Jesus Feeds Thousands (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet virtually this week.
Transcript
Good morning it's so good to see you guys this morning in this building it's been a while but we're excited and hopefully this time of worship will be blessing to us and so would you stand as we begin to sing there are tears Oh it's good to see you this morning my name is Chet I'm one of the pastor's here we are excited to be able to gather again as a Church family we know that some people aren't able to make it and don't feel comfortable yet and that is fun and we have the live stream set up.
But we are glad that we are able to gather even in the ability that we have right now having to be spread out some things have changed we're not passing a plate we're not having bulletins we won't be taking communion we're not having anything that people touch we're trying not to touch each other we did discuss it and we did say it was okay to have chairs in here but that's about it we're not gonna have anything else that we can touch and as we gather.
Today I want to remind us that we are people who believe that Jesus is better than everything else and if he's better in all the situation's of life that he is good that he works for our good even when things are difficult and every Sunday that we gather we both gather as a people who are celebrating and who are mourning our Church family is large enough that that we have people who come in and it's been a really good week and it's been a really blessed season and we have people who come in and it's been a really hard season and a really sad one and and that's more poignant this morning as we gather.
Again because we're celebrating that we can get back together that things are moving back towards normal there are some good things to be excited about and there are some real things to mourn right now this has been a difficult season for our nation there are a lot of people who have gotten sick there have been people who have died from this pandemic there's a lot of tumult and difficulty and so as we join together for the first time this morning we are going to do both we're going to mourn and we're going to celebrate.
And so as we start this morning I will pray and then we'll read a psalm of lament and sing a song that is more in that vein and then Isaac will eat read a song of celebration and will sing a song that's more in that vein said that we rejoice with those who rejoice and we mourn with those who mourn and we gather together in a way that understands the situation the unique time that we're in right now so let's pray.
And then we'll read together God we thank you for your grace we thank you that it is sufficient for our need that you have been at work in this situation we thank you for all the people who have been brought back together this morning we thank you for all the people who are able to join via technology that we would not have had even just a few years ago for us to be able to do what we're doing today so that we can gather as your people we pray that you would minister to us through your spirit and that those who mourn we would join them in the morning.
For all the things we have to rejoice in we would rejoice well this morning but that we would be genuine followers of you worshiping you in truth and in spirit in Jesus name Amen if you will stand with me I'm going to read from Psalm 80 and if you will read the underlined portion with me give ear o Shepherd of Israel you who lead Joseph like a flock you who are enthroned upon the cherubim shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up your might and come to save us restore us O.
God let your face shine that we may be saved Oh Lord God of hosts how long will you be angry with your people's prayers you have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure you make us an object of contention for our neighbors and our enemies laugh among themselves restore us O God of hosts let your face shine that we may be saved turn again Oh God of hosts turn I looked down from heaven.
See have regard for this vine the stock that your right hand planted and for the son whom you made strong for yourself they have burned it with fire they have cut it down may they perish at the rebuke of your face but let your hand to be on the man of your right hand the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself then we shall not turn back from you give us life and we will call upon your name restore us O.
Lord God of hosts let your face shine that we may be saved let's continue singing cry he was Christ we for my life he bled and died Christ alone me first just it won't be fast is a reading from Psalm 30 I will extol thee O Lord for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me O Lord my God I cried to you for help and you have healed me O Lord you have brought up my soul from.
See all you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit sing praises to the Lord o you his Saints and give thanks to his holy name for his anger is but for a moment and his failures for a lifetime weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning but seeing this song in celebration we rutila's Christ saw me by his green stand once found by finishing not slave the righteousness of who see a new face the key crazy.
While we will we keep dying making us reconcile to eternal day even in our painting flesh Oh open let's he's drowning baby Jesus Saves hotseat now it's all too easy the glorious founder the one who gives great joy Jesus Christ God we thank you for this moment that we get to come together and gather as your people to give you praise and to recognize that you are truly better than everything else in this world and we pray that as check comes up to preach that you give us ears to hear and hearts to.
