Lessons for July 30, 2006 – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost The first lesson 2 Kings 4:42-44 One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought the man of God a sack of fresh grain and twenty loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha said, "Give it to the group of prophets so they can eat." 43 "What?" his servant exclaimed. "Feed one hundred people with only this?" But Elisha repeated, "Give it to the group of prophets so they can eat, for the Lord says there will be plenty for all. There will even be some left over!" 44 And sure enough, there was plenty for all and some left over, just as the Lord had promised. (NLT) Psalm 145:10-19 L. All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will bless you. C. They will talk together about the glory of your kingdom; they will celebrate examples of your power. L. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign. C. For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule generation after generation. L. The Lord is faithful in all he says; he is gracious in all he does. C. The Lord helps the fallen and lifts up those bent beneath their loads. L. All eyes look to you for help; you give them their food as they need it. C. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. L. The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. C. The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely. L. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. (NLT) The second lesson Ephesians 3:14-21 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. 21 May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen. (NLT) The Gospel Lesson John 6:1-21 After this, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miracles as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up into the hills and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the annual Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a great crowd of people climbing the hill, looking for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, "Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, "It would take a small fortune to feed them!" 8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. 9 "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?" 10"Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus ordered. So all of them—the men alone numbered five thousand—sat down on the grassy slopes. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and passed them out to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate until they were full. 12 "Now gather the leftovers," Jesus told his disciples, "so that nothing is wasted." 13 There were only five barley loaves to start with, but twelve baskets were filled with the pieces of bread the people did not eat! 14 When the people saw this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, "Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!" 15 Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him king, so he went higher into the hills alone. 16 That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn't come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. 18 Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, "I am here! Don't be afraid." 21 Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination! (NLT)