Mark 4:26-32

26Then Jesus said, ‘I will tell you a story about the kingdom of God. It is like this: A man throws seeds in his field.

27Then he sleeps each night and he wakes up each day. The seeds start to grow into plants. They continue to grow. The man does not know how this happens.

28The soil causes the plants to grow. The leaves of the plant grow first. Then the flowers appear. Then the plant makes new seeds.

29When the new seeds have completely grown, the man will cut down the plants. It is time for him to take the seeds to use for food.’

30Jesus said, ‘I will tell you another story about the kingdom of God. This story shows what the kingdom of God is like.

31It is like this: A man takes a seed of the plant called mustard. He plants it in the soil. It is smaller than any other seed that people plant in the soil.

32But when it starts to grow, it becomes bigger than the largest bush. It will have big branches. Then the birds will come and they will live there. They will build their nests in the shade of the branches.’