Listen to what your word would say in Jesus name Amen you may be seated good morning y'all don't even know how excited I am to preach to real people I didn't know how much I needed to be able to see faces but when you're talking to a camera first of all a lot of times I'm up here and I can see on your faces y'all don't know what the heck I'm talking about and it helps I can then sometimes I can tell it's like I we got it we can move on.
When you're talking to a cameras like best of luck I don't know and I am excited I'm glad that we get to study the Scriptures together this morning I think I've done a decent job when talking to a camera of keeping it short but I'm excited so there's no telling grab your Bibles go to Matthew chapter 14 we are walking through the Gospel of Matthew and we're picking up today right where we left off last week John the Baptist had been arrested he had been proclaiming that King or.
Well he's not King Tetrarch Herod had been sinning he was arrested because of that and that the Tetrarch had him beheaded and this news was brought to Jesus by the disciples of John and that's where we're picking up and so we're gonna pray then we're gonna jump right into this text and see this story of a miracle that Jesus performs and we're gonna study it together and we're gonna see something that I think Matthew intentionally wants us to see and hopefully grow in our love.
For Jesus this morning as we do that let's pray God we thank you for your word we thank you that you recorded these moments for us that we might be built up by them we might be encouraged in them and we pray that our faith would grow this morning and that we would walk out of here with a greater love for Christ and the glory of the Gospel of salvation in Jesus name Amen so we're gonna pick up in verse 13 it says.
Now when Jesus heard this and that this is that John the Baptist had been beheaded in prison so he got this newse he had been in Nazareth if you'll remember he was in Nazareth and he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief so he had been ministering to his hometown and because he was from their hometown they didn't listen to him they were like boy I know your mama so I don't have to pay attention that's kind of what they did.
So they didn't have belief and so he's in Nazareth and it says when he heard this he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself so he's with his disciples we find out they they withdraw he hears sad news and he just tries to get away and that's his hope is to to retreat catch his breath this is a turning point in ministry for him because John the Baptist had gone before him to prepare away and John the Baptist goes before him in death.
Jesus knows the same thing is coming for him that that it's moving forward in the story of he's going to be progressing towards his execution and so he's sad hip this was a friend of his and a a relative of his and so he wants to retreat and so they do they get in a boat and they leave but still verse 13 when the crowds heard it they followed him on foot from the towns and when he went ashore he saw a great crowd.
So he's trying to get away from the crowds he's trying to retreat and so sia galilee is is not massive but it's pretty big and there are little towns dotted all around it and then there are areas where there's nobody and it's got rolling hills around it and so they pick a little spot he and the disciples are just gonna go get away from everyone there like it's gonna be a nice little mountain retreat and instead of it being a nice little mountain retreat it's Gatlinburg like they show up and there's a massive crowd there they didn't know what's coming these people sneak around.
And when they show up they there's a giant crowd and you could almost picture it's like they're landing the boat like ah relaxation it's like when you're a parent and you're like we finally get to go on vacation but you have to take your children with you it's like that ha oh no this is the same this is the exact same just in a different place where they're more bored for some reason that's it they show up and it's the same this whole crowd has shown up.
And so for the disciples I bet they were like hey let's spin this boat around but that's not how Jesus responds and so Jesus sees the crowd and it says he had compassion on them and healed their sick and in that beautiful when Jesus is the perfect embodiment of God the Father when he's the image of the invisible God he's trying to retreat he's trying to rest he's trying to mourn he's trying to pray and people interrupt that and his response is not frustration his response is not to be angry to reject that his response is compassion that he loves them we find out later in.
Verse 21 that there were it says that there were about five thousand men besides women and children so common way for them to count was to just count the men and then they said so there was five thousand men and not counting women and children I was common for them that's not common for us but if you want to mess with somebody try that next time someone asked you how many people were at a place how many people came to your party I heard it was a lot seven men not counting women and children won't go over super.
