Bread of Life Preaching

Tomorrow will be the occasion for delivering the second sermon in my series on "The Bread of Life" from John 6.

 ³⁰So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.""

 ³²Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

 ³⁴"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."

 ³⁵Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

 ⁴¹At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

Last week, we looked at verses 25-29. Jesus challenged his hearers to the hard work of believing and the ease of receiving real satisfaction as a gift.

In these verses, He takes us further and deeper. He does this in answer to their very shallow questions. They ask for signs. Jesus points to Himself.

He is the source of satisfaction.

He is the source of purpose.

He is the source of soul nurture.

He gives eternal life.

Looking at both of these passages, and slightly ahead, the observation can be made as an acronym for BREAD.

B - Behavior flows from being and believing. It is Jesus' being and our believe in who He is that transforms who we are and how we behave/work.

R - Receiving the gift indicates that He has received us. Jesus is the Father's gift to us and we are the Father's gift to Jesus. When we receive Him, He receives us and never loses us. They asked for Him to give them the bread, but after He explained it, they were not so sure about receiving it.

E - Eating is what we do with bread. There will be more on this next week. However, today, the message is that we  taste eternity and are nourished by our relationship with Jesus to the extent to which we eat, which is to say, internalize His presence in our lives.

A - Agree with Him as to who He is. Attend to His words. Anticipate His promises. Announce them. In so doing, we will be involved with Him in His work. If we are what we eat, in this case, it means total alignment with Jesus Christ.

D - Decide that Jesus is the bread of life and that He is all the food you need for living life in the Spirit in the midst of time.

Those are some glimpses and thoughts to propel your own insights into Jesus, the Bread of Life.

Let us close this posting with worship

Amen