own devaluation?

4. Where in our world today are people expected to serve without recognition, dignity, or rest? What would Jesus’ justice-seeking faith say to that reality? [Examples may include caregivers, immigrants, essential workers, or marginalized voices in religious communities.]

5. How would you rewrite this parable to reflect a different vision of faith—one that resists complicity and imagines mutual service and shared tables?[Encourage the group to reimagine a world where the servant is seen, thanked, and invited to dine alongside the master—flipping the power dynamic.]

6. How does Jesus’ parable challenge us not to spiritualize obedience but to question who benefits from it?

7. (Optional Creative Reflection) If faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot a tree, what might your faith uproot today?

Invite participants to choose one of the following creative options:

• Write a short prayer or poem naming a system, idea, or injustice they want to uproot with their faith.
• Sketch or draw a mustard seed becoming something powerful—what does it grow into? A protest? A shelter? A shared table?
• Imagine a story of someone who flips the script—not by gaining power, but by planting something radically healing in a space of harm.

After five to seven minutes, invite those who feel comfortable to share. Encourage deep listening and affirmation, not critique.

Call to action: If you had “mustard seed” faith today, what’s one small thing you could do to show it? This week, choose one small act that resists complicity and points toward justice.

Here are a few possibilities to spark your imagination:

• Name and disrupt an everyday injustice. Speak up when someone’s dignity is diminished—especially if they’re expected to “just take it.”
• Say thank you. Express genuine gratitude to someone whose labor is often invisible—whether it’s a janitor, caregiver, or grocery worker. Let your faith recognize what society overlooks.
• Plant something new. Invite someone to your table, literally or figuratively, who is usually excluded. Build connections across lines of power.
• Rest—on purpose. In a world that demands constant production, honoring your limits can be an act of holy defiance.

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer:

God, You speak not just to increase our faith but also to deepen our courage. May we see through systems that reward silence and invisibility. May we refuse to call oppression holy. Let our faith be bold enough to serve without shame and brave enough to say, “This is not the kingdom.” Send us to uproot what harms and plant what liberates. Amen.

Dr. Sharon Jacob is a scholar who believes scripture must confront the systems that harm. As associate dean and professor at Claremont School of Theology, she empowers communities to interrogate inherited theologies and reclaim the gospel as a call to justice, not compliance. Her teaching and preaching equip people to “flip the script” and live faith out loud.