Well but it'll be fun for you alright but there's five thousand men which means there's about 15,000 or 20,000 people when you add in women and children so this is a picture of 15,000 people so it may have been a little less a little more but they're trying to retreat and they show up 15,000 people and Jesus's response is compassion it's love and says he healed their sick and that's why they ran to him he was a teacher but he was a healer they here he's coming and there's some people who this is their last shot there's somebody who went and said come on mama I know you don't feel good I know you've been.
Coughing I know you can't but we'll take our time but he's coming and we don't know where he's gonna land but we're gonna find him and we'll take a shot at this there's somebody who's carrying his little son who's fever has continued to rise and whose becoming more and more lethargic and not responding and he's just going as fast as he can so he can get to Jesus and Jesus sees him and he loves him and that's how he responds he heals the sick we don't know exactly what time they started.
But we're told in the next verse it says now when it was evening so from the time they arrived till it's getting dark it's most likely I would think it's most likely that they left in the morning because it was easy for them to get away and then people found out they had left so I would guess they left pretty early in the morning they'd show up over there they wouldn't had to go too far people have run around to them and they stay and do this till evening.
Now the people came to see Jesus Jesus teaches and heals and we don't know how much his disciples participated in the healing we don't know if they just did crowd control if they were just like all right everybody you line up he's gonna see everybody if they're like hey he's gonna work his way through no need to push he's gonna get to you we don't know if they actually walked through healing because they he had given them the authority to do this and send them out before.
So we don't know exactly but we know that all of them have been when they expected to get to rest not resting when they expected to get to retreat they expected to get to catch their breath the opposite happened I don't know about you that doesn't go well for me well if I know I'm about to go into something difficult and get my mind right but if I'm expecting to get to rest and and all of a sudden that's just taken away from me I have to get my mind right on the fly maybe you're excellent at that I'm not that good at it.
So there are times where I'm suddenly caught off guard but his disciples just roll with it Jesus who's perfect rolls with it perfectly I don't know how well his disciples handle it but it says this when it's getting late now 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 that does not read harshly but it doesn't read really respectfully either a lot of times they call him.
Lord it sounds a little bit like it's the end of a long day they come to him and say hey days over we're in the middle of nowhere we need to send them away you need to send them on and otherwise they're not gonna get any food and I don't know where you're from but I know this moment and the day cuz I'm from Edgefield I know the moment in the day when you go well if you go and you better go on.
Because everything's gonna be closed that's what they're saying we're in the middle of nowhere so they better go if they're gonna go otherwise everybody's hungry tonight that's what they're saying to him and they say it in a little bit of a we're hungry too fashion that's how I read it you may read a little bit differently doesn't say but it just sounds a little bit like it's been a long day they need to go on if they're gonna eat they're gonna eat part of the reason I say that is this.
But Jesus said this is verse 16 they need not go away you give them something to eat you ever feel like Jesus tells you something that doesn't make a whole lot of sense that's the way the disciples felt often I think he would say something not joking dead serious that seemed very unrealistic that's what it says they said to him we have only five loaves here and two fish now this interaction they come to Jesus and they say you need to send them away.
So that we can have they need to go so then get somebody he says you feed them I think there's a moment where they go look at the crowd look back at each other and I think one of them pretty quickly answered we have five loaves and two fish not in a faith way here Jesus multiply this but in the way you and I would respond like if I said I was doing some work and my son Ellis was there so it was more difficult and you said why doesn't he help you I would say he's two years old that's my answer do you.
See how he made things more difficult he's - I just give you information that now helps you understand what you said doesn't make any sense I also think this came from one of the disciples who had already counted as the loaves and fish and was doing some quick math on how much that would split up between 13 people that's what it seems like y'all feed them we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish and if I'm doing this right I get 1/3 of a loaf depending on how hungry Philip is cuz sometimes it's not that hungry I've been trying to talk some of the disciples into fasting I think they need it like I think.
