Mustard Seed Publications

Mustard Seed Publications is a resource ministry designed to help Christians come alive to the wonder, beauty, and transforming power of the gospel by magnifying the cross of Jesus in every book, article, and small group study we create.

Jesus used the metaphor of a mustard seed to describe how the kingdom of God grows from a tiny seed into a flourishing, fruit-producing tree. In each seed, there is gospel power and kingdom potential. Small in size but extensive in scope.

Our deep desire is for Mustard Seed resources to work like that in your life — seeds of grace that take root and grow, producing the fruit of the Spirit as you abide in Jesus by faith as your perfect righteousness.

Books Available Now in Paperback and Kindle

All resources include small group discussion guides.

Upcoming Book Releases

  • The Bronze Serpent: Tethering Your Life to the Cross with Scripture-Based Prayer (2019)
  • The Generosity Challenge: That You May Excel in the Grace of Giving (2020)
  • I am Not the Christ: A Guide to Pastoral Ministry in View of the Cross (2020)
  • The Marriage Tune-Up: How Small Gospel-Adjustments Can Make a Big Gospel Difference (2020)

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Our Content Philosophy

In John 15, Jesus compares the believer’s relationship with God to a branch that receives life from a vine, a fitting metaphor of how personal change takes place, revealing how the concepts of theologyidentity, and transformation are inextricably linked.

What we discover in Jesus’ analogy is that change does not take place through greater willpower, determination, promises, and human resolve. Change is the result of a vital union whereby a believer abides in Jesus by faith as his or her sin-bearer, righteousness provider, and fruit producer.

As we abide in the justifying grace of Jesus we receive the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit, who gives us new desires and new abilities to produce good fruit. This good fruit is the result of the Spirit’s work in the life of the believer. As we say, the fruit depends on the root.

Therefore, faith-union with Christ as one’s Justifier and Sanctifier is the key to change and provides the theological foundation and spiritual fuel for all the resources available through Mustard Seed Publications.

This is why our mission is to help Christians experience the wonder, beauty, and transforming power of the gospel. When we come alive to the wonder of God’s mercy and grace, everything changes. How I view God and myself. How I engage with the world. How I treat my wife and kids. How I face loss, defeat, and suffering. How I deal with victory and success. Yes, grace changes everything.

If justification is our initial union with Jesus (which takes place through faith), sanctification is our ongoing union with Jesus (which takes place by the same faith through which a sinner is justified).

Cross-Centered Theology

The story of redemption is the story of the Bible and of all history. The epicenter of that story is the cross of Jesus, where he becomes a substitute for sinners, taking the place of judgement so that we can be forgiven and free. 

This cross-centered theology is the framework underlying all content created by Mustard Seed Publications.

Substitution is beautifully depicted by C.S. Lewis in his classic, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where Aslan is slain upon a stone table in the place of Edmund, the traitor. When Lucy and Susan discover that stone table cracked and that Aslan is not lying there dead as he had been, they come to realize that the curse upon Narnia has been broken.

It is hard to miss the profound Christological imagery Lewis has woven into the story, whether intentionally or not.

Here is how the scene plays out as the sisters hear a deafeningly loud sound of the stone cracking-a crack that ran from end to end.

“Who’s done it?” cried Susan. “What does it mean? Is it more magic?”

“Yes!” said a great voice from behind their backs. “It is more magic.” They looked round. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself. “Oh, Aslan!” cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad….”But what does it all mean?” asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.


Integrating cross-centered theology, identity, and transformation, our aim is to reveal how the curse of sin has been broken, not by a Lion upon a table, but by Jesus upon a cross, our substitute in life and death.

Three Core Doctrines

JUSTIFICATION: Grace-Centered Theology

At the heart of all of Scripture is the redemptive message of God’s saving grace to sinners in Jesus. Theologically, we call this justification, which is the hub of the theological wheel to which every passage and doctrine is connected. This grace message is the oak from which every acorn of biblical text falls and must be related in order to be properly understood and applied. Or as Martin Luther said, justification is the doctrine upon which the church stands or falls. This is why we are committed to gospel-centered theology. 

ADOPTION: Grace-Focused Identity

Every human either will find his or her core identity in a self-achieved righteousness (or the lack of it) or in a gift-received righteousness. We will functionally live as spiritual orphans trying to make a life and name for ourselves, or we will live like adopted and beloved sons and daughters, with all the freedom, peace, hope, and joy that flows from such an identity. The implications are manifold and wide-ranging, touching on practically every area of life.  This is why we are committed to gospel-focused identity.

SANCTIFICATION: Grace-Empowered Transformation

What now? Should I expect to experience spiritual change in my life? If so, how does that take place? What is my role in the process?  As Jesus says in John 15, “No one can produce good fruit apart from me.” Practically speaking, this means that we experience the fruit of the Spirit as we consciously abide in the Vine of Jesus’ imputed gift-righteousness. As the Spirit fills us like sap through a vine into a branch, we receive new motives and a new ability to manifest the new life of love, peace, patience, kindness, etc. This is why we are committed to gospel-empowered transformation.