Upcoming Sunday Scripture Commentary - March 23

March 23 Sermon – “Who Were the Twelve Disciples of Jesus? Andrew & Phillip”

Psalm 63:1-8

The Psalmist feels disconnected from God as if he is in a lifeless desert. He remembers God and the Temple.

Verses 2 & 3 – Even greater than life itself is God’s steadfast love and being faithful to God’s covenant.

Verse 4 – God’s abundance is like a rich feast.

Verse 7 & 8 – God has helped and protected him and God provides him with strength.

John 6:1-14

John wants us to know that the feeding of the 5,000 took place around the Passover celebration. He wants us to know that just as God fed the Israelites manna from heaven when they were in the wilderness, Jesus offers us bread from heaven in the feeding of the 5,000.

Phillip and Andrew are known as the disciples who were most in touch with the need of the people outside of the inner circle of disciples. In this story, Andrew gets to know a little boy who had some fish and bread to share. This story helps us to identify what we have and offer it to Jesus.

How can we be more like Phillip and Andrew and offer what we have, even if it doesn’t feel like much, to Jesus and trust that he will be able to multiply it to be a blessing for others?

What does this story teach us about stewardship and giving to the church?

[Note: The resources used for these scripture reading commentaries are based on the Everyone series by NT Wright, The Wesley Study Bible, and the “Montreal-Anglican”lectionary commentaries.]