That's that was kind of the answer was we have 5 loaves to fish like your plan doesn't make any sense I don't mean to be rude Jesus your plan doesn't did no that's kind of the answer he gets that's kind of the answer we give Jesus often when he says something and were just like I know I did the math for you won't work so he says brings them here to me then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Now if you're the disciples again it doesn't say all this I'm just trying to think through this story I think some of the disciples got excited I think some of them thought oh he's about to do something some of the people who have faith you know like you've been around these people things are getting worse and worse and worse and you're with some people in the realistic people are like hey things have gotten worse and worse and worse and then there's a person in there with yous got the gift of faith and they're like.
Jesus is about to do something and the realistic persons like I hope so now would be a good time he hasn't seemed to be doing something yet but there are some people I think some of the disciples were like oh he's about to do something I think the disciple who'd already counted the stuff thought all right if we take 5 loaves and we give it to 15,000 people let's not count the women and children just feed them in like I think he was trying to figure out he's coming down this like I'm not gonna get to eat like I think that's probably just this doesn't seem like I don't know what's about to happen.
But so he says he orders them to sit down on the grass and taking the five loaves and two fish and this is normal travel food for them would have been some baked loaves he'd have gotten relatively recently the two fish would probably be salted or pickled travel food for us this is this is the type of food you take to a picnic kind of food staple two hotdogs per minute cheese sandwiches depending on your level of fancy and what you like or don't like.
But that's kind of what what they have 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 and they all ate and were satisfied and they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over and those who ate were about five thousand men besides women and children so he takes five loaves two fish he feeds fifteen thousand people now that's a lot of food.
If you have ever planned an event and tried to figure out how much food should be there that's a difficult part of the event planning this is the part of the event planning where my wife and I argue because my assumptions on how much people eat are based off of me and her assumptions on how much people eat are based off of her the last event we had she looked at me and said people will not be drinking continuously the whole time they're here everybody doesn't need six drinks and I was like.
If they want them they can have them and if they don't drink them I'll drink them later plus I want to drink the whole time I'm there sodas and stuff guys please posts they focused it was a birthday party for my child okay I'm not drinking the whole time I was there okay I just realized how it sound when I said it I want to drink the whole time felt like I needed to clarify that feeding 15,000 people even if their whole boat had been full of food I don't think it was enough food.
For everybody to eat and be satisfied and have 12,000 baskets look at twelve thousand twelve baskets left over I got excited and I think it was enough if they would had it that way but Jesus makes this happen and you know at some point the disciples were like okay and then pretty quickly they were like this is already more food than we had and I don't know how it happened the Bible doesn't tell us how it happened it tells us that it happened it doesn't tell us how it happened.
So I don't know if when Jesus broke it it immediately became to Morelos I don't know if when the disciples are breaking it it kept going or if they had to keep going back to Jesus we don't know we know that he miraculously fed 15,000 people and I love this miracle so encouraging for a couple of reasons one its glorious and transcendental I mean it is above and beyond he is displaying his holiness and his divinity because he's creating food this points back to Moses who gave the Israelites manna in the wilderness.
But he actually didn't give it to him God did he just kind of was the intermediary this points back to Elijah who feeds a hundred men with a couple of barley loaves but Jesus out does both of those he decides of his own volition to do this because He is God and he over produces for fifteen thousand people it's amazing you know at some point the disciples are kidding this is not going what on earth is happening and how long has he been able to do this.
Because feels like we should have done this before for us I wouldn't had to count the five loaves and two fish and do the math but Jesus decides in this moment that he's gonna take care of her badi a love how big this miracle is and how absolutely simple it is how small it is there were people there that day who probably gotten cured from blindness there were people there that day who maybe had neurological damage or had epilepsy or had some brain wave stuff that he fixed.
