In our Gospel lesson for today we will see that Jesus has compassion on us. We celebrate and appreciate the true care He showers on us. And out of gratitude for that. We hope to share His compassion with others. Jesus fed a huge crowd. Because He had compassion. With the same love and care He serves you. Every single day.
Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
Hymn: #72 - “Rock of Ages“
Confession/Absolution:
LORD - we pray to you also for the forgiveness of our sins. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father.
In Your compassion forgive us our sins. Known and unknown. Things done. And left undone. And so uphold us by Your Spirit.
That we may live and serve you in newness of life. To the honor and glory of Your Name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you. Forgive you all your sins.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. And may He strengthen you in all goodness.
And by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
Mark 6:30-44
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them,
“How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Hymn #71 “Praise to the LORD the Almighty”
In our Gospel reading for today Jesus fed a huge crowd! Some believe that the crowd could have been over 5,000 as only "men" were counted. If you would count "women and children" it could have been up to 15,000. Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana seats close to 17,000 people....
According to the phone conversation I had with the concessions manager the following items were sold at the Indiana v Wisconsin game, on Saturday, March 12, 1994.
On that day they sold…
400 1bs of hot dogs,
3,000 popcorn boxes,
8,200 cups of coke (about 1,000 gallons)
684 candy bars,
436 nachos,
284 boxes of caramel corn,
917 soft pretzels,
247 polish sausages,
100 sandwiches,
179 bags of peanuts,
50 muffins,
160 cups of coffee.
This game was played in the afternoon. With tip-off scheduled for 2:00 pm. Most fans had eaten their breakfast. And had had their lunch also! Besides all this fans had to pay for their food at the concessions stand!
Jesus feeds the crowd freely. Without cost! When we pray "give us this day our daily bread" we can know that the Savior will supply us with all that we need to support our body and life.
In the Bible. We have some wonderful examples of people who showed compassion and kindness. You know who gave us the greatest demonstration of compassion. That’s right: Jesus!
Jesus devoted His whole life. Showing concern and care for those around Him. Throughout the Gospels. We see Him performing amazing miracles. That helped other people. He made sick people better.
He provided food for those who were hungry. He healed people who couldn’t see. Or walk. And even brought people back to life!
The Bible tells us that Jesus looked at crowd and had compassion.
He saw needy people as “sheep without a shepherd.” As though they were lost and needed a leader to help and to guide them.
Jesus served people because He loved them. He cared about those He encountered and wanted to make their lives better.
And just as He cared for people back then. He still cares for you. Jesus is still full of compassion. Jesus is, in fact, very much alive today. We might not see Him physically on Earth. But He is still present with us. He still does have compassion for us. And wants to help us. We need only ask and trust that He will give us all we need and more.
It might not mean a miracle. We might still face troubles and disappointments in this life. But He has overcome the world. And He died to give us new eternal life with Him someday. And He has promised to place people in our life to love and care for us.
God so loved the world and had compassion on us. Despite our faults. That He sent Jesus to help us. Jesus shows compassion, through His earthly life. Through His current presence. And through His promises forever!
So we can rejoice and be glad for that compassion that Jesus showed. And as we give thanks for it. We can look for ways that we can show other people we care and have compassion.
Lord thank you for your love and care. Thank you for showing us compassion. You have given care and blessings. Thank you for sending Jesus to us. Help us to show love and kindness to others.
Luther's Seal copyright Ed Riojas, Higher Things
https://ministry-to-children.com/what-is-compassion-childrens-sermon-mark-6/
Words –1,125
Passive Sentences –4.0%
Readability –82.7%
Reading Level -3.6
No comments:
Post a Comment