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Hymn
“Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now” by unknown author, 1651
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878
1. Lord Jesus Christ, be present now,
Our hearts in true devotion bow,
Thy Spirit send with grace divine,
And let Thy truth within us shine.
2. Unseal our lips to sing Thy praise,
Our souls to Thee in worship raise,
Make strong our faith, increase our light
That we may know Thy name aright;
3. Until we join the hosts that cry,
“Holy art Thou, O Lord, most high!”
And in the light of that blest place
Fore’er behold Thee face to face.
4. Glory to God the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
To Thee, O blessed Trinity,
Be praise throughout eternity!
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. +
Confession
Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You by thought, word and deed. Therefore, we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Then the Minister shall say: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us, and has given His only-begotten Son to die for us, and for His sake forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in His Name, He gives power to become the sons of God, and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes, and is baptized, shall be saved. Grant this, Lord, unto us all. Amen.
Psalm verse: Psalm 50:15
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Collect
We ask You, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon Your people that by Your great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore in both body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Catechism Lesson
81. Of what would God remind us particularly in these last commandments, saying, “Thou shalt not covet”? Of two things: 1. that in God’s sight mere evil lust is indeed and truly sin; and 2. that we should have no evil lust whatever in our hearts, but only holy desires and love of God and of all that is good.
133) Rom. 7:7. I had not known lust except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
134) James 1:14-15. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
135) Lev. 19:2. Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord, your God, am holy.
136) Matt. 5:48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
137) Ps. 37:4. Delight thyself in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Scripture Readings
Exodus 16:1-21
1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. 2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.” 9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” 13 So it was that quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ” 17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18 So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
John 6:1-15
1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” 10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
Apostles’ Creed
I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the Life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn
“Oh, Bless the Lord, My Soul” by Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
1. Oh, bless the Lord, my soul!
Let all within me join
And aid my tongue to bless His name
Whose favors are divine.
2. Oh, bless the Lord, my soul,
Nor let His mercies lie
Forgotten in unthankfulness
And without praises die!
3. ‘Tis He forgives thy sins;
‘Tis He relieves thy pain;
‘Tis He that heals thy sicknesses
And makes thee young again.
4. He crowns thy life with love
When ransomed from the grave;
He that redeemed my soul from hell
Hath sovereign power to save.
5. He fills the poor with good;
He gives the sufferers rest:
The Lord hath judgments for the proud
And justice for th’ opprest.
6. His wondrous works and ways
He made by Moses known,
But sent the world His truth and grace
By His beloved Son.
The Sermon
Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. John 6:5-6 (Read v. 1-15)
Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Why does God test us in seemingly impossible situations? It’s certainly not because God doesn’t already have a plan in mind. And, it’s not to see what we’ll do, for God already knows that too.
So why does God test us? To teach us to trust Him in every situation! That’s exactly why Jesus questioned Philip as to where they could buy bread to feed a multitude of more than five thousand who had followed Jesus to this remote spot along the Sea of Galilee.
Philip’s answer illustrated the seemingly hopeless situation: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little” (John 6:7). A denarius is used in another parable of Jesus as a full day’s wage, so Philip’s answer is equivalent to saying that even 200-day’s wages would not be enough to feed this crowd, even a little.
When Andrew mentioned the lad with five barley loaves and two small fish, the disciples assumed this was nothing in comparison to the need but Jesus had the men sit down. He gave thanks to God for the food He had provided. Then Jesus distributed the food to His disciples and His disciples to the people. All ate to the full, and they gathered up twelve basketfuls of leftovers.
In the book of Exodus, we see that God also fed the people of Israel in a seemingly impossible situation in the wilderness, providing mana in the mornings and quail in the evenings. But God also tested the people and taught them to trust by providing only enough manna for each day, that they might learn to trust in Him each day for their daily bread.
In Exodus 16:4-5, we read: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.’”
God provided enough manna each day for His people and, on the sixth day, He provided enough for two days so they could rest on the Sabbath. Of course, some people did not trust in the LORD and gathered more than they needed for the day and the leftover manna bred worms and stank. And some tried to gather on the Sabbath, but there was none (cf. Ex. 16:17-30).
And, in the Lord’s Prayer, recorded in Matthew 6, we pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). Luke 11:3 says: “Give us day by day our daily bread.”
Jesus also teaches us the same when He tells us in Matthew 6 not to worry about what we will eat and drink or what we will wear (Matt. 6:25ff.) After telling us to seek first His kingdom (v. 33), He says, “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things” (v. 34).
