God Gives us Bread From Heaven

November 20, 2022 Thanksgiving Sunday John 6:25-35 God gives us bread from heaven Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship We dwell in a land God has loaned to us Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth. We come with gladness to worship God. We enter God’s presence with joyous song. The first fruits of our labor belong to God Rejoice in the privilege of sharing God’s bounty. God has made us, and we belong to God. We are the sheep of God’s pasture. The God of peace greets us in this time of worship Enter with thanksgiving and heartfelt praise. We thank God for steadfast love to sustain us. We praise God for faithfulness to all generations. (Gathered by Love, Lavon Bayler) Song Come Ye Thankful People Come UMH 694 Children’s Sermon Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Needed: nothing Children’s Sermon Greet children with, Happy Thanksgiving! And, of course, Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks, isn’t it? We thank God for all the good things He’s done for us. What are some things that you want to thank God for this year? (Share something that you’re thankful for.) I want to play a little game today. Because the Apostle Paul wrote that we should… (Read 1 Thessalonians 5:18.) “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” “Give thanks in all circumstances.” That means we should thank God when things are good and when things are bad. Let’s practice. Let’s pretend that you’re all on a sports team and I’m your coach. If our team just won a game, what could we thank God for? (We could thank Him for letting us win.) But what if our team lost? Then, what could we thank God for? (We could thank Him for letting us play well and have fun together.) Okay. Second example: What if it was a beautiful, sunshiny day outside? What could we thank God for? (We could thank Him for the nice weather.) But what if it was rainy all day? What could we thank God for, then? (We could thank Him for the rain to help the grass and other plants grow.) Okay. Last example: What if someone was sick, and we prayed that they would get better and then, they did get better? What could we thank God for in that situation? (We could thank God for healing the sick person and making them healthy again.) But what if we prayed, and God didn’t heal the person? What if the person died? What could we thank God for, then? (We could thank God for the good life the person had and that we’ll see them in Heaven again someday.) See? Whether things are good or bad, we can always thank God for something. That’s why Paul tells us to “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Let’s pray and give thanks now. Closing Prayer Father God, we thank You for being a good God. You are so good that no matter what happens, we can always thank You for something. Help us to see the good in every situation so that we can always give You thanks. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. (Rev. Stephen R. Wilson) Scripture John 6:25-35 Sermon – God gives us Bread from Heaven Have You Taken Inventory Lately? The renown teacher and author Dr. David McLennon tells a story of his very first job in a small town general store. This was the day before mails and supermarket chains at least it was in his community. At age thirteen he was hired as a handy boy. He would sweep the flour, bag items for customers, put up stock. On one particular Saturday, he recalled., he heard the owner say to one of the clerks "It’s that time of the year again, it’s time to take inventory." Dr. McLennon Wrote that this was a word that had not yet entered into his vocabulary. When an opportune moment arrived, he went up to the kindly older man and asked, Sir, what is an inventory? Patiently the owner explained that it was a time when you made a list of everything that you had--from groceries on the shelves to wrapping paper and string. Still somewhat puzzled, the young McLennon then asked, Why? "Well, responded the owner, its easy to forget exactly how much you have each year. Every now and then you have to take an inventory just to see what all you have." That little story, to me, pretty well sums up what Thanksgiving is all about. It is a time when each of us needs to ask ourselves the question: Have I taken inventory of my life lately? Have I made an effort to count all the things that I do have in life instead of complaining about the things that I don’t have. It is a good exercise especially when we are of a mind to brood or whine in self pity. Have you taken inventory lately? What I am suggesting here is not some shallow "count your blessings" platitude. But from time to time, in a genuine kind of a way, we need to sit down and do some talking to ourselves about all of the gifts and opportunities and challenges that God has given each one of us. Perhaps there is a deep underlying wisdom in the children's poem that says: "Count your blessings one by one, and you might be surprised what the Lord has done." Staff, www.eSermons.com I think that is one of the most important things that we can do for Thanksgiving is to take account of our blessings. There are some years when it may take a moment. But we have to realize that God is there for us in the midst of our lives. Sometimes we have to do it like Robinson Coruso – who when stuck on a desert island, would write down all of the bad things in his life, but for each bad thing he would also write a good thing. He was amazed to realize that he really did have good things happen to him. His list of good and bad was always balanced. Then there is the story of John Witherspoon, one of the signers of the declaration of independence. He was also president of the College of New Jersey at Princeton. He was also a presbyterian minister. One day he was in his office, when his neighbor burst in to tell him of a horrific accident that he had had. His horse had bolted, his buggy was smashed and he narrowly escaped injury. He wanted Witherspoon to pray with him to thank god for sparring his life. John Witherspoon indeed prayed, but before he did so, he told his neighbor that he had a far greater testimony. He told his neighbor that he too rode his buggy over that same road this morning. But not one things went wrong. His horse was calm and his buggy was okay. He too narrowly escaped death. He thanked God for being with him and keeping him safe. God got us all safely here today. God has been with us this morning, God has been with us all of our lives. And yet how many of us thank God daily for bringing us through and allowing us to go about our daily life. When things go wrong, we don’t have a problem asking why me. Yet when we have a feast and things are going well, how many of us ask why me? Why have you blessed me so extravagantly – and yet we are blessed by God each and every day. So today what is it that we have to be thankful for? How has God blessed us today? What is it that we have to be thankful for as a church? What is it that we have to be thankful for as a world. One big thing that we can be thankful for – we all survived a pandemic. We all know that the pandemic is not over, but we can be thankful that the world has found the courage to move on. For the first time in a long time, this thanksgiving we are free to make plans, to be with family, to move and go where we want to. This year we have a lot to be grateful for. Thanksgiving of course is a national holiday, and yet it is not considered a Christian holiday. There is nothing in the bible that tells us to get together as a nation in order to say thank you. And yet the bible is full of stories of thanksgiving, of celebrations, and of living a life of gratitude. John 6 is a story of gratitude. In chapter 5, and the beginning of chapter 6 – Jesus was on the beach teaching when 5000 men and their families showed up to listen to him, and he realized that they were listening to his words, they had been there all day, and that they must be hungry. This is the story of the feeding of the 5000 – where Jesus talks 5 loaves of bread and some fish and everyone has something to be thankful for that day. This is the first major gathering of what are called rice Christians. I would imagine that you have never heard of that term. A rice Christian is someone who only shows up for something religious when food is being served. We all would like to believe that we are such good people – and that we are so in live with God. But the reality is food is always a major draw for any gathering on any day. We are having a full meal for coffee hour – today should be a good day for us all. I don’t have a problem admitting that I am a rice Christian – I love food. I love the idea of eating. Every Saturday – I spend my whole day watching channel 11 – because they have cooking shows on all day. I don’t even bother to make the recipes, I just love watching food on tv. There is this soul food restaurant in Georgia – every day at 7am they do a video of their buffet, highlighting all of the food that they have and they put it on Facebook. OMG – watching this video is the highlight of my day, it has become my daily devotion. Now I will never drive to Georgia just to eat at this restaurant – Chicago has plenty of soul food restaurants- But somehow just watching their food feeds my spirit. So in John 6 – Jesus feeds the 5000. But he also chastises them for thinking that the gospel is just about food – even though it really is. Jesus tells us – you came to listen to me, not because you were looking for spiritual miracles, but because you ate all of the food you wanted. He doesn’t say that that is a bad thing, he ways that we shouldn’t be in search of food that does not last. Jesus doesn’t have a problem feeding us, he just reminds us that there is more to life than food. He gives us food, but he also gives us life. There are 3 lessons for us in the book of John – Jesus is the provider of our bread, Jesus is the bread of life because he is the word of God, and that Jesus is the