“When Much Was Done with Little” by Rev. Jeff Pate: Riverwood Podcast for August 24, 2025

This episode is a sermon from Riverwood Presbyterian Church, delivered by Rev. Jeff Pate. It focuses on John 6:1-15, where Jesus feeds a crowd of 5,000 with minimal resources. Pate begins by reading the scripture, setting the scene of Jesus and his disciples in a remote area near the Sea of Galilee. He notes this miracle is recorded in all four gospels and marks a shift in Jesus's ministry toward preparing disciples for his departure. Pate shares a personal anecdote about attempting to worship anonymously during his sabbatical in Greenville, South Carolina, but being recognized, illustrating how community connections persist. He then introduces four points drawn from Pastor Rick Phillips's commentary: ministry begins with compassion, involves offering small resources to God, requires prayer, and demands stepping out in faith. The sermon explores the disciples' reactions, with Philip seeing impossibility and Andrew mentioning a boy's meager offering. Pate discusses the concept of God testing believers to reveal their hearts, not to prove something to Him. He uses biblical examples like Israel being chosen despite its small size, Gideon's army reduced to 300, and Bethlehem as an insignificant birthplace for Jesus. The message emphasizes God's pattern of using weak or foolish things, as seen in Paul's self-description as the least of the apostles. Pate highlights Jesus giving thanks before the miracle, modeling prayerful dependence. He references George Mueller, a 19th-century pastor who founded orphanages in England through prayer alone, without soliciting funds, housing thousands of children. The sermon concludes with an application: considering Jesus as high priest who sympathizes with weaknesses, looking outward with compassion, entrusting resources to God, praying, and stepping out in faith. Pate invites the congregation to a monthly prayer hour and closes with a prayer for confidence in God's grace.

As heard by us

A steady sermon on small gifts, hungry crowds, and the faith to ask God for more.

The sermon takes John 6:1-15 and reads the feeding of the 5,000 as a test of faith when the numbers refuse to work. It lingers over Philip's calculation, Andrew's small supply, and the boy with five barley loaves and two fish, then widens the frame with George Mueller and the…

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Why you'd press play

When the crowd is large and the bread is small, this one stays close to the numbers and the prayer.

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