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Daily Devotional September 22

1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.

-John 6:1-13, NRSV

While this story of the “Feeding of the Five Thousand” appears in all four of the gospels, I’ve always been partial to John’s retelling of it. All four gospels tell of the large crowd of people, the meager resources of food, and the savior who miraculously multiplies those resources to nourish all. All four gospels include those key details.
       Only John mentions the boy.

In John’s telling of this miracle story, it’s not Peter who provides the loaves and fish. It’s not Andrew or James or John. It’s not even Jesus. It’s a boy… a young boy who shares his food with Jesus. Without the boy’s gift, the boy’s food, the boy’s generosity, this miracle wouldn’t have happened. 

I doubt the boy thought his gift would be enough to satisfy a crowd or solve the big problem. And yet… he was able to see, in this resource-drought of a situation, that he had some resources to offer. How miraculous!

I was reminded of this scripture story this week in the midst of a webinar on financial leadership. The webinar presenter shared a video story of a young girl who had a boy-from-the-Gospel-of-John kind of outlook on life.

Take a look for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwQZggdZrOo

“She’s only three years old!” the presenter reminded us. “And even she recognized that she had resources to offer! How miraculous!”

The world is facing some pretty significant problems right now… problems that make the problem “five loaves and two fish for five thousand” look like a seaside picnic. None of us have all the resources necessary to meet those problems… but all of us have resources. All of us have something to offer. 

May we, in faith, hand it over to Jesus, too. Who knows what miracle he’ll perform with it?!?

Blessings,
Pastor Candy

Remember, friends:

Our God is bigger than coronavirus. 
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too. 
We are people blessing people. 
We are Wesley Church.   


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Sunday June 26, 2022

Masking will remain optional at Wesley Church

In order to help you make an informed decision about your own mitigation practices, Wesley Church will share our county’s updated risk category and the CDC’s corresponding guidelines in each edition of our weekly enews.
We are currently in the “high risk” category. The CDC guidelines for the “high” category are:

   Wear a mask indoors in public

   Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines   

   Get tested if you have symptoms

   Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness

For more information, visit cdc.gov 

Click to learn more

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  • If you are interested in providing fresh flowers for worship, please sign up at the Connections Corner table.
  • Feel like you missed something? The Connections Corner table can help. Head across the atrium and get the information you need just under the tv monitor.
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  • Do you enjoy being creative with pictures and video?  Do you like telling a story through images?  We are looking for people who enjoy making videos, who can use technology to help represent some of the music we use in worship, and possibly other parts of the worship service such as announcements, testimonies, and more.  If this interests or excites you, please see Becky Graybeal for more details and to get plugged in!

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