Have you ever felt like things aren't going the way they were supposed to? 🌱

Life has a way of not matching our expectations — relationships that don't work out, dreams that never happen, a world that feels more broken than hopeful. And maybe you've wondered... if God is real, why does everything feel so uncertain?

You're not alone in asking that.

But this message isn't just for people who are far from God. It might actually hit harder if you've been in church your whole life.

In this message, Pastor Sam Weitman gets honest — about his own heart, his own idols, and the uncomfortable reality that you can spend decades in church, know all the right answers, and still have a heart that looks a lot more like the religious leader in the room than like Jesus.

Sam admits it about himself, and it's the kind of honesty that should have a way of making you look in the mirror too.

Starting in Luke 13:10-17, we see Jesus stop everything to heal a woman who had been suffering for 18 years — bent over, rejected, and written off by the very people who were supposed to represent God.

And the religious leader in the room? He wasn't evil. He was educated, experienced, and devoted. Yet when the miracle happened right in front of him, his heart was cold. He cared more about the rules than the broken woman he'd watched walk in pain for nearly two decades.

It's an uncomfortable picture. Because most of us have more in common with him than we'd like to admit.

Then in Luke 13:18-21, Jesus tells two small but stunning parables — a mustard seed and a bit of yeast — and makes a promise that's just as real today as it was then: God's kingdom is slow, but it is unstoppable.

In this sermon, you'll be challenged and encouraged by:

◦ How the Word of God exposes what's really in our hearts — and why that's good news

◦ Why real transformation looks more like slow-smoked BBQ than a microwave meal

◦ What to do when life hasn't gone the way you planned, and hope feels hard to hold onto

◦ The sneaky ways longtime believers lose their kingdom imagination — and how to get it back

◦ What it looks like to stop circling the wagons and start dreaming big again

Whether you've followed Jesus for decades or you've never stepped foot in a church, there's something in this message for you. Because the kingdom of God isn't just for the put-together people — it's for the bent-over ones, the overlooked ones, the ones who aren't sure what they believe yet, and honestly? The ones who think they have it all figured out.

The dream isn't dead. In fact, it's just getting started. 🕊️

Luke 13:10-21

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Here's a question worth sitting with: Is your heart keeping up with the kingdom? Take some time to pray and see what God stirs in your heart.