bread of the church – communion and baptism. Jesus does not just feed us, Jesus encourages us to think beyond our needs and the needs of the world for something more. In the book of John, Jesus tells us that he is the living bread and that he is the living water of life. When we take communion and take his bread and his juice, we get so much more than food. Living water is water that moves an has a life of its own – like a river. Living bread on the other hand – is bread that has yeast. Yeast is what makes the bread rise, and gives you the power to make all difference kinds of bread. The metaphor of Jesus, the Bread of Life, is a metaphor that meets hungering humans where we think we are empty in our stomachs but then points us to where our real emptiness lies in our souls. Jesus' image goes through our stomachs to get to our souls. One thing that makes bread such a good medium and metaphor to convey the image of soul-sustaining nourishment is the life-giving process it goes through to become a fragrant loaf. Except for a few special unleavened varieties, what really makes bread for most of us is yeast. A tiny one-celled organism that grows and metabolizes its own food with great speed, yeast organisms "work" in the dough, slightly fermenting and releasing gases so that the bread begins to rise. This natural process is common in many foods yeast organisms often get into and ferment many things we didn't plan on. Ever find yourself spitting out a big swig of too-old orange juice? The taste that tingled on your tongue was produced by yeast. Yeast is ubiquitous. Indeed, part of the challenge of Passover preparations is to create completely unleavened bread (matzo) for the celebration. Part of the pre-festival celebration involves a ritual "search" through the house with a feather, to seek out and sweep away any yeast that may remain inside and could contaminate the matzo. Jesus, the Bread of Life, is energized in each one of us by divine yeast by the Spirit of the living God, who sent Christ to be among us, to be for us, to be in us. To benefit fully from this Bread of Life, we must keep our lives, our spirits, "yeasty" vital and ever growing. What can you do to create "yeast" in your soul? Here's one suggestion. Try using "y-e-a-s-t" as an acronym for your spiritual attitude. "Yes." Are you saying "yes" to nourishing possibilities the Bread of Life is offering you? You've heard of the "placebo" effect. It's when your body thinks it's getting something helpful and healing, and so generates a helpful and healing response throughout your system. But scientists are now talking equally about the flip side of the "placebo" effect. They're calling it the "nocebo" effect. It's when your inability to think "yes," your negative mood and outlook, your worried fixation on worst-case scenarios, can keep the "nocebo" effect working in your physiology. (For more on the "nocebo" effect, see the recent book of Harvard Medical School professor Herbert Benson, Timeless Healing [New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996].) Because of the "Seven First Words of the Christian" "I can do all things through Christ" a yeasty spirit thinks "YES." "Energize." Why is it that the Energizer Bunny that keeps going and going is always going somewhere else the night the lights go out and you dig out your flashlight?! Unlike batteries, however, a properly maintained yeast colony can keep going and going and going. Ever make sourdough bread using "sourdough starter"? "Starter" is really a combination of yeast cultures, water and flour. You dip out what you need for the day's biscuits, bread or pancakes, give the rest of the starter a stir, "feed" it more flour and water, and tuck it back in your frig. In pioneer days, women treasured their "starter" and nurtured it along for years. Sometimes one starter was passed on from mother to daughter to granddaughter. That's perpetual energy. And that is what the Bread of Life can bring to your own spirit. "Access." In order to be continually fed by the Bread of Life, we must keep in constant touch with the source of life's true energy supply. Living out of the stored power of the Spirit enables us to be fed by Christ's gift any time we need it. We can access this always available power reserve in various ways. For some of us, direct intercessory prayer brings us the closest to God's Spirit and God's love. For others, music opens the soul and sets it resonating with the Spirit. For many, creating and/or contemplating works of art, form within us the prayers that enable us to reach out and grab the gift of life. Stanly Kunitz once called "art" the "chalice into which we pour transcendence" (As quoted by R. Scott Colglazier, Finding a Faith That Makes Sense [St.Louis: Chalice Press], 83). Find your own unique way of accessing the energy of bread ... and you will never go hungry. "Search." Today's crowds thought they were seeking the Bread of Life. All they were really looking for was a free lunch. Jesus' words to them, his corrections and counsel, were intended to make the hungering crowd search their spirits for their true motives and desires. Likewise, when we feel filled-up with power or contentments we should search our own spirits to make certain we are feasting on what God provides, not on what our own egos or selfish desires have cooked up. "Trust." If we are filling up on the Bread of Life, we should be able to trust in the Spirit's presence and power in our lives. It is that trust that allows us to take what appears to others as "risks." Trusting in the Spirit lets us "go for it" when conventional wisdom or cautious hedging would advise us to sit on the sidelines. When our spirits are resting in trust, they can do anything. For we know no matter where we go, no matter what difficulties we may encounter, a constant food supply is always at hand, always guaranteed. Only Jesus can satisfy the hungry heart. Only Jesus has the Words of Eternal Life. We are all rice Christians, in search of something that is going to fill us up. I listened to a sermon by Zan Holmes, who is a retired Methodist minister – who said that the good news is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. The only place to find living bread that will last forever is in Jesus christ. I hope that you are hungry this morning – today we have plenty of food – food for our bellies, but also food for our spirit. We can be grateful for what God has done for us. But gratefulness is only the beginning of our faith. It gives us that faith to feed others. Or at least to tell them where they can get a good piece of bread. Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow rice Christians. May we find an abundance of gratitude in our lives this week. Just as I look forward everyday to watching that soul food buffet, I will use that as my cue to go to God in prayer and devotion – to take account of all that God has done for me that day. I hope that we all remember to say thank you everyday for what God has done for us. Amen. Song – Now Thank We All our God UMH 102 Prayer God of infinite patience and power, how it must try your patience to watch us hurl ourselves into a season of greed and grumbling. Your blessings, your bounty, have been poured out to us that we may be strengthened to be your people in service to others. Yet we persist in attaching ourselves to the great “gimmies” of our world--“gimmie toys, gimmie wealth, gimmie power.” Today we have gathered here with an opportunity to step out of the race to possess, to praise you and thank you for the wonderful ways in which you have blessed our lives. We spend a lot of time looking for the big blessings, when all around us are the delightful blessings of everyday living--family, home, friends, the ability to enjoy laughter and share tears. There are so many ways in which you have touched our lives with your love. Help us develop for all of our lives an attitude of gratitude, never failing to thank you each day for your love and your blessings. Help us reach out to one another and to all those in need with this compassionate love. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name, AMEN. ( United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment (do not Print) Almighty, Creator God, we humbly bring our gifts to you this day. On Calvary’s cross, your son redefined for the world what it meant to rule, what it meant to be a king. In his life, teaching and interacting with people, Jesus redefined what it means to give in a way that pleases God. May we in this season live and give in a way that reflects the reign over us and the one who lives within us. In the exalted name of Christ, we pray. Amen. (Luke 23:33-43) (Discipleship Ministries) Prayer of Thanksgiving For all the ways you love us, we say THANK YOU! For the ways you provide for us, we say THANK YOU! For the opportunity to give, we say THANK YOU! For the kingdom work this offering will do, we say THANK YOU! For letting us be a part of your work, we say THANK YOU! May the thankful words on our lips ( ReWorship Blogspot) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook The bread of heaven gives life to the believer. Receive the bread, eat and live. We will turn to God daily for nourishment. We will give thanks with grateful hearts. The bread of heaven gives life to the church. Share the bread; share your stories. We will gather in the community of faith. We will share the bread and share our lives. The bread of heaven gives life to the world. Pass on the gift with joy to neighbors near and far. We will bless the world with acts of love. This is our highest thanksgiving to God. Amen. Amen. ( Gathered by Love, Lavon Baylor) Community Time Benediction Beloved of God, place your whole trust in God’s absolute abundant love. Feel the powerful presence of God in your life and know that God’s blessings are with you. Go in peace, and may God’s peace always be with you. