| Title: Feeding the 5000
Theme: Little becomes much in God’s hands. Proper 13 (18) Year A
Object: A paper bag with five peanut butter crackers and a couple of pieces of fruit.
Scripture: They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. Matthew 14:20 (NIV)
Are you hungry? I am! Sometimes I get really hungry during church. What would you think if we had a little snack this morning instead of a children’s sermon? I brought a bag with my snack in it. Let’s see what is in here. Oh my, We have a problem. All I have is five peanut butter crackers and a couple of pieces of fruit. I don’t think there is any way that would be enough to feed all of you. Let’s see. (Start counting the children.) One, two, three, four, five… no way. There just isn’t enough for all of you.
That reminds me of something that happened to Jesus and his disciples one day. Jesus and his disciples were very tired and needed some time to relax. They got into a boat and went away to a quiet place to rest. When they reached their destination, there were people there waiting for Jesus. The Bible tells us that there were Five thousand men and who knows how many women and children! They wanted Jesus to teach them and heal the sick. Jesus needed to rest, but when he saw the people, he loved them so much that he forgot all about being tired. He healed the sick and taught the people about the kingdom of heaven.
Soon it was time to eat. The disciples went to Jesus and said, “It is getting late and we are hungry. Send the people away so that we can go and get something to eat.”
Jesus answered, “They don’t need to go away,” Jesus said, “you feed them.”
“Feed them? How can we feed them? There is a little boy over here with five loaves of bread and two small fish. That is all the food we have.”
Jesus told the disciples bring him the loaves and fish and to tell everyone to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the loaves and fish and looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He then gave the food to the disciples to give to the people.
If I were to share my snack with you today, there might be enough for each of you to have one tiny bite. But when Jesus blessed the loaves and fish, the Bible says that everyone ate until they were full! Wait! That’s not all! After they had eaten until they were full, they gathered up the leftovers and there were twelve baskets full. Can you imagine taking these five crackers and two cookies and feeding everyone here today and still having food left over? We couldn’t do it, but God could.
What can we learn from this Bible lesson today? We learn that when we give what we have to God, he can take it, bless it, and do more than we could ever imagine. Even though we may not have very much, little becomes much when it is placed in God’s hands.
Dear Father, just as Jesus used the lunch of a small boy to feed more than five thousand people, we pray that you will use the boys and girls here today to bless everyone they meet each day. Amen. |