Sunday, Aug 14 Jesus Feeds the 5000

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray walked the congregation through all four Gospel accounts of the feeding of the five thousand, reading them in sequence and letting the details of each one speak for themselves. The sermon landed on a simple, recurring observation: what looks like far too little, placed in Jesus' hands, is enough. The setup in all four accounts is the same. The disciples see a crowd that needs to eat,...

Read together

1. Hebrews 13:8 quoted to open the prayer: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever
2. Deuteronomy (unspecified verse) quoted in prayer: the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, great, mighty, and awesome, shows no partiality and cannot be bribed
3. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 quoted before the offering song: rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will in Christ Jesus
4. Philippians 1:6 mentioned as key verse for Monday night study: confident that God who began the good work will continue and finish it
5. Luke 9 (implied, unspecified verse) read as the Luke account of the feeding of the five thousand
6. 2 Kings 4:42-44 quoted as Old Testament parallel to the feeding miracle, Elisha and the twenty barley loaves feeding a hundred men with leftovers
7. Matthew (unspecified chapter) read as the Matthew account of the feeding of the five thousand
8. Mark (unspecified chapter) read as the Mark account of the feeding of the five thousand
9. John 6 (referenced by name) read as the John account of the feeding of the five thousand, including Andrew, the boy, and the people declaring Jesus the prophet
10. Deuteronomy (unspecified verse) quoted as Moses telling the people God will raise up a prophet like me from among you, to him you shall listen
11. 1 John 4:7 quoted in the benediction: dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl mentioned that the disciples' first instinct was to send the crowd away rather than help them. When have you felt the urge to send a problem away rather than bring it to Jesus, and what happened?
2. The sermon pointed to the parallel between Elisha feeding a hundred men with twenty loaves in 2 Kings and Jesus feeding thousands with five loaves and two fish. What does that connection tell you about who Jesus is, and how does it affect the way you read the Old Testament?
3. Mark's account includes the detail that the disciples asked whether they should spend two hundred denarii, roughly two hundred days' wages, on bread. What does that detail reveal about how the disciples were sizing up the problem, and when have you measured a situation by what you had rather than by what God could do?
4. Florine shared that playing piano at this church helped him heal during a low point in his life, and Pastor Carl connected the little boy's willingness to give his lunch to the idea that God uses whatever we hand over to Him. What is something you have held back from God because it seemed too small or too personal to matter?
5. Pastor Carl closed by noting that Jesus gave thanks publicly for a tiny amount of food before anything miraculous had happened. How does your own practice of giving thanks, or not giving thanks, reflect what you actually believe about where your resources come from?