Today we continue studying our series called “40 Days of Community.” We have looked at the importance of togetherness. We have also examined what builds up relationships and what tears them down. This “better together” topic is critical for us as a newly amalgamated church to keep in mind. We have served the Lord and been spiritual beacons in these areas for more than 150 years at Knox Glenarm and St. Andrew’s Fenelon Falls. As a joint charge, we have done God’s ministry with a respected partnership for almost 84 years. As of September 1, 2022, God has called this merged divine assembly St. Andrew’s Fenelon Falls. The Lord wants us to continuously reach out to people in Glenarm and Fenelon Falls and beyond these physical boundaries and serve God’s mission as a Heavenly team. Even though Knox Glenarm has been closed, God’s spirit upon that church is still present in our gatherings and will be with us in the future. Those sacred items from Glenarm, which have just been rededicated before the Lord in this assembly, are the historically remembered elements for us and our next generations.

In our main text for today, Jesus had compassion for those who were like sheep without a shepherd. I remember a documentary video about Israel’s relationship between shepherds and sheep. Unlike here in the City of Kawartha Lakes, many hillside and mountain areas have desert and dry conditions. Without a shepherd’s guidance, sheep with poor eyesight would have difficulty finding green pastures on their own. In this scripture, Good Shepherd Jesus helped a large crowd while teaching the Word of God and feeding the food. This morning I want us to pay attention to Jesus and His disciples, learn some divine lessons from them and apply these to our New Beginning as a Christian church.

Firstly, Jesus initiated the next godly mission: “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:34). He understood His disciples’ honest responses to His command. Christ guided them to go and see how many loaves they would have. Later, He gave more directions to them to fulfill God’s feeding project.

While reflecting on Christ’s instructions in this passage, my mind has changed from feeling a somewhat obligation to having an incredible privilege. What I mean by that can be explained as I develop this message. Jesus was fully aware of His followers’ challenges of feeding the hungry crowd. As the text indicated, they were in a remote area. They did not have a proper facility to prepare food. They did not have enough workers and sufficient finance. Many of us have enjoyed our church food festivals, particularly Salad Supper, Roast Beef Dinner, and Stew Dinner. We appreciated those who planned those happy fellowships and prepared those delicious meals. A lot of time, effort, and energy was needed for those venues!

I’ve recently read a report prepared by J.P. Smit. He is one of the well-respected educational staff members in our denomination. According to him, this would be the reality for nearly every presbytery. Bill Hoyle, our Rep to the presbytery, can tell you more about this situation in our areas. We have 26 congregations; however, more than half of the charges do not have ministers.

When I got those discouraging data, I was not delighted to hear them. However, that fair congregational life matter has helped me think about the other side of God’s coin. I would say that our church is not much different than many other churches. We are not the only ones having challenges. The good news is that the Lord our Christ, who initiated His godly work in our church almost 157 or 159 years ago, has faithfully done this holy ministry with His faithful servants in the past, is still diligently doing it at present and will continuously do it in the coming days. Of course, seeing the historical and genuine church closed has been sad. Despite this emotion, we have been excited to move forward into Christ’s prepared direction and keep participating in Christ’s initiative ministry.

Secondly, Jesus asked the disciples to find out what they had. He took them with a grateful heart when they brought five loaves and two fish. He looked up to heaven and broke the loaves. I believe Christ prayed to God for His supernatural blessing upon the disciples’ offering.

In another Gospel, one disciple named Andrew is mentioned as the main character finding the five loaves and the two fish. These food items were too small to feed over 5,000 people. Andrew obeyed what he was asked to do and simply trusted Him while presenting that gift. We need to recognize that Jesus did not ask the disciples to bring what they did not own. He advised them to dedicate what they possessed, whether big or little. In The Presbyterian Church in Canada, Saint Andrew is known as the most famous church name. God wants us as a church to become little Andrew regarding our faith in Christ. Compared to the number of the massive crowd, the elements the disciples presented to Christ were so tiny. But when those offerings were blessed by Jesus Christ, who is the Miracle Worker, the Promise Keeper, and the Way Maker, they were abundantly used to feed more than the large crowd of needed people. It was God’s miracle. Christ made a way even though there seemed to be no solution. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be assured of whatever Christ promises us.

