How many loaves do you have?
Questions Jesus Asked, Pt. 1
Every time we gather as a group, these are some ways we ensure the best group discussion:
We make the circle safe by staying honest and transparent - leave the masks at the door.
We keep it inside the circle. Each person’s story is theirs alone to share.
We look to the Bible for wisdom and truth, and work together to let it shape how we see the world.
We don’t try to fix each other in front of each other or give unsolicited advice. We lovingly save hard conversations for private moments.
We respect each others’ time by starting and ending when we say we will.
We believe that in Jesus Christ, there is hope for everyone.
John 6:5-9
“When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
Matthew 15:34
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
John 6:10-12
“Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are leftover. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.”
God wants to involve you in the miracle
Romans 12:4-8
“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
1 Corinthians 12:15-21
“Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”
1 Peter 2:9
“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.”
1 Corinthians 12:4-6
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.”
What you place in the hands of God matters
What you place in the hands of God multiplies
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to Him Who, by the power that is at work within us, is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams - To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Proverbs 11:24
“The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
Romans 12:1-2
“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.”
Start with M.U.D.
Memorable + Understandable + Doable
What was the most memorable part of the message or service this weekend for you personally? Why?
Did anything you heard challenge or influence how you think about God or your life?
How can what you learned influence or change how you live in everyday life? What tangible steps would it take to make that change a reality?
Additional Questions
We all have questions for God. We want answers, direction, help, and more. But this series is all about the flipside: questions Jesus has for us.
What are some of the biggest questions you have for God?
Why is it so important to pay attention to the questions Jesus asked? Aside from this week’s message, are there any other questions from Jesus that have had an impact on you?
Jesus asked this question, "how many loaves do you have?”, in the midst of an impossible scenario.
What seemingly impossible scenarios are in or around your life right now? What situations seem to have no hope for change?
God wants to involve us in the miracles He does. And we all desire significance, adventure, and meaning - which is exactly what He’s offering.
Where does the most significance and meaning come from in your life right now?
Read Romans 12:4-8 together. Everybody has something to offer, and anybody can be used by God to help people.
When you hear that, what thoughts in your mind push back against it? What thoughts about yourself, about your worth, or about your value threaten that while it may be true about others, it might not be true about you? What do you think is holding you back from being a part of God’s miracles?
What would have to be true, or what would have to happen,
Pick one strength or gift that you feel like God has given you - no matter how small it is. Give one example of how that gift could be used to benefit someone else in a meaningful way.
Name one person in your life that is struggling, that needs help, or that needs hope. What could God be trying to do in their life through you? What do you have that they need?
Proverbs 11:24 says “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.”
How has the choice to be generous with your time, talents, or resources benefited you and made your world “larger and larger”? What about the opposite?
What’s one step of generosity that you could take this week to make a Kingdom impact of some kind? How do you think it will make your world “larger” and your heart bigger?
