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Sermon for Sunday, November 1, 2009


“Poured Out Blessings – Availability”

Malachi 3:10; John 6:1-11

It was always a dreaded statement: “take out a pencil and piece of paper.”  That meant that some teacher woke up early that morning grouchy and decided to give a pop quiz. It was almost as if the teacher had known I had not studied and was not prepared so “let’s have a pop quiz!” I am not going to ask you to take out your bulletin and number from one to ten for biblical pop quiz, but I want to give you a test that you should already know the answer.

Which of the miracles of Jesus is recorded in all four gospels? Of course you know the answer. It is too predictable since the scripture was read a moment ago. The miracle of the feeding of the 5000 shows up in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It is the only one; not the raising a Lazarus, a great miracle.  Not Jesus walking on water, pretty good sight. It must have been a startling and it said to the church among other things that Jesus is the Lord of the land and the sea and everything. Walking on the water was a marvelous miracle, but did not show up in every gospel.

The one miracle that the church never forgot and end up recorded in all four gospels was the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 with the loaves and fish. It is a powerful passage.

When John told the story, he said that a little boy was the only one who brought lunch that day. One can only imagine what that conversation was like as this boy was ready to leave home to go to hear Jesus preach. “Mom, I’m going to hear Jesus preach today.” “Okay, you can go but I want you to take your lunch. You will get hungry.” “Mom, I don’t want to do that. I’ll be the only one there with a bag lunch. Let me stop by McKosher’s and eat.” “No, you are not walking out this door without a lunch.” Most boys and girls don’t want to be different from the crowd. We may owe this miracle to the insistence of a caring mother.

We talked about this passage several months ago. At that time the emphasis was on Jesus being the bread of life, but what about the one who brought the fish and the loaves to Jesus? John says it was a boy. He brought what he had to Jesus. Now, I know that it is easy to over sugar coat and almost fairy tale this part of the story and I do not want to do that. It would be easy to fabricate a story where a little boy just comes to Philip and give what he had to Jesus. It makes for a good story from the Bible. And maybe it happened like that, but it might have been that the boy might have been reluctant to give away his food since it was all he had. You play it out any way you want, but the key point is that it was given to Jesus.

As we prepare to come to the Lord’s Table this morning I want you to remember that what we bring to Christ can make a difference.  When you and I bring our lives, our gifts, our priorities, great things can happen in our lives, in our church, in our world.

Regardless of how the bread and the fish got to Jesus, they were put in his hand. Last week we talked about accountability. Today it is availability. Not some of the bread or some of the fish, but all was given. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was once asked the secret of his spiritual power. He responded, “Jesus Christ has always had all of me there is to have.” That is the secret! The willingness to get ourselves out of our hands and into the hands of Christ.

Jesus managed to feed 5000 plus people on that day with what was brought to him. What could he do with what you bring to him?  We talk about “Poured Out Blessings” about which the prophet Malachi spoke. What could Jesus Christ do with your life, your gifts, and your priorities if you brought them all to Him? Would some child be taught about the love of Jesus?  Would a youth be sent to Passport?  Would Sunday school literature be purchased? Would there be music on Sunday morning during worship? Would there be missionaries sent to the uttermost parts of the world? Would someone have the gospel shared with them? Would people be visited in the hospital? Would blessings be poured on a world that is in need of our God who loves people just as they are in the hopes of who they can become?

Fred Craddock tells the story of growing up in a home where his mother was always cooking food, usually for other people.  Craddock would come home from school and enter the house that was filled with the wonderful smell of brownies or other goodies. He would make his way to the kitchen and his mother would say, “Don’t touch, it’s for the church.”   The next day he would come home to something equally wonderful and she would again say, “Don’t touch, Fred, it’s for the church.”

Craddock said he resented this for a time. Until that day he was old enough to take what his mom cooked to the person who needed it. She was a widow down the street, alone now in a world that had suddenly gone gray. Fred took her a tuna casserole. When she opened the door, he handed it her and said, “It’s from the church.”   The woman hugged him and began to cry. Because what young Fred had taken her was not just a tuna casserole. It was love in a lonely world. And love is always a miracle.

Desmond Tutu once said, “Every time we do something good, God takes that good and weaves it into the pattern of the universe.” Even if it is five loaves and fishes.

Even if it is a tuna casserole.

The Table is all set for us to eat. The bread and the cup are those elements that hopefully help never forget Jesus gave himself. Jesus never asks of us what he had not already given. He gives himself. We may not have five loaves and two fishes. We may not have a tuna casserole.  But we have ourselves. Is it enough? Could it possibly be enough? It is absurd and ridiculous to even ask the question. But if we give it to Jesus, it is enough. It is more than enough.

As we come to the table, what does God need to do with you and with what you bring? In the hands of God, what we offer can make a difference in us and in our world. It can be miraculous.

Contact Us

Address
First Baptist Church, Ashland
800 Thompson Street
Ashland, VA 23005

Phone
(804) 798-9014

Fax
(804) 798-9043

E-mail
fbcashland@verizon.net

Sunday Worship

  8:30 a.m. –  Worship Service
  9:45 a.m. –  Sunday School
11:00 a.m. –  Worship Service