For them there were people there that day who had never walked and he straightened out their legs and gave them muscle and I mean went from having legs that have never been used to perfectly healthy God-given legs and then he feeds everybody a meal they're gonna eat it they're gonna burn up the calories I said it's so simple so daily it's so routine they would have most haven't been been fine if they hadn't eaten could have still made it home would have been a little hungry most of these people probably used to going to bed a little hungry.
But he feeds all of them and he satisfies all of them with food this is a beautiful picture of how God works for us how he blesses us how he provides for us that he does miraculous things and sometimes we're told that like are you in the worst spot ever you can run to him he can heal he can redeem he can fix what is terribly broken and guess what he can also provide for you in the mundane and the simple the daily this is actually a little picture of why Christians believe in tithing why we believe in giving financially to the.
Lord and his work and being generous to other people because he can make the math not work all thirteen disciples also got to eat their fill even though the math didn't make any sense and so there are times where we're coming it's like I'm doing the math on how my budgets gonna work but I'm gonna give to the Lord because I'm gonna trust him to be able to provide in ways that I can't see coming in a way that gives him glory that provides.
For us but you see Matthew is not just showing us that this simple kindness that Jesus does for all these people he wants us to see something else and before we move to that I wanna point something out so that I love about this story do you know how nice it is to have all the food you need the right amount of food to be able to eat as much as you want we're Americans we get to do that quite often you know.
When you're really hungry to have all the foods you want some of you your whole life you don't eat much every meal you sat down you had all the food you wanted some of you that's not the case you've had to do the quick math on probably shouldn't eat as much as I want I can swing by a place on the way home they have all the food they want for people who don't usually get all the food they want and they've all just been healed there's a family sitting down there getting the biggest meal they've gotten in a long time.
While their child has never walked his running laps around them there's somebody sitting there with their mama that they thought they were gonna have to say goodbye to a little too soon and she's challeng for the first time without having coughing fits without saying it hurts without them having to force her to eat she's just eaten there's somebody sitting there and when someone reached out to hand him a loaf saw the hand come for the first time ever was able to reach right up and get their own food not have somebody tap them not have them help them they've been given new eyes and they're sitting there just staring happily eating maybe not even paying.
That much attention to the food they're getting that they have this this is blessed this is the most beautiful picnic you've ever been to that Jesus has worked this miraculously and then he feeds all of them but Matthew wants us to see something a little bit beyond that you see the way Matthew writes this story and the way he writes the Last Supper he intentionally has them overlap he writes this story and then when he writes the story of the Last Supper in Matthew chapter 26 he has them overlap and he does that on purpose.
And so I just want to show you all that and for a little bit we're just gonna have some slides going so that you can see what I'm talking about but in the Greek he intentionally writes it out so that it's bleh that he retells this story so this is the top part is gonna be Matthew chapter 14 and the bottom part is going to be Matthew chapter 26 so now when it was evening the disciples came to him we're gonna jump to 19.
Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass when it was evening he reclined at the table though that phrasing is the same so when it was evening when it was evening and ordered them to sit down and he reclined it's translated a little bit differently in English but in the Greek same phrasing he changes the verb tense for it being a bunch of people and one person but it's the same thing keep going go to the next section.
So it says and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven said a blessing then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples so Jesus took bread and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples so taking and took loaves and bread same word he looked up to heaven he said a blessing same broke it's the same thing gave it to the disciples it's the same thing so he writes this out.
So that these these are overlapping he is connecting how this story plays out using the same and you can tell these stories differently but he's intentionally wording it this way on purpose he does it a few more times so if you go to the next one he says that gave it to the disciples again that's on the bottom of verse 26 says they all ate and we're satisfied take eat this is my body he took a cup when he had given thanks he gave it to them and saying drink all of you Matthew.
When he writes out and you can show one that shows both where he just plays it out in the same order in the same way because Matthew wants us to see that what Jesus did in the feeding of the 5,000 is a picture of what he ultimately came to do when he when he when we read in Matthew chapter 26 that he it was evening and he reclined and he took bread and he said a blessing and he broke it and he gave it to the disciples we're supposed to hear what he's already told us.
