If you missed Sunday's broadcast, please catch up by following the link below. (For the foreseeable future, we be running our Sunday morning services digitally. Please go to our website on Sundays at 10:30 to join in)
Feeding the five-thousand was not the end of the story. Jesus uses it to speak of himself as the true bread from heaven, which one must eat (by faith) in order never to hunger or thirst.
Giving food is good but giving Jesus is great! For example, as a church we run Serendipity Café and Lighthouse, both activities are generous with food. However, the aim of everything that we do as a church is ‘Bringing people to Jesus’. Jesus said of the purpose of doing good,
‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ (Matthew 5:16)
Doing good in all the multitude of ways that this can happen is vital. It authenticates the message. We love because we have been loved by God. The Spirit of God in us inspires us to love. But the ultimate aim of God-given ‘dreams’, and the greatest ambition in all that we do, it to help people to find ‘the bread of life - Jesus. In his helpful book, What is the mission of the church, Kevin DeYoung writes,
‘We are concerned that in all our passion for renewing the city or tackling social problems, we run the risk of marginalising the one thing that makes Christian mission Christian: namely, making disciples of Jesus Christ.’