Session 4

Resources (Mark 6:35-38)

35 When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said,
“This place is deserted, and it is already late.
36 Send them away
so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages
to buy themselves something to eat.”
37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded.
They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
When they found out they said,
“Five, and two fish.”

Discuss:

Biggest Problem and Best Solution.
list some big problems they have faced
and how they solved those issues.

Ask:

• What kind of resources were necessary to solve each problem?
• Who did you enlist to help?

Compare:

Read Mark 6:35-38 again
identify the problem the disciples presented to Jesus.

Ask:

• What steps would you have taken to solve this problem if you were one of the disciples?

Ask:

• Why do you think Jesus told the disciples to give the crowd something to eat?

(Possible answers:

• to remind them of their previous work,
• to strengthen their faith,
• to show Jesus as the ultimate Provider, and so forth)

Explain:

the disciples focused on the problem, while Jesus focused on the solution.

Ask:

• Why are we prone to focus on problems instead of considering what God can do? (p. 39)
• What practical things can we do to trust Jesus more when we have a problem that seems impossible to solve?