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All You Can Eat (Luke 9:10-17)

Ready for Impact (10 minutes)

Catch up on how things have been over the past week (over drinks and snacks if possible), taking time to let any new members introduce themselves. Then ask group members to:

  • Tell a story of a time you had a meal in another country, or with people from a different culture to your own.

This term, we’re exploring some of the meals Jesus shared. Not only will this help us get to know Jesus better, we’ll see how the way he shared meals has loads of implications for how we experience student life today.

Ask for a volunteer to read Luke 9:10-17 to the group, praying a short prayer that, however much they’ve come to know Jesus, they’d know him better as a result of your time together.

Watch

If you’re not gathered in person, the leader should project the video for the group through sharing their screen. If you’re using Zoom, make sure you have optimized your screen share for video. You can download the video to watch offline.

Impacted by the Word (15 minutes)

Suggested questions to help your discussion.

  • What’s your favourite part of this story?
  • How do you think the disciples are feeling as the crowds show up? How about Jesus?
  • What might the disciples’ ideas for feeding the crowd tell us about how they view Jesus?
  • Why do you think Jesus tells the disciples to give the crowd something to eat?
  • Jesus gives thanks for the food before feeding the crowd (verse 16). What do Jesus’ actions show us about food?
  • Why do you think Jesus provides much more than is necessary?

Read Isaiah 25:6-8. This passage would have been well-known to those in the crowd. It pictures the time when God’s kingdom will come in its fullness.

  • What might the newly-fed crowd have been prompted to wonder about Jesus and his connection with the kingdom of God?

Some sceptics suggest that this account of the feeding of the five thousand is simply about the principle of sharing. They suggest that, having seen Jesus’ willingness to share, the crowd were moved to share their food with each other. Those with extra food shared what they had with those who had nothing – such that there were twelve basketfuls of food left over.

The big problem with this interpretation is that there’s not a shred of evidence for it! It’s far better to read Luke’s account at face value: that Jesus is able to create and provide food for his people (just like God in the Old Testament), and that he has come to bring in the kingdom of God (pictured in places like Isaiah 25:6-8).

Feeding the hungry is both an act of compassion and a demonstration of the presence of God’s kingdom.

Impacting Our Hearts (15 minutes)

Today’s episode repeatedly shows Jesus’ ability in the face of human inability.

  • When might we be like the disciples, forgetting that God provides for us?
  • When you think of God’s provision, is it the kind of abundant generosity that’s pictured in this episode? Why/why not?

Ask someone to pray in the light of your discussions, especially that you’d remember that God is committed to your provision and your good.

God has given us physical bodies which have needs for things like food, water, sleep and exercise. Sadly, in a world broken by sin, our relationship with these things is distorted. Whilst the focus of this series isn’t a theology of food, it’s good to be aware that life in a broken world involves wrestling with complex issues around food, meals and the body.

All of us have a complicated relationship with food, but some in your Impact Group will feel this struggle more acutely. Some will go through times of eating too much or too little, perhaps during a difficult season of life. Some are physically sick when exposed to certain foods (such as gluten intolerance, suffered by those with coeliac disease). Others may struggle with a mental illness that presents itself as an eating disorder. Try to be mindful of these issues throughout this series, and especially during this session.

If you or others in your group could do with some help in any of these areas, contact your GP and a trusted friend at church. For eating disorder support, the BEAT website is a great source of information for both those suffering and those walking alongside.

Impacting the University (10 minutes)

We’ve seen this week that food is part of God’s good provision for us.

Feed back on how you got with last week’s activity, then choose another to undertake together this week (ideally a different category to whatever you did last time).

Get nourished: for group bonding

Set up a rota for bringing snacks to your Impact Group. This could be a great chance to try foods from different cultures, or for the keen bakers among you to bless others with home-made goods!

Offer a taste: to do together

Where near you has a reputation for great food: a deli, farmers’ market, café… or even a takeaway?! Arrange an Impact Group visit, taking friends with you, together enjoying the best of God’s provision!

Add spice: a personal challenge

Ask flatmates to grow fresh herbs in a pot with you, aiming to connect more meaningfully and thankfully with what you’re eating.

  • Commit to at least one of these activities in the week ahead, and pray for what you have planned. Make the necessary plans, then keep each other updated with progress during the week in your group chat!
  • Pray also in small groups for specific prayer requests from group members.

Wrap-up – think TACOS 🌮

  • Thank You – Thank everyone for coming, and ask someone to thank God for your time together in prayer.
  • Ask – Ask those who are new to reading the Bible if they’d like to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in Mark’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate Jesus for themselves alongside one of you.
  • Church and CU – What does the CU have planned ahead? And what help would group members value in finding a local church?
  • Others – Who else could you invite to join your CU Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.
  • See You Soon – Tell the group where and when you’ll meet next week, and arrange who will bring snacks. (You might like to alternate healthy and less healthy weeks!). See if anyone would be up for sharing a meal or hanging out socially in the meantime!