Icebreaker:

• What’s a movie quote that comes to your mind often?
• Have you ever experienced someone trying to give you directions that didn’t make sense to you? What did you do?

Questions:

• Do you think it would be more or less helpful if we were able to remove fear completely when God directs us to do something?
• Have you ever had a moment where God directed you to do something but you said “I didn’t sign up for this!” or “I’m not prepared for this!”? Looking back, are you able to see how God prepared you for that situation? If so, how?
• Read Mark 6:45-56. What does this story teach us about Jesus?
• Look at Mark 6:52 again. Why does Jesus connect this experience to the feeding of the 5000?
• Remembering the previous stories in the book of Mark and what Jesus has already taught his disciples, how did Jesus make sure the disciples were prepared to feed the 5000 or deal with extreme winds on the lake? Why is preparation necessary?
• Compare verse 49 with verse 54. What’s the difference? Under what circumstances is it difficult for you to be Kingdom focused and not worldly focused? What do you do in those circumstances?
• When you are trying to obey Jesus in some area of life but struggling to do so, how can this story help you? Watch for a situation even this week in which you can apply the lessons from this amazing story.

Pray:

• Ask the Lord to show himself to you in powerful ways this week as you follow his leading. Ask for courage, strength, and understanding. Pray that the way you respond to what God is directing you to do is a blessing to others, helping others to see Jesus. 

Community Involvement:

As today is the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan for the Muslim world, think of someone you know or come in contact who will be fasting. Pray for that person specifically and pray that the Lord would do amazing and miraculous things to bring many to faith in Christ. Check out this resource: https://www.pray30days.org

Global Request:

Pray for the country of Azerbaijan as 90% follow Islam. Azerbaijan is the wealthiest post-Soviet country due to oil and natural gas. However, corruption has slowed development and created economic hardship. There are 8.8 million Azerbaijani in Azerbaijan and over 20 million in Iran, of which less than 0.25% are believers. About 7,000 Azerbaijanis live in Canada, predominantly in the Toronto area. Ask the Lord to bring more workers to this country and to establish a Bible school for the few Christians who long for materials and training in their own language. As Azerbaijanis consider bread to be a daily necessity, pray that Jesus, the Bread of Life, would be real to these dear people and that they would find eternal satisfaction in him.