In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

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Everywhere we go, we are called to be founts of living water for others as Jesus is a fount for us. But unless our hearts are activated towards our city, our friends, our families, and our co-workers, we will never become the fount that Jesus invites us to be. This Sunday, Ps Jon Laurenzo closes out our Fount series with a message on what it means to partner with God in the vision of abundance he has for us.

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Compassion will always move Jesus to the crowd.

• We cannot expect to help people we do not love.
• We can only lead for so long out of duty or responsibility. We have to lead from compassion and care for those around us.

Jesus does not need us, but he wants us to be a part.

• We are often concerned with what we don’t have, but Jesus asks us to use what we do have.
• The disciples didn’t multiply the bread and the fish themselves, they just took what Jesus gave them and set it out before the people.
• God does the miracles. Our responsibility is to take what God has done and lay it before others.

There is no lack in God, only in us.

• Jesus doesn’t skimp when it comes to feeding the people. They ate until they were satisfied.
• When Jesus comes on the scene, we are satisfied.
• We must actually live our lives like there is living water that could truly change someone.
• There is no lack in the story of Jesus, there is only lack in our faith.

Dinner Party Questions

• How do you have compassion for those around you? How have you seen people have compassion for you?
• What does it mean for you that Jesus wants you to be a part of what he is doing in our city?
• Where do you struggle to have an abundance of faith? How can you strengthen your faith in that area this week?

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