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Additional Illustrations Humor: We're Getting a Divorce An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough." "Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. "We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." Then he hangs up. Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this." She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "They're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own fares." Traditional Back during the dark days of 1929, a group of ministers in the Northeast, all graduates of the Boston School of Theology, gathered to discuss how they should conduct their Thanksgiving Sunday services. Things were about as bad as they could get, with no sign of relief. The bread lines were depressingly long, the stock market had plummeted, and the term Great Depression seemed an apt description for the mood of the country. The ministers thought they should only lightly touch upon the subject Thanksgiving in deference to the human misery all about them. After all, there was to be thankful for. But it was Dr. William L. Stiger, pastor of a large congregation in the city that rallied the group. This was not the time, he suggested, to give mere passing mention to Thanksgiving, just the opposite. This was the time for the nation to get matters in perspective and thank God for blessings always present, but perhaps suppressed due to intense hardship. I suggest to you the ministers struck upon something. The most intense moments of thankfulness are not found in times of plenty, but when difficulties abound. Think of the Pilgrims that first Thanksgiving. Half their number dead, men without a country, but still there was thanksgiving to God. Their gratitude was not for something but in something. It was that same sense of gratitude that lead Abraham Lincoln to formally establish the first Thanksgiving Day in the midst of national civil war, when the butcher’s list of casualties seemed to have no end and the very nation struggled for survival. Perhaps in your own life, right now, intense hardship. You are experiencing your own personal Great Depression. Why should you be thankful this day? May I suggest three things? 1. We must learn to be thankful or we become bitter. 2. We must learn to be thankful or we will become discouraged. 3. We must learn to be thankful or we will grow arrogant and self-satisfied. The Gratitude Attitude In A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Rev. John R. Ramsey tells how in one church a certain person provided him with a rose boutonniere for the lapel of his suit every Sunday. At first he really appreciated it but then it sort of became routine. Then one Sunday it became very special. As he was leaving the Sunday Service a young boy walked up to him and said, "Sir, what are you going to do with your flower?" At first the preacher didn't know what the boy was talking about. When it sank in, he pointed to the rose on his lapel and asked the boy, "Do you mean this?" The boy said, "Yes, sir. If you're just going to throw it away, I would like it." The preacher smiled and told him he could have the flower and then casually asked what he was going to do with it. The boy, who was probably no more than 10 years old, looked up at the preacher and said, "Sir, I'm going to give it to my granny. My mother and father divorced last year. I was living with my mother, but she married again, and wanted me to live with my father. I lived with him for a while, but he said I couldn't stay, so he sent me to live with my grandmother. She is so good to me. She cooks for me and takes care of me. She has been so good to me that I wanted to give her that pretty flower for loving me." When the little boy finished, the preacher could hardly speak. His eyes filled with tears and he knew he had been touched by God. He reached up and unpinned the rose. With the flower in his hand, he looked at the boy and said, "Son, that is the nicest thing that I've ever heard but you can't have this flower because it's not enough. If you'll look in front of the pulpit, you'll see a big bouquet of flowers. Different families buy them for the Church each week. Please take those flowers to your granny because she deserves the very best." Then the boy made one last statement which Rev. Ramsey said he will always treasure. The boy said, "What a wonderful day! I asked for one flower but got a beautiful bouquet." That's the thankful spirit. That's the gratitude attitude. And it's that attitude that should guide our giving and our lives. Like that boy's granny, God has blessed us so much. God has been so good to us that giving shouldn't even be a question. It should just flow from us naturally. John R. Ramsey, Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Adapted by Billy D. Strayhorn, “The Gratitude Attitude" The Source of Thanksgiving I will remind you of that wonderful Children's holiday classic "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." It was released a few years ago as a movie staring Jim Carrey. You'll recall in the story how the Grinch enters all the homes by way of their chimneys disguised as Santa Clause. He takes all the presents and ornaments, the trees and stockings, and even their food down to the last morsel. He drags his loot up to his mountain and then looks down upon Whoville with a sinister grin. He is listening for the cries and wailings of the people to start as they wake up on Christmas morning to discover a Christmas lost. What he hears instead surprises him. Up from the town of the Whos comes a joyful Christmas carol. They are singing. "Why?" he asks. It is because, he learns, Christmas resides not in things but in the heart which is thankful. He could not steal their gratitude. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com First National Thanksgiving Proclamation Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!" Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country. George Washington, 1779. Jesus, the Bread of Life, is energized in each one of us by divine yeast by the Spirit of the living God, who sent Christ to be among us, to be for us, to be in us. To benefit fully from this Bread of Life, we must keep our lives, our spirits, "yeasty" vital and ever growing. What can you do to create "yeast" in your soul? Here's one suggestion. Try using "y-e-a-s-t" as an acronym for your spiritual attitude. "Yes." Are you saying "yes" to nourishing possibilities the Bread of Life is offering you? You've heard of the "placebo" effect. It's when your body thinks it's getting something helpful and healing, and so generates a helpful and healing response throughout your system. But scientists are now talking equally about the flip side of the "placebo" effect. They're calling it the "nocebo" effect. It's when your inability to think "yes," your negative mood and outlook, your worried fixation on worst-case scenarios, can keep the "nocebo" effect working in your physiology. (For more on the "nocebo" effect, see the recent book of Harvard Medical School professor Herbert Benson, Timeless Healing [New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996].) Because of the "Seven First Words of the Christian" "I can do all things through Christ" a yeasty spirit thinks "YES." "Energize." Why is it that the Energizer Bunny that keeps going and going is always going somewhere else the night the lights go out and you dig out your flashlight?! Unlike batteries, however, a properly maintained yeast colony can keep going and going and going. Ever make sourdough bread using "sourdough starter"? "Starter" is really a combination of yeast cultures, water and flour. You dip out what you need for the day's biscuits, bread or pancakes, give the rest of the starter a stir, "feed" it more flour and water, and tuck it back in your frig. In pioneer days, women treasured their "starter" and nurtured it along for years. Sometimes one starter was passed on from mother to daughter to granddaughter. That's perpetual energy. And that is what the Bread of Life can bring to your own spirit. "Access." In order to be continually fed by the Bread of Life, we must keep in constant touch with the source of life's true energy supply. Living out of the stored power of the Spirit enables us to be fed by Christ's gift any time we need it. We can access this always available power reserve in various ways. For some of us, direct intercessory prayer brings us the closest to God's Spirit and God's love. For others, music opens the soul and sets it resonating with the Spirit. For many, creating and/or contemplating works of art, form within us the prayers that enable us to reach out and grab the gift of life. Stanly Kunitz once called "art" the "chalice into which we pour transcendence" (As quoted by R. Scott Colglazier, Finding a Faith That Makes Sense [St.Louis: Chalice Press], 83). Find your own unique way of accessing the energy of bread ... and you will never go hungry. "Search." Today's crowds thought they were seeking the Bread of Life. All they were really looking for was a free lunch. Jesus' words to them, his corrections and counsel, were intended to make the hungering crowd search their spirits for their true motives and desires. Likewise, when we feel filled-up with power or contentments we should search our own spirits to make certain we are feasting on what God provides, not on what our own egos or selfish desires have cooked up. "Trust." If we are filling up on the Bread of Life, we should be able to trust in the Spirit's presence and power in our lives. It is that trust that allows us to take what appears to others as "risks." Trusting in the Spirit lets us "go for it" when conventional wisdom or cautious hedging would advise us to sit on the sidelines. When our spirits are resting in trust, they can do anything. For we know no matter where we go, no matter what difficulties we may encounter, a constant food supply is always at hand, always guaranteed. Only Jesus can satisfy the hungry heart. Only Jesus has the Words of Eternal Life.

