Mark 6:30-34

1. Let us mark the conduct of the apostles when they returned from their first mission as preachers.
2. Let us mark the words of our Lord to the apostles, when they returned from their first public ministry.
3. Let us mark the feelings of our Lord Jesus Christ towards the people who came together to Him.

"Prayer is the main secret of success in spiritual business. It moves Him who can move heaven and earth. It brings down the promised aid of the Holy Spirit, without whom the finest sermons, the clearest teaching, and the most diligent labors, are all alike in vain."

"The prosperity of a man's ministry and public work is intimately bound up with the prosperity of his own soul."

"The man who cares nothing for the souls of other people is not like Jesus Christ. It may well be doubted whether he is converted himself, and knows the value of his own soul."

Questions:

1. Do we labor, in whatever we do, trusting God to bring the growth in prayer, or do we labor as if it is completely up to us?

2. For those who labor hard in whatever they do, are you aware that you are finite and limited and need rest? Are you economizing your health as a talent from God or squandering it away like a gambler?

3. Do we have minds and hearts that are growing to be like Christ? Do we feel compassion for the lost, both near and far? Are we concerned to give of our means to spread the gospel in the world? Does this matter to us?