Monday Night @ Frirst B Jan 23rd

In one paragraph

This Monday night study walked through Mark 6:30-56, covering the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on water. Pastor Carl led the group through the passage section by section, pausing to draw out what each moment shows about who Jesus is and what it looks like to follow him in faith. The passage opens with the disciples returning from their first mission trip, the one where Jesus sent...

Read together

1. Mark 6:30-56 main passage read and expounded throughout the sermon
2. Mark 6:7 callback to Jesus sending out the twelve disciples in pairs with authority to cast out evil spirits
3. John 14 Jesus says my peace I leave to you and my peace I give to you, do not let your hearts be troubled
4. John 8:36 if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed
5. Psalm 23 the Lord is my shepherd passage invoked to illustrate Jesus as compassionate shepherd
6. Isaiah 55 God's invitation to come to his banquet, eat what is good, and find life, applied to the feeding of the five thousand
7. Mark 4 earlier miracle where Jesus calmed the storm, referenced as parallel to walking on water
8. Mark 5 the bleeding woman who touched Jesus robe and was healed, referenced in connection with Mark 6:56
9. Luke 12:32 do not be afraid little flock, it gives your Father great happiness to give you the kingdom

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl talked about Jesus telling the disciples to rest before the crowd even arrived, and mentioned that 'sometimes the most holy thing you can do is take a nap.' What does rest and quiet actually look like in your life right now, and is it something you treat as a spiritual priority or more as a luxury?
2. When the disciples told Jesus they only had five loaves and two fish, he asked what they had rather than pointing out what they lacked. Where in your life right now are you focused on what you don't have, and what would it look like to bring what you do have to God and let him work with it?
3. The disciples had just watched Jesus feed over 5,000 people, and then when he walked on water they still didn't understand. Pastor Carl said a hard heart can be softened and that not everyone understands everything all at once. Can you think of a time when something in your faith took a long while to actually sink in?
4. One person shared tonight that all those who touched Jesus' robe did so partly because of the bleeding woman's testimony from the chapter before. Who in your life has acted in faith in a way that affected your own faith, and are you aware of anyone who might be watching how you respond to God right now?
5. Alan raised the question of how often we actually pray expecting a miracle to take place. When you pray, what are you genuinely expecting God to do, and what do you think shapes that expectation?