The Bread of Life

13th Sunday of Pentecost August 19, 2018 John 6: 51-58 Year B Children’s Time….. Exegetical Aim: Conveying the difference between natural bread and wine and the Bread and Wine used in communion. Props: A McDonald’s Happy Meal with a soft drink and the elements of Bread and Wine as your tradition uses them. Lesson: Good Morning. (response) Place the Happy Meal before the kids. Hide the elements of Communion, if you can.Guess what we are going to have today. (a happy meal) No, we are going to have Communion. Use your traditions common term for the Eucharist. What do you mean a happy meal? (response) This is not a Happy Meal this is Communion. Look, here is the bread right here and here is the drink. It even has a straw so everyone can get a drink. (response) I like my Communion with pickles, lettuce, tomato, and mustard. How do you like yours? (response) You mean this is not communion? (response) Why not? (response) Spend some time here exploring the children’s knowledge of the physical differences. If some are able to identify the spiritual differences acknowledge the comment in just a moment within the next discussion. Bring out the Elements. Is this what you mean? (response) Happy Meal: Who serves this meal? (McDonalds) And how much do we have to pay for it? (response) Holy Meal: And who serves this meal? (response) And how much do we have to pay for it? (nothing) Happy Meal: How many times do we have to eat this kind of food? (everyday) Holy Meal: How many times do we have to eat this kind of food? (once a week, month, etc) Actually, we only have to eat this food once. And when we do, we will live forever. Here at the church we eat this meal once a month to remind us of the Bread and Wine that Jesus gave us. You have eaten it and I have eaten it. So have your mom and dad, and brothers and sisters. We all will live forever because of it. Application: The difference between this food and this food is: This is a Happy Meal and this is a Holy Meal. This one comes from the earth but this one comes from Heaven. This is the food that God gives us. Without it we would all die. Let’s Pray: Father, you have sent us Bread from heaven. Help us hunger not after Happy Meals but after your meal which is holy. Amen. ChristianGlobe Network, Inc, Children's Sermons, by Brett Blair John 6:51-58 Common English Bible (CEB) 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 Then the Jews debated among themselves, asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Human One[a]and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me lives because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. It isn’t like the bread your ancestors ate, and then they died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Footnotes: a. John 6:53 Or Son of Man Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible There are some things in the bible, that just don’t make any sense. No matter how many sermons you hear about them, no matter how much you study them, no matter how many explanations you hear, it just doesn’t make any sense. This scripture is just one of those things that just doesn’t make any sense. Basically, Jesus is telling us to eat him and drink his blood. What does that mean? Why would he say something so strange. And more importantly, what is the explanation for this. It is sort of like the old prophet who lay on his sick bed surrounded by his closest followers. Those who followed, but couldn’t get close enough stood in the next room, and those who were not important, had to stand outside waiting for some wisdom. As he lay dying, those closest to him asked for a dying word. The man said – life is like a river. His closest followers held onto the important phrase, and passed it on to those in the other room. Those who were outside immediately asked what the prophet had just said. Life is like a river. One of the outsiders heard this and said this does not make any sense- maybe he could explain a little more. So the outsiders asked those in the other room, and those in the other room asked the insiders, and the insiders asked the prophet to explain this profound statement. The prophet thought about it for a minute – and said then again, life is not like a river. And then he died. Obviously John 6 is an important lesson, or else we would spend 6 weeks looking at it. But the more I study, the more I realize that no one really knows what Jesus is talking about. Many say that Jesus is inviting us to communion, where we eat the bread and body of Jesus, and argue that this is actually the bread and blood of Jesus. But as I have prepared for this text and read, I am not convinced of that. We get our words for communion from the Corinthian text, and every gospel has a story of Jesus eating his last meals with the disciples. Every gospel besides this one – John. As a matter of fact, many scholars wonder if this was not Jesus words, but the words of the church as they were trying to get members to understand communion. These words of eat my body sounds really gross to us, but to the original audience, this would have made a lot of sense. There were a lot of religions that practiced animal sacrifice. You would have bought your animal to the temple, some of the meat would have been burnt, but most of it would have been eaten. You would have eaten the meat sacrificed to the God, and felt God’s presence and felt that God was in the meat, thus God was in you. And felt more powerful and engaged in life because you had eaten a part of God. I also suspect that Jesus said a lot of things to intentionally make his own culture mad at him. When we says drink my blood the jews would have been grossed out – you don’t drink blood because it contains the life force of God. First of all they did not touch blood at all, and second of all you don’t put yourself equal to God. Another explanation of this text is that Jesus realized how important it is for us to eat a meal. In getting close to God, we pray, we sing, we serve, we give – but we also eat. Some of the most important parts of our life revolve around a meal – weddings, funerals, church fundraisers, family gatherings – you know that you are going to get something to eat. If you want people to come to your function what do you do – you feed them. Eating is an important part of life. Jesus is saying if we want to get a glimpse of heaven – we have to eat him as bread and blood. Bread from Home I'm reminded of a true story of a soldier who was severely wounded. When he was out of surgery, the doctors said that there was a good chance for recovery, except that the soldier wouldn't eat anything. The nurses and nuns tried everything, but he refused all food-drinking only water and juice. One of his buddies knew why the soldier wouldn't eat-he was homesick. So, his friend, since the hospital wasn't too far from the soldier's home, offered to bring the young man's father to visit him. The commanding officer approved and the friend went to the parents' home. As the father was about to leave for the hospital, the mother wrapped up a loaf of fresh bread for her son. Well, the patient was very happy to see his father but he still wouldn't eat-that is, until the father said; "Son, this bread was made by your mother, especially for you". The boy brightened and began to eat. I think that you can guess where I'm going with that story. You and I are that boy. We are the ones who have been wounded in the battle of life. We are the ones who've been wounded by sin, by trials and pains, by loss and by our forgetfulness of God. We lose our taste for the food that will strengthen our souls. Holy Communion gives us life, spiritual life, God's life. It gives us spiritual healing and spiritual strength. There was nothing 'magic' about the mother's bread unless, that is, one feels that 'love' is magic--which, of course, it is. Author unknown Bread from heaven is a gift – a gift given to us to help us to get through life. To give us strength and encouragement. I have read John 6 over and over, and given a lot of thought to this gift of bread from heaven. But this week, as I was studying this verse, I noticed another very important gift. Jesus says that whomever eats and drinks the bread of heaven will receive eternal life. Wow, that is a very rich gift these days. The jewish religion is a religion of remembrance, remembering the past, cherishing the ancestors, holding on to the lessons they taught us. That is important. The buddist religion tells us that only thing that matters in life is the present moment. All that you have according to them is the present moment – live solely in it. Christianity is the only religion that encourages us to live in the future. To look forward to what will come. To plan for better days. To see people as God sees them, not as they are today. That is a wonderful gift. God’s name is not I am who I am, God’s name is I will be who I will be. Jesus encourages us to live in eternity, to put our faith in what is to come. To be citizens of the future. As a matter of fact, eternity takes into consideration, the past, the present, and the future all at the same time. You may ask why is that a gift – it is a gift because it means that we have permission to plan. We can create a calendar for next year, we can plan and we can anticipate what is to come. We may ask how can we plan if we don’t know if we will be here or not. How can we move forward, if we don’t know if we will be here or not, when we have no idea of what will happen in the future. Well – here’s the thing. We are all here because we are in search of God in our lives. If we are following Jesus, we know that Jesus is the only way to get to God. If we know that God never changes, that God is the same today as he was yesterday and will be tomorrow, if we know that God will be here forever. So if we are planning to live with God, and God will be around forever, and God will never disappear. If God lives in eternity, and we are planning on living with God – then guess what – we will live in eternity also. That is the amazing gift that we get, when we take the spirit of God into our souls – eternal life. The strength and power to move forward and to serve a God who bought us through the past, who is with us in the present, and who will lead us to a future. We will be here next week, we will be here next year, 10 years from now. Even if we are not here physically – God’s plan that we put in place will be. An amazing gift indeed. There is a story called Wes’ Amerigo’s greatest fear. Wes is a chef and he worries everyday about making enough money to feed his growing family. He gets a little relief as he is chosen as the caterer for one of the most important weddings of the year. He is excited that he will make enough money, but of course he worries everyday that something will go wrong. He has nightmares everynight. But his youngest daughter prays every night, she prays about everything. One night as he woke up from his nightmare, he woke up to her in the kitchen covered in flour. He asked her what she was doing, she said don’t worry about it, go back to bed. He did, but had to get up early to cook 200 swordfish for the wedding. His daughter has prepared 80 pans of dough. When it came time to cook the swordfish, he discovered that the daughter had covered the swordfish in cherry juice, as a matter of fact he discovered that she had covered his whole meal in cherry juice. He was sure that he had been destroyed, that he had lost the money on this catering job. But the daughter told him to cook the 80 pans of dough. The guest were disappointed when they were anticipating swordfish, but all that was on the plate was these very unshapen dough patties. But when they ate it, it was the greatest thing that they had ever tasted. They all asked the chef what he had put in these mystery cakes to make them taste so good. The chef had no idea – it was a mystery. And his daughter said that she would never tell – she just said that the recipe was revealed to her from God – it came to her from the place in her that floats – that place that floats is the spirit the soul. The bread of heaven is a gift from that place in each of us that floats – it remains a mystery intended to feed our mind, body and soul. Someone said feeding on Jesus is the eternal prayer for life, for the presence of God – for God to live our life, to dwell in our hearts – to come afresh each day to give us strength, power, and confidence in every situation. Let us pray….. Other illustrations….. The Communion of Empty Hands There's a beautiful incident recorded by Thomas Pettepiece, a Methodist pastor, who was a political prisoner, a prisoner of conscience. Pettepiece writes of his first Easter Sunday spent in prison. He was among 10,000 prisoners. Most of the men had lost everything: their homes, their jobs, their furniture, their contact with their families. It was Easter Sunday, and they wanted to celebrate Communion. But, they had no cup for Communion. They had no wine for Communion. They didn't even have water for Communion. Nor did they have any bread for the Sacrament. So, they practiced the Communion of Empty Hands. "This meal in which we take part," Pettepeice said, "reminds us of the imprisonment, the torture, the death and final victory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The bread is the body which he gave for humanity. The fact that we have none represents very well the lack of bread in the hunger of so many millions of human beings. The wine, which we don't have today, is his blood, and represents our dream of a united humanity, of a just society, without difference of race or class." Then Pettepiece, the pastor, held out his empty hand to the next person on his right, and passed on the imaginary loaf. Each one took a piece and passed it on. Then he said, "Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And together they ate the imaginary bread, trying to imagine tasting it. After a moment they passed around the non-existent chalice, each imagining he was drinking from it. "Take, drink, this is the blood of Christ which was shed for you ... Let us give thanks, sure that Christ is here with us, strengthening us." They gave thanks to God and then stood up and embraced each other. And a while later, one of the non-Christian prisoners came up to them and said, "You people have something special, which I would like to have." And the father of a girl who had died came up to Pettepiece and said, "Pastor, this was a real experience. I believe that today I discovered what faith is ..." (from Visions of a World Hungry, quoted in A Guide To Prayer, Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck, editors, The Upper Room, p. 143). Alex Gondola, Jr., Come As You Are, CSS Publishing Company. Christ in Me and I in Him There is an story about minister walking along the ocean with his small son. The boy questioned his father about Sunday's sermon. The boy said, "Dad, I cannot understand how Christ can live in us and we live in him at the same time." Further down the beach, the father noticed an empty bottle with a cork in it. Taking the bottle, he half filled it with water, re-corked it and flung it out into the ocean. As they watched the bottle bob up and down he said, "Son, the sea is in the bottle and the bottle is in the sea. It is a picture of life in Christ. You live under the Lordship of Christ and He lives in you." Traditional