When we consider the feeding of the five thousand with only five barley loaves and two small fish, we certainly see a miracle and proof that Jesus is the almighty Son of God in human flesh. But we also learn that God would have us trust Him in seemingly impossible situations, give thanks for what He has provided, and rely upon Him to care for our every need (Prov. 3:5ff.). We are to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God,” as Paul writes in Philippians 4:6). We may find the situation impossible, but God already has a plan in mind!
And, certainly, our sinfulness puts us in an impossible situation before the Lord. We have sinned and God’s Law condemns us to eternal suffering in hell! The Bible tells us that all of us “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23); and that “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:4; cf. Rom. 6:23a; Gal. 3:10; Eccl. 7:20).
But God had a plan! He sent His only-begotten Son into the world as a man to fulfill the law for us and then to suffer our just punishment. In Galatians 4:4-5, we read: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
God laid our sins upon Messiah Jesus and punished Him in our stead. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 53:6 that “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures … He was buried, and … He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3,4; cf. Gal. 3:13; 1 John 2:1-2).
And, through the preaching of the Gospel, He brought us to faith in Christ Jesus and declared us just and righteous in His eyes. In Romans 3:21-26, we read: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” And John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Our situation was indeed hopeless and impossible — and it still is without God’s gracious intervention — but God provided a way, in His Son Jesus, for sinners like you and me to be justified, pardoned and acquitted through faith in Christ Jesus.
God grant that we look to Him in faith and be saved and also trust Him in every need! Amen.
Dear Lord Jesus, forgive us for failing to trust in Your power and willingness to help us in every situation. Teach us always to come to You and to trust in You for all our needs, both earthly and heavenly. Amen.
[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Offertory
Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation: and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.
General Prayer
Almighty and most merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We give Thee thanks for all Thy goodness and tender mercies, especially for the gift of Thy dear Son, and for the revelation of Thy will and grace: and we beseech Thee so to implant Thy Word in us, that in good and honest hearts we may keep it, and bring forth fruit by patient continuance in well-doing.
Most heartily we beseech thee so to rule and govern Thy Church universal, with all its pastors and ministers, that it may be preserved in the pure doctrine of Thy saving Word, whereby faith toward Thee may be strengthened, and charity increased in us toward all mankind.
Grant also health and prosperity to all that are in authority, especially to the President [and Congress] of the United States, the Governor [and Legislature] of this Commonwealth, and to all our Judges and Magistrates; and endue them with grace to rule after Thy good pleasure, to the maintenance of righteousness, and to the hindrance and punishment of wickedness, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty.
May it please Thee also to turn the hearts of our enemies and adversaries, that they may cease their enmity, and be inclined to walk with us in meekness and in peace.
All who are in trouble, want, sickness, anguish of labor, peril of death, or any other adversity, especially those who are in suffering for Thy Name and for Thy truth’s sake, comfort, O God, with Thy Holy Spirit, that they may receive and acknowledge their afflictions as the manifestation of Thy fatherly will.
And although we have deserved Thy righteous wrath and manifold punishments, yet, we entreat Thee, O most merciful Father, remember not the sins of our youth, nor our many transgressions; but out of Thine unspeakable goodness, grace and mercy, defend us from all harm and danger of body and soul. Preserve us from false and pernicious doctrine, from war and bloodshed, from plague and pestilence, from all calamity by fire and water, from hail and tempest, from failure of harvest and from famine, from anguish of heart and despair of Thy mercy, and from an evil death. And in every time of trouble, show Thyself a very present Help, the Savior of all men, and especially of them that believe.
Cause also the needful fruits of the earth to prosper, that we may enjoy them in due season. Give success to the Christian training of the young, to all lawful occupations on land and sea, and to all pure arts and useful knowledge; and crown them with Thy blessing.
These, and whatsoever other things Thou wouldest have us ask of Thee, O God, grant unto us for the sake of the bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, our Lord and Savior, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.
Hymn
“O Savior, Precious Savior” by Francis R. Havergal, 1836-1879
1. O Savior, precious Savior,
Whom, yet unseen, we love;
O Name of might and favor,
All other names above.
We worship Thee, we bless Thee,
To Thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise Thee and confess Thee,
Our holy Lord and King.
2. O Bringer of salvation,
Who wondrously has wrought
Thyself the revelation
Of love beyond our thought,
We worship Thee, we bless Thee,
To Thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise Thee and confess Thee,
Our holy Lord and King.
3. In Thee all fulness dwelleth,
All grace and power divine;
The glory that excelleth,
O Son of God, is Thine.
We worship Thee, we bless Thee,
To Thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise Thee and confess Thee,
Our holy Lord and King.
4. Oh, grant the consummation
Of this our song above
In endless adoration
And everlasting love!
We worship Thee, we bless Thee,
To Thee, O Christ, we sing;
We praise Thee and confess Thee,
Our holy Lord and King.