Matthew 14 Children's Sermon

Today my sermon for big church comes from Matthew 14:13-21

I wanted to talk this week about a mistake I make. Maybe it's a mistake you make too?  You see, I love to read. One of my favorite things to do is go to bookstores. And when I go - whether it's a big bookstore or a small one - I always seem to find something I feel like I need to buy. Sometimes I find two or three things!  The problem is as much as I love to read, I also have a lot to do. I have a busy job and on the weekends I like to go out do fun things with my family - and the truth is I don't really get to read all that much.  So what do you think happens to all those books? That's right. All around our house are big piles and shelves full of books that - while I wanted them - maybe I didn't really need.  Maybe you do the same thing? It might not be with books, but whether it's toys or books or shoes or food...we probably all sometimes make the mistake of thinking we just don't have quite enough, when actually we probably do.

In our gospel story today….. A huge crowd has gathered to hear Jesus and as they look around they notice that they don't have enough food to feed them all. In fact for the crowd of five thousand people they have only five loaves of bread and two fish!

They start to get a little worried and they suggest that Jesus send everyone home because they just don't have enough. But Jesus surprises them. He tells them to start feeding the crowd - and when they do they find that not only do they have enough for everyone, but they even have leftovers!

And while this is story is very famous because it's one of Jesus' miracles, for us it can be a kind of parable too. It can help us to remember that when we really think about it we have an awful lot. Often so much more than we realize!

So next time you find yourself spending a lot of time thinking about "needing" something new, will you remember the loaves and the fish - and that God has already given us so much? Good.

Will you pray with me?

Dear God,

We know that, like the disciples, sometimes we wonder if we have enough in life - when really we have so much more than most. Thank you for blessing us with health, food, shelter, and even some fun things now and then. Help us not to become greedy by focusing us upon the needs of others.

Amen.