God's Economy - Adundance, scarcity, frugality

July 27, 2018 Year B John 6:1-21 Abundance, Scarcity, Frugality: The Economy of God Children’s Time Object: a bucket, a small pile of rocks, a small pile of candy Good morning, boys and girls. I need your help this morning. I brought this nice, new bucket with me, and I need to fill it up with something. That's what a bucket is for, to be filled with stuff. Now, I have to choose what I want to put into the bucket. For instance, I've got this pile of rocks here. I could put them into the bucket. They would fit in there just fine. They're big and dirty and not too pretty, but I could put them in the bucket. Or I could put some of this candy in the bucket. Do you like candy? I do too. This candy would fill up the bucket nicely. Which would you rather have a bucket full of rocks, or a bucket full of candy? I'd say a bucket full of candy. Did you know that our minds can be like an empty bucket? That's right, we can choose what to put into our minds. Some people fill their minds with fear and worry and anger. They are scared or unhappy all the time because they've filled their mind with scared and unhappy thoughts. But we don't have to do that. We can choose to fill our minds with good thoughts, like love, and joy, and peace, and having faith in God. Just as we can choose to fill our bucket with rocks or with candy, we can choose whether to fill our minds with bad thoughts or good thoughts. Let's ask Jesus to fill up our minds with love and faith in Him. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan John 6:1-21 Common English Bible (CEB) Feeding of the five thousand 6 After this Jesus went across the Galilee Sea (that is, the Tiberias Sea).2 A large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miraculous signs he had done among the sick. 3 Jesus went up a mountain and sat there with his disciples. 4 It was nearly time for Passover, the Jewish festival. 5 Jesus looked up and saw the large crowd coming toward him. He asked Philip, “Where will we buy food to feed these people?” 6 Jesus said this to test him, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, “More than a half year’s salary[a] worth of food wouldn’t be enough for each person to have even a little bit.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, 9 “A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted. 12 When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that had been left over by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw that he had done a miraculous sign, they said, “This is truly the prophet who is coming into the world.” 15 Jesus understood that they were about to come and force him to be their king, so he took refuge again, alone on a mountain. Jesus walks on water 16 When evening came, Jesus’ disciples went down to the lake. 17 They got into a boat and were crossing the lake to Capernaum. It was already getting dark and Jesus hadn’t come to them yet. 18 The water was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When the wind had driven them out for about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He was approaching the boat and they were afraid. 20 He said to them, “I Am.[b] Don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and just then the boat reached the land where they had been heading. Footnotes: a. John 6:7 Or two hundred denaria b. John 6:20 Or It is I. Sermon Opener - Partners in the Impossible - John 6:1-21 "Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?" (v. 5b) A minister was making a home visit to one of the younger families in his parish. A five-year-old boy answered the front door and told the minister his mother would be there shortly. To make some conversation, the minister asked the little guy what he would like to be when he grows up. The boy immediately answered, "I’d like to be possible." "What do you mean by that?" the puzzled minister asked. "Well, you see," the boy replied, "just about every day my mom tells me I’m impossible!" That is my message for today – to dwell in possibility. And to remember that all things are possible with Jesus Christ. We have all heard of the feeding of the 5000 story. This is one of the most popular stories in the bible. This is Jesus’ biggest miracle. This is the only miracle that is talked about in all 4 gospels in the bible. In every miracle story – Jesus is able to accomplish something that the people thought was impossible. Jesus is a prophet that was able to do things no on ever did before him. He is able to meet a need of the people in a way that cannot be explained. As a matter of fact, many people say that John is the gospel that crosses a line in talking about Jesus. Matthew, Mark, and Mark all talk about the miracles of Jesus. But John is the only one who will try and convince you that Jesus, the Christ , is the spirit of God in the flesh. The book of John is a series of Six I Am statements. When people ask Jesus who he is – he responds with six statements of who He is – all of these statements are attributes of God. The I am statement for John 6 is – I am the bread of life. That is a deep statement. As a matter of fact John chapter 6 is the complete story of who God is. There is so much to preach about here. But today – we are going to talk about what is possible when God is present. The lectionary will deal with John 6 for the next five weeks. I won’t be dealing with John 6 all of the time. I will be going back and forth between the lessons of John – and the bread of life and Ephesians – which will be talking about what it means to be the community that believes in God. In this week’s reading, Jesus does not even get to explaining the statements I am the bread of life. As a matter of fact, Jesus just says I am - He wants to prove what is possible when we trust in God. Jesus provides for the needs of the people, but he takes them further into understanding who God and is and what God is capable of . This scripture has three miracles of Jesus – the feeding of the 5000, Jesus walking on water, and Peter believing that Jesus is the messiah. I am only going to talk about the first miracle – the feeding of the 5000. This is the perfect example of God will provide and God’s abundance. Jesus takes 5 loaves of bread and five fish and he feeds 5000 people. It shows that in God’s economy there is always enough. It shows what Jesus means when he says I am the bread of life. All of these people have come to hear about God from Jesus. Jesus knows that they are hungry and in need. So as the bread of life, he literally gives them bread. But each time Jesus provides for a immediate need of people, he takes people even further. Jesus says that man cannot live on bread alone – but on the word of God. He feeds them, but he also speaks more about the bread of life. We know Jesus part in this story very well, but the most important lesson for us actually comes from the disciples response to Jesus. When Jesus wants to feed the people, he instructs the disciples to go and get food. Jesus first goes to Philip and asks how are we going to pay for all of this food to feed all of these people. Philip is a realist, and he knows that they could never buy enough food to feed all of these people. Philip represents most of us when we are doing the work of the church – we would love to help everyone – but we just don’t have the money. But another disciple gives another response. Instead of saying no- Andrew is from the neighborhood, he knows the people, instead of doing nothing, he looks for a solution – and he find a little boy who has something. One of these disciples believes in what is impossible, and another believes in what is possible. There is a saying that a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. And a optimist is one who sees opportunity in difficulty. Which one are you? How many times have the church wanted to do something, and there is always that person like Philip – who says we don’t have the money to do that. Now I am not saying that there is something wrong with those people who say that we cant afford to do everything. Those who say that the church does not have enough money. We don’t . That is not the point of this story. As I was preparing the this sermon – someone said that there are plenty of times in life when a Christian was desparately in need, and there was no miracle, no abundance, and that person died of starvation. That is not the point of this story. Jesus does not promise us that we will be rescued from every tough spot, or that miracles will save us. But what Jesus is trying to teach us, as he taught the disciples – that as people of faith – we should dwell in possibility. When we are faced with the impossible – to look for the possible. To use what we have, and depend on God for the increase. Instead of being stopped by the impossible, Andrew went and looked for what he had. The abundance of God always starts with what we have no matter how small it is. Small Saves – John 6:1-21 by Leonard Sweet A box came in the mail the other day. It was a surprise free gift from the local power company. Or I should say two free gifts. The power company sent every one of their customers a new “low flow” showerhead, designed to cut down on water usage, but still feel like a real shower. The second free gift was four of those new curly-q fluorescent light bulbs, the kind that last longer and use less electricity while putting out the same amount of light. This small act cost the power company a few thousand dollars. But according to their figuring, in the long run if everyone replaced their showerhead and a few light bulbs, the savings would be in the tens of thousands of dollars. It was a small act, but it was a start to a big savings. Small is big. From architectural trends like “The Not So Big House,” to backyard food sources (“Fresh Food from Small Spaces”), to down-size is the new up-grade. In fact, down-sizing has become a big business. Not too long ago only a few hippie-holdout co-op markets offered a small selection of scruffy-looking “organic” fare for the few “fresh-niks” among us. Now just about every big super-market offers about as much space to certified “organic” produce as they do for the other options. Did you know you can buy all sorts of other “organic” products — ketchup, frozen pizza, macaroni and cheese mixes? What started out looking like a small and stunted sideline has become a major force in the food industry. God has an MO: Modus Operandi. God’s MO is to start small. God loves starting small, and then from small beginnings grow something amazing. From cosmic dust to a Big Bang? The next time you consider taking a sip from a fresh, cold mountain stream, remember how much the divine delights in single-celled organisms. There are millions of them floating in one glass of water. Consider how there are more insects than any other class of critters and more beetles than any other kind of insect, each fitting neatly into its particular ecological niche. Jesus carried on the family tradition. Jesus had a fascination with all things small and humble. Mustard seeds. Sparrows. Grains of wheat. Yeast. Pennies. Sprouting seeds. Hebrews. Children. And in today’s text from John, the remnants of a little boy’s lunch box… Was enough to feed 5000 people. What seems to be impossible in your life these days, my friend? Some task you are facing in your personal life? Or maybe as you look out on our weary world and society today, you are prompted to ask, "Who is going to accomplish all the things that seem so impossible in our world today?" In such times Jesus Christ is asking you and