Speaker: Pastor Chad Everett
Main Scriptures: Genesis 1:11–12; 1 Peter 1:23; Galatians 3:16; Colossians 1:27

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Sermon Overview

This message opens our eyes to the creative power of God’s design. From the very beginning, God placed everything needed for life and fruitfulness within the seed. The same is true spiritually—God has placed everything we need for life and godliness within the seed of Christ in us. Just like in nature, the seed must be planted, nurtured, and grown. This sermon invites us to examine what kind of seed we’ve received, what kind we’re sowing, and how we’re cultivating the life God has already placed within us.

Why Study This Sermon?

This 5-day study guide with a BONUS REFLECTION is designed to help individuals, families, and Roads Groups dive deeper into Pastor Chad Everett’s message and allow God’s Word to shape your identity, spiritual growth, and walk with Jesus Christ.

Whether you’re new to faith, walking through a dry season, or looking to grow in your understanding of what it means to live with Jesus at the center of your life—this study will equip and encourage you.

Why this message matters:

Everything you need is in the seed. That seed is Jesus. When He’s planted in your heart, you don’t need to strive to become something or chase after things to be complete. This message teaches that spiritual growth happens not by trying harder but by abiding in Christ and allowing what’s already inside of you to be revealed.

As you study, you’ll learn how to:

• Understand your identity in Christ
• Recognize what’s already planted in you
• Grow in spiritual maturity through the Word
• Let go of external striving and walk in grace
• Develop a deeper relationship with Jesus from the inside out

 

Day 1 – Seed: God’s Original Design

Big Idea: Everything God created starts with a seed—your new life in Christ begins the same way.

Scripture: Genesis 1:11–12 (NKJV) Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Sermon Quote:
“God never starts with the fruit. He always starts with the seed. Everything is already in the seed—even if you don’t see it yet.” – Chad Everett

Discussion Questions:

• New Christians:
  1. What do you think it means that your new life in Christ began as a seed?
  2. How can you begin to nurture that seed daily?
• Mature Christians:
  1. Are you trusting the seed of Christ in you, or still trying to produce fruit through your own effort?
  2. How are you helping others identify and grow their seed?
• Jr. & Sr. High Students:
  1. What seeds are you planting in your life through what you watch, listen to, and say?
  2. Are those seeds helping you become more like Jesus?
• Families with Young Children:
  1. How can we talk together about the seeds God is planting in our hearts?
  2. What does it mean that God already placed good things inside of us?
• Families with Teenagers:
  1. What kinds of seeds are influencing our family right now?
  2. How can we partner with God to grow what He’s planted in us?

Personal Application Step:

• New Christians: Write down one thing you sense God has planted in your life.
• Mature Christians: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where you’ve resisted trusting the process of growth.
• Jr. & Sr. High Students: Choose one area to be intentional about planting good seed this week.
• Families with Young Children: Plant a real seed together and talk about what it needs to grow.
• Families with Teenagers: Have a family conversation about how each person can nurture their spiritual seed.

Day 2 – The Seed Is in Itself

Big Idea: God placed the potential for growth and fruitfulness within the seed—it’s already inside you.

Scripture: Genesis 1:12 (NKJV) And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Sermon Quote:
“Everything I need is already in the seed! You don’t have to manufacture it—you just have to plant it.” – Chad Everett

Discussion Questions:

• New Christians:
  1. What does it mean that the seed of Christ already has everything you need?
  2. How can you trust what God has put inside you?
• Mature Christians:
  1. Are you walking in the fullness of what’s already been planted in you?
  2. How can you help others unlock the potential of their seed?

• Jr. & Sr. High Students:
  1. What are some gifts or abilities God might have planted in you?
  2. Are you developing those gifts or hiding them?
• Families with Young Children:
  1. What kind of fruit do you think God wants to grow in our hearts?
  2. How can we help each other grow strong in Jesus?
• Families with Teenagers:
  1. How can we encourage each other to believe in the potential God has placed in us?
  2. What are some ways we can protect that seed from negative influences?

Personal Application Step:

• New Christians: Affirm out loud: “Everything I need to grow is already inside me through Christ.”
• Mature Christians: Reflect on what kind of fruit your life is producing and trace it back to the seed you’re nurturing.
• Jr. & Sr. High Students: Share with someone what you believe God is growing in you.
• Families with Young Children: Draw a seed and a plant together—talk about what each one means.
• Families with Teenagers: As a family, write down the seeds (gifts, truths, talents) God has put in each of you.

Day 3 – According to Its Kind

Big Idea: Seeds reproduce according to their kind. What you plant is what you will grow.

