August 6, 2017

Matthew 14:13-21
Preacher:  John Paul Westin

“You invited how many people to dinner? What were you thinking?”

As a young husband (without proper experiential knowledge of how important communication is for good marriages), I would sometimes invite people home for meals without letting Carolyn know in advance. While I knew she would never refuse a stranger whom I had invited to dinner, I learned gradually not to invite people without checking with her first. It wasn’t fair either to her or our surprise guest and it wasn’t very thoughtful of me not to forewarn her. So it seems a little strange to find Jesus, the only perfect human being that ever lived, surprising his disciples by telling them (without warning) that they should feed over five thousand dinner guests! Whatever was he thinking?...

Over the next week we invite you to sit down (by yourself or even better) with your small group, a friend, family member or soul-mate, and (think about) discuss the following questions:
​

1. ​If you were asked to feed five thousand people at a picnic, what would you serve?
2. Why does Jesus withdraw (v. 13)? How does he react to the disruption?
3. Describe how the disciples might have felt in verse 15. In verses 16-17? How about 18-20?
4. What new power do the disciples discover in Jesus?
5. What is the lesson here? What insight about Jesus will you remember from this story?
6. How have you seen Jesus stretch your resources beyond what you could imagine?