me to join with him in being partners in the impossible. To his friend and follower, Philip, Jesus says, "Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?" An impossible task, indeed! But as we look at this question of Jesus in the Bible this morning, let’s try and take hold of the encouraging truth that emerges, and it is this: Christ never asks us to do the impossible unless he himself provides the power and resources to get the job done. So today let us confidently answer his call, for he is our divine partner in doing the impossible. Closer to home, in our everyday lives the lesson for us to remember is that the only cure for hopelessness is to have hope. The only way to deal with the impossible, is to look for what is possible. The only way to overcome the scarcity of life, is to intentionally look for the abundance of God. And to have faith in the fact that God always provides. If God gives us a mission, God will provide the resources for us to complete that mission. God wants us to have enough. People come from miles around to come to church, to see if this story is really true. Can Jesus really provide. And if so, them how did he do it? What was the miracle in this story. Did he use some magical powers to multiply the five loaves into 5000? Or was this a precurser to the communion meal, where everyone got a small bite, but were filled spiritually, or was the miracle that once every saw that a little boy was willing to share his meal with others, they followed suit and gave until there was enough food to feed everyone. What is the real miracle of God’s abundance? The real miracle is our faith and how we live it out. What Are We To Do About This? The telephone rings, you answer, it’s someone from the church. After a bit of polite chit-chat, the caller gets to the point: "The reason I’m calling," she confesses, "is that we would really like it if you would consider teaching Sunday School next year, or serving as a Presbyterian Women’s Ministry leader, singing in the choir, chairing a particular committee, whatever." And you think: "Dear God, they must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel," or "I already have so much to do," and all of the good, logical reasons for not saying "yes" come immediately to mind. Someone asks you to lunch. You know each other, but then again, you really don’t. He says, "I’ll be honest with you. I’m about as lonely as I have ever been in my life. I need a friend, someone to talk with, and I was hoping you would be that person for me." And you think, "Oh, Lord, I’m not up to this." A friend gives every evidence of addiction; a neighbor’s child bears the marks of abuse. . . It would be easier, and probably smarter for you personally, just to stay out of it all, to mind your own business. You may feel sorry for the person trying to recruit volunteers in the life of the church; sorry for the person who needs a friend; sorry for the friend with the addiction, for the child with the bruises and burns, but when you add it all up all you have to offer are five little loaves of bread and two scrawny fish. There is nothing that you can do. The task is simply beyond the scope of your ability, the limits of your time and energy, and so what you do is nothing. Jesus, though, keeps asking "what are we do to about this?" Why can’t he leave well enough alone? Are you Philip or Andrew? Do you rely on what is impossible, or what is possible? Do you respond from a place of scarcity or abundance? There is so much wonderful stuff in this story – because after the 5000 were fed, the story says that there were 12 baskets of leftovers collected. In God’s economy, nothing goes to waste. Each disciples was given a basket of food to take home and feed his family. God is truly amazing! Let us pray….. Additional illustrations…. Be careful when you touch bread. Let it not be uncared for, unwanted. So often bread is taken for granted. There is so much beauty in bread; beauty of the sun and soil, beauty of patient toil. Winds and rrain have caressed it. Chrit often blessed it. Be gentle when you touch bread. Need Happens 24/7 A few years ago in the city of Chicago, a crowd of community residents did something unusual. They picketed the churches in their community to do something other than have church. They picketed them to be church. They seemed to say the Christ you claim and proclaim each Sunday seems more than enough in the sanctuary, but never seems to get out in our neighbor-hoods. Why are you open only on Sunday? Need happens 24/7. There are six other days in the week, but you're closed. Ozzie E. Smith, Jr., More Than Enough Countering the Myth of Limited Resources A few years ago I served as pastor of Lavington Church in Nairobi. One day three young men came to my office. Although they were cheerful, they looked tired and wore out. Their tennis shoes were dusty and their clothes needed a wash. The first thing they asked when they came into my office was whether they could sing a verse of "Amazing Grace" in their language. They sang acapella in parts. It was so beautiful. Sounded like angel music, the kind of singing that tugs at the soul and brings tears to your eyes out of the blue. And then they told me their story. They were university students from Rwanda, 23-year olds. Two of them had been medical students. When war broke out in their country, they had escaped with only the clothes on their back and the song in their heart. They had walked for weeks without a change of clothes with no place to sleep. They had often gone hungry, they said, and they had no clue where any of their family members and friends were. They said they had learned to be grateful for their life each day and they had begun singing "Amazing Grace" as a prayer as they walked. They had seen so much violence and death and cruelty that they could not find words to pray so instead they sang "Amazing Grace" as they walked and they said, "God knew and that was enough." On that afternoon in my office, these three young men had come to church asking for assistance. They said they had found a room to rent for eight U.S. dollars a month. They said they did not need beds; they would gladly sleep on the floor. They were asking our congregation to help them with a month's rent. Eight dollars and some money for food, a total of $12 a month. I asked the three students to come back in a few days so I could meet with the church leaders, and when I met my church leaders, they all agreed it was a great ministry. But someone talked about the budget. Someone said $8 was not a lot, but if you multiplied by 12 months, the next thing you know, it would be impossible. And someone else suggested a very Andrew-like idea. "Let's have a special project," they said. "Let's have a special offering. Let's tell the congregation about the situation, have these young men sing one Sunday morning, and whoever in the congregation is willing to help, could donate outside the usual tithing and offertory." The church leaders talked late into the night. Some were even concerned that so many refugees were in the city that the word would spread our church was involved in paying rent and buying groceries and we would be swamped with needs. Some wanted to keep church and revivals only a spiritual level. No picnics, no food, no dinner. As I listened to my church leaders, I learned so much about the myth of limited resources. We often think there's just enough for some of us. Some have to go without. We're worried we'll run out, but guess what? God's world has enough for all of us. Someone has put it well, saying, "There is enough for all our needs, but there is not enough for all our greed." Grace Imathiu, A Picnic on the Mountainside Stone Soup I love the story of a Christian missionary hiking the high Andean trails to a remote village in Peru. He found a rock along the road, a curious geode, and put it in his backpack as a souvenir. That evening he strode into the village to a very unfriendly welcome. No one offered him a bed. No one asked him to sit by their fire. He learned that a famine had plagued the Indians for over a month. And the people were starving. Each was simply afraid to share amidst so much deprivation. Praying to Jesus how to help them, he got an idea. Calling the Indians around a campfire he preached God's loving care in Christ. Then he said, "I'm going to feed you by making some stone soup. Yummm! It's tasty! I grew up on it! And you'll like it just fine!" Then he opened his backpack and produced the rock he'd found that morning. The Indians scoffed, "Stone soup! Why that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" "Trust me," the missionary assured them. "See! I've brought the stone. But I'm going to need a pot to put it in." An Indian woman quickly volunteered her pot. "And I'll need about two large buckets of water to boil the stone in." A man, shaking his head, brought the water. So, in went the stone, in went the water, and over the fire the pot was suspended. Curious now, the villagers began to gather around the pot, peering into its contents. The missionary began to stir the pot and drool. "You know, stone soup sure is good with carrots!" To which an Indian said, "I've got six carrots!" He quickly fetched them and they were cut up into the pot. Then the missionary smelled deeply of the bubbly broth and sighed, "Some potatoes sure would add to the flavor." From pockets and other hiding places came dozens of spuds. They were quickly added to the soup. Soon people were bringing onions, celery, and bits of meat to top off the pot of stone soup. And within the hour a community was formed around that stew pot. All ate. And all were filled and they heard the story of Jesus Christ. Believe John 6:1-14 as a miracle of Jesus in multiplying the bread and fish, if you will, or believe Jesus' miracle in the selfish human heart causing the multitudes to share. But above all, remember this: The next time you see a need or feel inadequate, don't look at the hillside, look in the basket. Don't count the difficulties presented. Look at the resources possessed. Don't measure your problems. Measure God's power! Stephen M. Crotts, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, CSS Publishing Company ____________________________ We Can't Afford It William Easum is a church leader who's dedicated his life work to helping churches thrive and engage in real mission. He thinks we ought to deal with things that get in the way of fullness of God and mission, he wrote a book called "Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers". The title says a lot! He begins the book's first chapter with this statement, "Established churches worship at the feet of the sacred cow of CONTROL." Personally, one of the most often used controlling statements I've heard over the years in any church I've served is, "We can't afford it." That is merely the echo of Philip the disciple, who told Jesus there simply wasn't enough money to buy food for all those people. We don't have enough money. Or, there isn't leadership potential. Or, we just ordinary folks. Or, we can't do it. Or, we like things just the way they are. Leave us alone! I think that's what we really mean whenever we say, "We can't afford it". David G. Mullen, There is a Boy Here... A Story Told Over and Over Rollie and I are best of friends from seminary years. One night while at the seminary, he and his wife were over for dinner. As usual, Mart and I were locked in intensive conversation, this time about the fate of the Jews in Romans 9-11. As the words were flying heatedly across the table, the leg that held