Mini Sermon 5 Part 1

Hope Needs Obedience

Welcome back to the Garden. I’m Minister Adrianne Watson your Bible study teacher. This is the first of our three-part mini sessions for April for our series Persevere Even When You Want to Give Up.

I’m so glad you’re here for this week’s lesson as we continue exploring how gardening teaches us about spiritual growth. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Just so you know, I’ll be teaching from the Christian Standard Bible but feel free to use your translation of choice to follow along.

“Lord, I thank You for this time. Help us to see what’s causing unnecessary pressure the in our lives and in our gardens. In Jesus name, Amen.”

Today is Mini lesson #1 from our Series Are you willing to pay the price called Hope Needs Obedience

Our focused passage is 1 Kings 17:12 “But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.””

As a recap, we meet a widow who is preparing her last meal for herself and her child when the Prophet Elijah enters into the scene.

1. Hope Arrives Small

It rarely looks like abundance.

Often arrives as an instruction, not a miracle.

God plants possibility, not always provision first.

2. Obedience Activates Hope

The widow had to act before seeing results.

Faith is movement, not emotion.

Delayed obedience is disguised doubt.

3. Fear Competes with Faith

She had logical reasons to refuse.

Hope grows when fear is confronted, not ignored.

Soil Testing & Amendment

Before planting, you test soil and sometimes must add nutrients you cannot see working immediately.

Obedience is like adding compost — unseen change that prepares future growth.

You don’t argue with soil chemistry; you adjust it.

Hope is not magic; it is a seed. Obedience is the act that lets it take root. Just like soil preparation determines plant health, obedience prepares our lives for God’s provision.

Let us pray.

Lord, help me obey even when I don’t yet see results. Strengthen my faith when fear tries to reason me out of Your instruction. Prepare the soil of my heart to receive Your hope. Amen.

Practical Gardening Tip

Test Your Soil Before Planting

pH kits are inexpensive.

Healthy soil saves time and money later.

Preparation prevents disappointment.

Until next time,

See you in the Garden!