Little Is Much When God Is in It

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray walked through the feeding of the five thousand as told in all four Gospels, reading the accounts in sequence and letting them speak for themselves. The thread running through every version of the story is the same: Jesus took what little there was, gave thanks for it, broke it, and kept giving until everyone was full and there was plenty left over. The message was simply that little is...

Read together

1. Luke 9:12-17 primary text for the feeding of the 5000, read and expounded in full
2. 2 Kings 4:42-44 Elisha feeds 100 men with 20 barley loaves, cited as Old Testament parallel to the feeding miracle
3. Matthew 14:15-21 Matthew's account of the feeding of the 5000, read and compared with the other gospels
4. Mark 6:35-44 Mark's account of the feeding of the 5000, noted as longer with additional details including the 200 denarii
5. John 6:1-14 John's account, cited for personal details including Philip and Andrew, and the boy with five barley loaves and two fish
6. John 20:30-31 cited to explain John's use of the word sign and his purpose in recording the miracles
7. Deuteronomy 18 Moses foretells a prophet to come, referenced when the crowd says Jesus is the prophet who is to come into the world
8. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus, cited in connection with Jesus giving thanks before the miracle
9. 1 John 4:7 let us love one another, quoted at the close of the service

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray pointed to the disciples' first instinct being 'send them away, it's not our responsibility.' When have you responded to a need that way, and what would it have looked like to respond the way Jesus asked instead?
2. The sermon drew a connection between Elisha feeding a hundred men with twenty loaves in 2 Kings 4 and Jesus feeding five thousand. What does it mean to you that Jesus did something so similar to, but so much greater than, what Elisha did?
3. Jesus looked up to heaven and gave thanks before breaking the bread, even though what he had in hand was nowhere near enough. What does that tell you about how Jesus approached a situation that looked impossible, and how does that challenge the way you face your own limitations?
4. The boy in John's account brought his five barley loaves and two fish and offered them. Florin and Violetta are offering what they have to go to Romania. What is the 'little' that you have been holding back from putting in Jesus' hands, and what keeps you from offering it?
5. Pastor Ray closed by saying you do not need to know Greek or Hebrew to share the gospel, that you know who saved you and you can share freely from that. How does that land for you, and what would it look like practically to do that this week?