up one half of the Duncan Fife table was accidentally kicked out and all the food fell to the floor. Meat, potatoes, peas, salad. It all hit the floor. But the conversation about Romans 9-11 didn’t stop. Not a breath was taken;not a pause was made; not for a fraction of a moment did the conversation stop. There was no acknowledgment of the food on the floor as it was being picked up, and the dinner continued as if nothing happened. And we laughed and laughed. And that old favorite story gets told over and over again because it captures the essence of the personalities of the people involved. Well, the gospel story for today is an old favorite story about Jesus and his disciples that was told over and over again. There are some old favorite stories which are told only one time in the gospels.... such as the story of the Good Samaritan, told only once; the story of the Prodigal Son, told only once; the story of the Sheep and the Goats, told only once. These are favorite, great stories but they are told only once in our Gospel. But the story for today, about the five loaves and two fish, is not told merely once, not twice, not three times, but four times, with only slight variations. It is the only Gospel miracle which is told in its fullness in all four Gospels. Now, why is this story told over and over again? I believe it is because this story captures the truth, the essence of all the people involved; the essential truth about Jesus and the essential truth about the disciples and the essential truth about God. Edward F. Markquart, Five Loaves and Two Fish to Feed 5,000 ________________________________ John Stepped Over the Line Back when I was a seminarian at Yale Divinity School, I had a discussion with a rabbi who was studying for his Ph.D. in New Testament, an unusual combination! He mused that if Christians had just stuck with the gospel of Mark, Jews (who are willing to recognize Jesus as a great teacher) and Muslims (who recognize Jesus as a great prophet, perhaps second only to Mohammed) could probably get along with us Christians a lot better. My rabbi friend suggested that while Matthew and Luke pushed the line, John stepped across the line with impunity by equating Jesus with God. Stephen Butler Murray, A Ministry of Surprises The Meaning of All Religion What do we see in the image the gospel writer presents? We are told "they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat". Certainly there is the man, Jesus, exercising a power no human has; there is the storm that presents such peril to those in the boat; there is the location distant from shore. But what is behind what is told? What truth is present in the relation of the events? Karl Barth expresses well what it is in "Der Romerbrief." We all "are encountered" by God. "That we have found the Christ in Jesus of Nazareth is confirmed because all the manifestations of God's faithfulness are indications or prophecies of what has encountered us in Jesus. The hidden power of the law and the prophets is the Christ who encounters us in Jesus. The meaning of all religion is the redemption, the turn of the age, the resurrection, the invisibility of God that constrains us to silence in Jesus. The substance of all human happenings is the forgiveness under which they stand as it is proclaimed and embodied precisely in Jesus. No one need object that this power, this meaning, this substance is to be found not only in Jesus but elsewhere. For we ourselves affirm this very thing; indeed, precisely we can affirm it. What is known and found in Jesus is that God is found everywhere, that before and after Jesus mankind has been found by God; in him we have the criterion by which all finding and being found by God may be known as such and by which we can conceive this finding and being found as a truth of the eternal order. Many walk in the light of redemption, forgiveness, Resurrection; but that we see them walk, that we have eyes for them, we owe to one. In his light we see light. And that it is the Christ we have found in Jesus is confirmed because Jesus is the final word, which clarifies all the others and brings them to sharpest expression, of the faithfulness of God to which the law and the prophets bear witness." Brent Porterfield, Sermons.com Someone once calculated that the words “fear not” appear in the Bible 365 times, and that means that there is one “Fear not” for every day of the year! That makes a good story, but I tried to find the exact words in the electronic Bible on my computer, and could not find them even once! But I found similar ones, and I am sure that the meaning is there. And I need no “proof text” for every day of the year. All I need to hear is the words of Jesus which keep coming back to me again and again, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” That is enough. But that is everything! In the words of Charles Wesley, Jesus! the Name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease; Tis music in the sinner’s ears, Tis life, and health, and peace. Donald B. Strobe, Collected Words, www.Sermons.com Dudley Weaver, Facing the Impossible Something in Jesus recognized that he could not meet the needs of so many people who were clamoring after him without at the same time denying who was called by God to be. In the wilderness, Satan tried to transform Jesus into a wonder-worker. Jesus refused. Now, Jesus has given bread and when the grateful crowds attempt to crown him king, Jesus withdraws (John 6:15). When the crowds find him the next day, Jesus rebukes them for caring only about their bellies (6:26). They ask for a sign from Jesus, perhaps hoping for another free meal. But Jesus refuses, and launches instead into his famous "Bread of Life Discourse," where he identifies himself with what they truly need. Many of his disciples say, "This is a hard saying," and many of them no longer follow Jesus after he stops giving them bread but now says that he is their "bread from heaven" (6:60, 66). Jesus refused to do for the crowds what they wanted, as if to do so would be a forsaking of his vocation. Jesus, What will you do for us? must be subsequent to the prior question, Jesus, Who are you and what is your mission? The great theologian, Karl Barth, said people come to church asking, "Is it true?" Tom Long feels that today, most people in the pew are simply asking themselves, "Will it work for me?" That's why I think this story is told to us. When will we ever learn? Christianity, following Jesus, is not merely another helpful means of helping us get what we want. Rather, following Jesus is the means whereby God gets what God wants. Jesus cannot be enlisted as another helpful therapeutic device to enable us to get what we want before we met Jesus. The Gospel implies that we do not know what we want, what we need before we meet Jesus. William Willimon, What Are You Looking For? Modern Day Miracles A 19-year-old girl by the name of Khun Paot, escaped the Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia after an arduous journey with 100 others through miles of jungle, canals, mountains, and rivers. Standing between them and freedom were communist soldiers, the elements, and a stretch of jungle ground covered with thorns. Most of the escapees were barefoot or wore flimsy thongs. A midnight-like darkness hampered the struggling group as it crossed a valley between two high mountain ranges. "We could see absolutely nothing," Paot later told a missionary, Maxine Stewart. "We didn't even know where to step." Suddenly hundreds of fireflies swarmed into view. Their glow made enough light for the people to see the path. The refugees reached the next mountain by "firefly light," said Mrs. Stewart. After Paot was transferred to Kham Put refugee camp, she was invited to a Christian meeting. "I know that old man," she exclaimed at a picture on the wall of the chapel. "He is the one who led us and showed us the way to Thailand and freedom." She was pointing to a picture of Jesus. The Recorder, September 1979, p. 25. Sermon Opener - John 6:1-21 One Saturday Ken Erickson’s wife cleaned out leftovers from the refrigerator. She gave the one remaining portion of tortellini to their 6-year-old son, Jeremy. Their 8-year-old son, Matthew, also wanted some, so bickering ensued. After several unsuccessful attempts to mediate the dispute, Ken decided on a theological approach. Hoping to convince Jeremy to share his portion with Matthew, he said, “Jeremy, what would Jesus do in this situation?” Jeremy immediately responded, “Oh, Dad, He would just make more!” Yes, that is exactly what Jesus would do. Jesus would just make more! Would you agree with me that the biggest problem facing the church today is lack of faith? It’s not lack of resources. We think it is, but it’s not. The first question someone will ask when a necessary expense is brought up here at the church, “Where’s the money coming from?” But that’s the wrong question. The only question we should ask is: Is this God’s will for our church? We may not realize it, but we are rich in terms of both financial strength and talent. We only scratch the surface in our giving of either. What we lack is faith. We could feed the world’s hungry. Not by ourselves, of course, but with the help of other caring people. Remember, there are two billion Christians on this earth. We could heal conflicts between the nations of the world. We could give comfort to the lonely, freedom to the captive, hope to the desperate. We have the resources. All we lack is faith. What is it that Christ said? “…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20-21) The problem, dear friends, is not our lack of resources, but our lack of faith. In today’s lesson from the Gospel, Jesus is on a mountainside with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast is near. He looks up and sees a great crowd coming up the mountain. A small army really. Five thousand men, and an untold number of women and children. That’s kind of scary. Suppose we were having a church supper and ten thousand people showed up? We would be scurrying around, probably in a panic. Jesus didn’t panic. He turns to his disciple Philip and asks, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” The writer of John says that he asked this only to test Philip, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” As far as the disciples were concerned, the problem was resources. They didn’t have enough. Jesus knew better. What they had was not a resource problem, but a faith problem. 1. It Is Not a Resource Problem. 2. Living by Faith, Not by Fear. There is a tale of an old German schoolmaster who, when he entered his class of boys in the morning, used to remove his cap and bow ceremoniously to them. One asked him why he did this. His answer was: “You never know what one of these boys may some day become.” He was right—because one of them was Martin Luther. Andrew did not know what he was doing when he brought that lad to Jesus that day, but he was providing material for a miracle. We never know what possibilities we are releasing when we bring someone to Jesus. Jesus needs what we can bring him. It may not be much but he needs it. It may well be that the world is denied miracle after miracle and triumph after triumph because we will not bring to Jesus what we have and what we are. If we would lay ourselves on the altar of his service, there is no saying what he could do with us and through us. We may be sorry and embarrassed that we have not more to bring—and rightly so; but that is no reason for failing to bring what we have. Little is always much in the hands of Christ.