Scripture: Galatians 6:7–8 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

Sermon Quote:
“Every seed brings a harvest according to its kind. You can’t plant negativity and expect peace. You can’t plant rebellion and expect blessing.” – Chad Everett

Discussion Questions:

• New Christians:
  1. What kind of seeds have you been planting with your words or actions?
  2. What are some new seeds you want to start planting?
• Mature Christians:
  1. What kinds of seeds are evident in your current season of life?
  2. Where might you be sowing to the flesh instead of the Spirit?
• Jr. & Sr. High Students:
  1. What seeds are you sowing with your social media, friendships, and habits?
  2. How do those seeds affect your relationship with God?
• Families with Young Children:
  1. How can we choose to plant kind and loving seeds each day?
  2. What happens when we plant angry or mean words?
• Families with Teenagers:
  1. What do we want to grow in our family, and what seeds will lead us there?
  2. How can we hold each other accountable for what we’re sowing?

Personal Application Step:

• New Christians: Identify one “fruit” in your life you want to see and ask God to help you plant that seed.
• Mature Christians: Examine your daily routines—what seeds are you consistently sowing?
• Jr. & Sr. High Students: Start sowing one new spiritual seed this week—like worship, Scripture, or prayer.
• Families with Young Children: End the day by each naming one good seed you planted.
• Families with Teenagers: Talk about the long-term harvest you hope for and commit to planting seeds accordingly.

 

Day 4 – The Process of Growth

Big Idea: The seed doesn’t grow overnight. Fruitfulness requires time, care, and surrender.

Scripture: Mark 4:26–28 (NLT) Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own—first a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.”

Sermon Quote:
“Growth is a process. You can’t microwave maturity. First the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head.” – Chad Everett

Discussion Questions:

• New Christians:
  1. How do you feel about your spiritual growth right now?
  2. What step can you take today to keep growing?
• Mature Christians:
  1. Are you patient with your process and others’?
  2. How are you protecting your seed from discouragement?
• Jr. & Sr. High Students:
  1. Are you expecting fast results in your walk with God?
  2. What part of your growth are you currently in?
• Families with Young Children:
  1. What helps plants grow? What helps people grow in Jesus?
  2. How can we help each other keep growing?
• Families with Teenagers:
  1. What signs of growth have we seen in each other this year?
  2. How can we encourage one another to be patient in the process?

Personal Application Step:

• New Christians: Thank God for where you are and trust Him for what’s next.
• Mature Christians: Invest in someone who is in an earlier stage of growth than you.
• Jr. & Sr. High Students: Journal or talk about what “stage” you think you’re in spiritually.
• Families with Young Children: Water your seed from earlier this week and talk about what’s changing.
• Families with Teenagers: Take turns encouraging each person with something you see growing in them.

Day 5 – Jesus: The Seed of Life

Big Idea: Jesus is the seed. When we receive Him, we receive everything we need for a fruitful life.

Scripture: John 12:24 (NKJV) Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

Sermon Quote:
“Jesus is the Seed. Everything we need was placed in Him—and now He’s been placed in us.” – Chad Everett

Discussion Questions:

• New Christians:
  1. What does it mean to you that Jesus is the seed in your life?
  2. How can you stay rooted in Him?
• Mature Christians:
  1. How are you letting the life of Jesus be reproduced in you?
  2. What areas of self need to die for Christ’s life to grow?
• Jr. & Sr. High Students:
  1. What does it look like to follow Jesus daily as your source of life?
  2. What do you need to give up in order to grow more like Him?

• Families with Young Children:
  1. Why is Jesus the best seed we could ever plant in our hearts?
  2. How do we stay connected to Him each day?
• Families with Teenagers:
  1. How do we let Jesus lead our family and decisions?
  2. What might need to be surrendered in our hearts to grow in Him?

Personal Application Step:

• New Christians: Spend time thanking Jesus for being the source of life in you.
• Mature Christians: Identify and surrender one area of control where Christ wants to produce more fruit.
• Jr. & Sr. High Students: Ask Jesus to show you how to stay rooted in Him through school and friendships.
• Families with Young Children: End your week praying together and thanking Jesus for His life in you.
• Families with Teenagers: Make space today to listen to God as a family and ask Him what He’s growing next.

 

Bonus Reflection: What Stage Are You In?

“Just because you’re at the seedling stage doesn’t mean you’re not a tomato plant.”
—Pastor Chad Everett

Spiritual growth takes time. Like a tomato plant, your life in Christ goes through stages—and each stage is essential. 

“First the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head.” – Mark 4:28

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it…” – Philippians 1:6

 

🌱 Stages of Growth (Spiritual Progress Illustrated)

1. Seed – Hidden, but planted. Faith begins here.
2. Germination – Roots form in darkness. The Word is taking hold.
3. Sprout – Early signs of life emerge. Others may start to notice change.
4. Seedling – Growth is fragile, but real.
5. Flowering – You begin to see evidence of your purpose.
6. Fruit-bearing – Christlike character and impact become visible.
7. Mature plant – You’re bearing fruit that blesses others and multiplies.

Use this reflection to:

• Identify what stage you’re in right now
• See your growth as part of God’s timeline—not a failure
• Celebrate that Christ in you is still growing!