Since we celebrate both our New Beginning and New Ministry and New Opportunities, it can be necessary for us as an untied religious community to remind ourselves of one of our church’s essential statements: “The mission of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Fenelon Falls is to communicate faith, hope and love by supporting and serving our congregation and the local community.” God wants us to communicate the following three Christian virtues: “Faith, Hope and Love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). We believe that we are saved and forgiven in Christ alone. That is our faith. We desire eternal life and want to enter the Kingdom of God/ Heaven. That is our hope. We long to worship God with all our hearts and love His people as ourselves. That is our love. All those godly attributes are designed not only for the members and friends of our church but also for all people outside the church, regardless of their various social backgrounds. The goodness of God is given to all people: “For God so loved the [entire] world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). This is the Good News God wants us to spread to the people in our community.

This sacred mission would be huge for us as a small-sized rural congregation to accomplish. One more time, we need to remember that Jesus asks us to bring Him what we have. We are all called to be little Andrew. What are the five loaves and two fish? Do you know the outcome of the two plus five math in God’s world? It can be seven, five thousand and even more. Think about our tough situations over the years. We need to thank God for His presence and His provision.

I stated earlier a bit of the problematic situations in churches on local and presbytery levels, before, during, and after Covid-19. Like many other churches, we at St. Andrew’s Fenelon Falls may have some challenges down the road. We have been so thankful to God for His guidance and direction in our churches in the last few years. Even though we did not have in-person worship gatherings in the sanctuary during the lockdown period, God helped us continuously glorify Him by using an online broadcast method called Zoom. We cannot thank God enough because the Lord has assisted us in reaching out to more people than before through the live streaming platform. The worship locations were not only in the City of Kawartha Lakes but also in many different places, even overseas, and nursing homes. Many worship attendants have provided spiritual leadership in our Zoom services as scripture readers, prayers, storytellers, presenters, musicians, announcers, PowerPoint makers, and so on. Without God’s presence and His provision, it could not be possible for us to serve the Lord as a team during that unprecedented time. This morning we will soon dedicate this enhanced audio-visual equipment before the Lord. Again, our online ministry cannot be fulfilled without dedicated servants of God and His generous people. God has blessed all of your presence, your prayers and your support. I am confident that God will give us more opportunities to communicate our God-given faith, hope and love with the people in our community. As Jesus did, we need to pray to God for His continued assistance and advice.

Thirdly, Jesus wanted His disciples to work together. While blessing the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus directed them to “have all the people sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties” (Mark 6:39). Jesus asked the disciples to distribute God-given blessed food to the crowd. He also told them to pick up the leftover elements. It would be difficult for a tiny group of Christ followers to do those enormous tasks. Based on Christ’s supervision, all the disciples served the Lord by working together as His divine party and completing God’s mission.

In our Epistle for today, the Apostle Paul echoed the importance of partnership with God. “In Him (Christ Jesus), the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple (Church) in the Lord. And in Him, you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21-22). This sacred text says that Christ brings us together to be part of the Body of Christ, the Church. We are all important no matter how much or little we appear to function in this sacred assembly. We are closely connected and work on God’s ministry together. In other words, we are a Christ team! Jesus, the Son of God, could have fed the whole crowd on His own; however, Christ wanted His disciples to participate in that holy ministry. Jesus believed in the power of better together.

I like a typical expression: “I cannot do everything, but I can do something.” Suppose we, as a small number of Christ followers, do God’s mission together. In that case, we can make a difference in our community. If we each bring our own five loaves and two fish to Christ and ask Him to bless and use them for God’s Kingdom ministry, we can reach out to more people and serve the Lord more than we can imagine. Like you, I am convinced that the Miracle Worker, the Promise Keeper, and the Way Maker, Christ, will continuously bless us as a spiritual beacon in our community and provide all necessary resources to fulfill His New Ministry if we keep doing the right things together as a Heavenly group.

* In this message, I have used some thoughts from the sermons Rick Warren prepared for “40 Days of Community.”