When he did this with the 5,000 that Jesus on a more personal level as telling this is what I came to do and in that moment he's saying this is my body broken for you this is my blood for the forgiveness of sins take it all of you and he's telling them this is what I'm going to accomplish and when Matthew ties these stories together we get to look back at the story where he feeds the 5,000 and we get to.
See the Gospel in it Jesus says take a seat and he provides that he is the one who accomplishes the disciples said it's time to put these people to work send them off tell them to go get what they need Jesus says no let him have a seat and Jesus provides for them all that they need that he satisfies you see one of the things that happens in this story is that it's not about how he did it but that he did it and that's one of the things we.
See in the Gospel as the New Testament writers are writing they tell a some of how it works but mostly they tell us that it works that his blood is sufficient for the forgiveness of sins that those who trust in him will be saved that it's not about all the intricacies of how it plays out although God did make it very intricate and the Bible does tell us about that but primarily what you are to know is that it works if you come to.
Jesus all who call on him will be saved none will be putting shame you trust in his name that he provides fully and he satisfies everyone I mentioned this earlier but my wife and I have different we like the same type of food I just need more of it and there are times where we're at a wedding or some kind of a party or something and and we get in line to get food I think my wife peeks to see what type of food it is I peek to.
See how much food is there I can usually eat whatever I just want a lot of it I'm working on that but that's how it works for me throughout life and there are times where I'll hit I'll tap her I don't hit her tapper and I say baby they don't have enough food and so I do something that I think is both gracious and selfish so it's a wash that's how that works I'll just say let's eat later I won't I want to be able to eat and the food.
So I'll just say well they don't have enough I don't need to go through that one and make myself either eat too much of their food or make myself sad by eating just a little bit of something that tastes good and so I'll just say let's stop and I know I know that if I was on the edge of this 15,000 person crowd I'd hit an answer were the closest to town first of all we'll get there and be first in line also nope they do not have enough food.
If they had enough food we have already seen it - they'd have been carrying out trunks of it when we watched them get off the boat I can see the boat that didn't load it down with food they're not feeding everybody they started handing out food everybody sit down started handing out food I've been like mm-hmm and there are some of us who are coming to God with that same general attitude it's not enough don't have enough to cover my amount of sin can't handle what I'm bringing to the table some people come with the exact opposite I'm too small this is too simple why would he care.
For me but he feeds them a simple need but he provides all that they need and he satisfies everyone there no matter the size of the appetite I got two boys one of them I can put a pig he has food allergies we just feed him beings that's pretty much all it is you can put beans in front of him and he will shovel them into his face the other day I said hot dogs down on the table they were still cooling off he climbed up the table went Moo and grabbed the hot dogs and poured them towards himself my older son he'll say things like didn't we eat yesterday dude you gotta eat it.
Multiple times today some of you feel like I don't have that much sin you need a Savior you need him to work for you regardless of what you're bringing to the table and some of you think there's no way he can handle what I'm bringing and he can there were 12 basket full left when they've gathered manna in the wilderness they had exactly what they needed every time when Jesus provided it was more than enough overcompensated over-covered His grace is lavished upon us that.
When you come to him and your brokenness and your need some of you say I already came to him I already believe and then I've run off into sin he has grace sufficient do you know how beautiful and glorious that is that he knows your every need he knows your every moment he knows the simple needs you have and the extravagant needs you have the little sins you commit consistently and the ones that you committed that brings shame to your soul every time you.
Remember them and he's covered it fully satisfied but he sat there with five fifteen thousand people and he took loaves and he said my body broken for you my body broken for you he tried to retreat to get away because you knew that his death was coming and then he sat and had a communion meal with fifteen thousand people to image what he where he was headed so that he might save and redeem a people and that we might be brought together to have a glorious meal with him where we're all healed and were all satisfied and he sits at the head of the table with the people that he's redeemed his grace is sufficient.
