Introduction

What are some things you are most thankful for?

Scripture

Matthew 14: 13 - 21  ESV

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Discussion Questions

1. Feeding many people is an event in Jesus' life that we are used to, and perhaps skim over when we read it. Read the verses carefully and answer the following questions:

            a) Why was Jesus looking for a private place to go?  Would a private place be important if it were you?  (See Matthew 14: 1 - 13)

            b) What did Jesus discover when he got there? What did he do, and why?

            c) What were the disciples concerned about? What did they want to happen?

            d) What did Jesus tell them to do?

            e) What food did they have available?

            f) What did Jesus do?

            g) How many people were there? How much food was left over?

2. a) What is God's attitude toward people who are floundering in some way?

    b) What is often our attitude?

3. a) What is the difference between a need and a want? Why does it often seem like these two things are the same? Why is it important to see the difference?

    b) Which do you pray to God for the most - your needs or your wants? Now that you think about your choice of prayer, how do you feel about that choice?

4. Where and in what ways do you experience abundance in your life? In this abundance, what are some of the things you could give away that would enrich the lives of others?

5. Where do you experience scarcity in your life? Pastor Brian calls scarcity "a sense of lack" and lists some examples; a lack of patience; a lack of self control; a lack of spiritual strength. Which of these are relatable to you? Can you add any ideas from your life to this list?

6. a) Do we need to be strong, creative, intelligent, etc. ... for God to use us?

    b) We might look around us and think that we don't really have what is needed to help out at our church, or to work in some way at a Christian community organization, or even to be a very effective witness of our faith to people we know. When God looks at us, what does He see?

7. What scriptures can you think of that show us that God's abundance and love for us is almost unimaginable?

8. In what way(s) can you share God's abundance with you with others? Pray about it, and be and be ready to act.