August 30, 2020

Opening sentence

Jesus unrolled the scroll
and found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.”

Call to praise

O God, your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with us.

Glory …
Glory to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm 1

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Thanksgiving

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High.
We declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night.
Amen.

Call to discipleship

Jesus said, I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me
will never be thirsty.
Lord Jesus, you have the words of eternal life.

Mark 6:30-44

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

 So, they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.  But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So, he began teaching them many things.

 By this time, it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late.  Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.  So, they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.  Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.  The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Message and Breakout room discussion

1.How did you find the stories impacted you, both from scripture and the personal story shared? Example, did it bring up memories, stir any thoughts or emotions, awaken or confirm any yearnings? Tell us about that.

2. Regardless of where you were, can you think of a time and place where you were(are) a part of a ministry’s / community’s vision and mission that really engaged your person calling – what you were made for, called to do, etc.? How did that, (or is that) impact you?

Our Father who art in heaven

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory forever. Amen.

Benediction

Now may the Lord of peace
give us peace at all times in all ways.
The Lord be with us.
Amen.