I don't know what you're going through right now I don't know the fears you have I don't know the simple needs but I know that His grace is sufficient that his provision is good enough and some of us ought to remember eyes this story so that we can remind ourselves with a really simple picture how he has compassion how he provides and how His grace is sufficient to satisfy the deepest longings of our soul and to satisfy the depths of the debt of sin that we have you need to memorize that you need to meditate on this you need to remind yourself that you need to tell yourself this story and say that.
If right now he saw me he would have compassion and he would break his body for me that I might be redeemed he would shed his blood that I might be welcome so that I might joyously sit and be healed and partake in the glorious salvation that he offers and if you have not yet come to Christ with your sin you need to he will not put to shame anyone who trusts in his name His grace is sufficient I grew up singing a song that would say there's room at the cross.
For you though millions have come there's still room for one yes there's room at the cross for you and that's a reality for you and all your sin and all your baggage is Grace satisfies and it is sufficient let's pray now we thank you that there's room that it wouldn't matter if there was 15,000 or 20,000 or 25,000 you would have made enough to cover them and that your blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins and it works that if we come to you and trust in you and partake in you you redeem you redeemed to the uttermost that you lavish grace on us we pray that we would celebrate that truth this morning.
And that some people in this room would believe it for the very first time in Jesus name Amen just easy my my soul me everything Jesus to God - no turning no turn No Oh No No No to follow Jesus no turning back to follow Jesus no turning back maybe see if this is your first Sunday here with us that was intermission this is our second sermon I'm just getting to have a few quick announcements before we get out of here.
Today during all this we had to go to virtual community groups community groups are our primary way that we walk through life being Church family that we get around one another in life to know one another walk with one another and to be good missionaries together in our city if you are just checking out what it means to be a follower of Jesus we would love for you to join a community group to get around other people who are following Jesus.
See what it looks like in normal life so usually we would hand out a card but we're afraid that we would give you something if we did that more than the card so if you grab your phone you can pull up the camera this QR code will take you right to where you need to go so that you can fill out information to join a group if you're online you can go to Mill City Casey comm and go to our group's page to help join a group.
And if you have no clue what that is and that startles you I'll be outside to talk with you about groups on your way out if you're interested in joining a group we do want to say happy Father's Day we are proud of the followers we have in our Church family fatherhood is extremely important and it is waning in the u.s. and so we appreciate encourage fatherhood masculinity and leading and raising children and so we are proud of you thankful for you we hate that we missed Mother's Day we were not able to gather.
Then but at least we get to celebrate the people who made Mother's Day possible fathers sorry I couldn't resist we're sorry we missed Mother's Day and we're glad that we get together this morning but we do want to say happy Father's Day we have a few things to celebrate before we pray and one item that we need to share that we need to mourn together so first during the time from when we met last till now our Church family has had three babies born in the middle of a pandemic three healthy babies.
And so we're yeah excited miss Wilma Howard's son Jaime Howard who is in a long-term care facility they said that he had gotten coronavirus they had to move him to a more intense care facility and he has gotten better and they have moved him back and so that is wonderful news and so we're excited about that and praising the Lord on that and this past week the husband one of our Church family members basil Mac mr. miss Ginny Mac's husband passed away during surgery and it was a surprise he was he was going in.
For a fairly routine operation and and did not make it out and so be praying for the Mac family they will have services this coming Tuesday and so if you are interested in being able to go by and visit either at the visitation or being at the funeral we have that information for you but if you're not able to do that or didn't really know them well enough be praying for the Mac family because this is this is a hard a hard hit.
And so with that we will close in prayer God we thank you that you are near to the brokenhearted and we thank you that as a Church we get to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice and we pray that we would do that well as your people who long for the day that you return and we celebrate with you the feasts in your kingdom of all those who have been healed and redeemed and until that day comes may we be faithful missionaries.
For your name Amen.