There’s a saying that rings true for all parents: Having a child is like having your heart walking around outside of your body. As any parent knows, the process of raising a child is filled with emotions – uncertainties - joys - and sorrows. Whether you’re a parent, expectant parent or grandparent, there is an endless well of comfort, advice, and quotes about gratitude to be found in the Bible.  After all, we are all children of God, so it’s no surprise His Word is full of parenting wisdom and understanding, when it comes to unconditional love – as well as the worrying, discipline, and second-guessing that goes into caring for another human being.

  I read a story of a little boy named Billy who was taking to his mother after church…He said, “my Sunday School teacher told me that God is everywhere, is that true?”  His mother said, “that’s right Billy”… He went on and said, “Is God up in the sky?”…And his mom said, “yes, I’m sure He is”…. Then Billy asked, “Is God in my belly?”  Now mom wasn’t quite sure where all this was going… And she didn’t quite know how to answer him… So, she said, “well, I’m not sure, but I guess He is”… Billy thought for a moment…and then said,  “Mommy, God wants a cookie”.

  So, what does the New Testament say about nourishing His children? We know the principal sources of spiritual food: prayer, studying the scriptures, attending inspirational gatherings, singing the hymns, serving in our callings, partaking of the sacrament, and making other covenants. Just as we need nourishing food to survive physically, we need the Bible to survive spiritually. Our souls are nourished by whatever speaks of Christ and leads us to Him, whether it is written in the scriptures, or taught by other humble servants of God.

  John 6:35 – “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  While this verse is certainly speaking of spiritual hunger and thirst, it is also about physical bread. Jesus is speaking of a heavenly mystery stemming back to the story in Exodus and the miracle of God’s provision in the desert. The physical hunger of people has always mattered to God. And it is God who always provides.

  Matthew 25:35-37 reads: ‘For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.’  Jesus links feeding the hungry to ministering to others. Caring for vulnerable, hungry people is not only following Jesus’ lead, but also the same caring for Jesus.

  Just as a plant without water will die, faith without action will die. We must constantly nourish our faith through righteous works. As God nourishing our bodies and souls through an abundance of love, He calls us to care for and feed others in the same compassionate spirit. We see this compassion all around us.

  We nourish the fiber of our church in recognized and unrecognized ways…

• One is bringing families together to worship God in this place.
• Developing deep friendships within our church family
• Contributing to the life of our church as deacons, elders, and mentors.
• Being there for each other as we face the joys and challenges of each stage of our lives.
  2^nd is encouraging our youth in their spiritual journey. –
• Just like many of you, Dave and I were blessed to be Sunday School teachers for many of your children during their junior and high school years. We enjoyed watching them mature and grow spiritually… to get married, have children and begin to nurture their own kids in their spiritual journey.
• Many of our have impacted our church family as teachers, tutors, volunteers, confirmation class leaders, youth leaders, vacation bible school participants and more