Good Morning! Welcome to Mercy Fellowship where we are Saved by Jesus’ Work, Changed by Jesus’ Grace, and Living on Jesus’ Mission. Mercy Fellowship exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and love people. Today we are continuing our summer series Parables: Small Stories, Big Ideas, Great Jesus. We are beginning to gear up for back to school, whatever that is going to look like. So how are you? I ask because if we’re honest we feeling weak, worn out, discouraged, and maybe a bit empty. When we are weak deeply desire something or someone powerful to lead and protect. When we are feeling small we want to be part of something big, when we’re joyless we want something glorious, when we are empty we want to be filled. We are drawn to power and value. That more than ok. It’s acknowledging how weak and dependent we are. We need to hear some good teaching to give us hope. More than simply a good teacher, Jesus ministry on earth had an intense focus on teaching people about the character and nature of God, His kingdom, His values, and how we are to live in response to who God is. While Jesus intended meaning with each of these stores, parables is specific, the response to them varies depending on the condition of the heart of those who hear them. For those who follow Jesus the parables lead to greater understanding, for those indifferent or opposed to Jesus they cause greater confusion. Today we have five parables showing the kingdom’s power, the kingdom’s value, and what life looks like for those who understand the kingdom. Four times we will see Jesus say the “Kingdom of Heaven is like…” each instance is used to correct to easy misconceptions about the Kingdom of Heaven. It is exponentially more powerful than it appears and more valuable than you think. So let us let Jesus be our teacher and our treasure.