Are you still hungry? - August 9. 2009

Year B
10th Sunday after Pentecost
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
John 6:35, 41-51

Why do we say a table blessing today?
A group is seminary students asked why do we still say table blessings today. In its original intention, table blessings were said because you never knew the condition of your food. In times without refrigeration, you could only hope that you would not be poisoned by the food you needed so desparately, so you prayed over it.
And of course, you never knew when you were going to eat, so you were grateful for what you received.

Do we still need to?
Today, especially in America, we do not have to worry as much if our food will harm us. More importantly, we tend to take three meals a day for granted, we just assume that we will always have enough to eat. So we really have to bless every meal that we get?

Of course we need to
Today, we may eat much more extravagantly than those before us, but we still need to be thankful for what we receive. We still need to acknowledge the fact that everything that we receive is a gift from God.

Food is still important to us
We may get too much of it, but we can still be grateful to God for the food that we do get.

Bread was considered a staple of life – every culture eats some kind of bread.
Bread has always been considered a staple of the human diet. Every culture in the world eats some kind of bread. (not me, I don’t care for bread, and will not eat it unless I have to.)

Jesus has been telling us that he is the bread of life
This is the last week of our study of John 6. Jesus has been telling us that he is the bread of life. That his teachings are our staple as Christians. We need bread, but more importantly, we need Jesus.

Levels
Fed,
Told to read the word of God
He is the bread
This bread is from heaven
Jesus taught this lesson to the people of his times in many ways, but more importantly, on many different levels. First he fed them real bread so that they could pay attention to the teaching. Then he told the them the word of God from heaven. Then he explained that he is the bread of life, and then he explained that what he had to teach was indeed bread from heaven, just like their ancestors received manna from heaven.

Why this offended the jews
This was very offensive to the Jewish population. Why would anyone associate themselves with bread from heaven. It was offensive for them to eat flesh and blood. So they were offended by Jesus message. But Jesus knew this was the case. He knew this would be a hard message and that many would need to fall away – because they could not bear what he had to say. No one should believe that they knew the word of God, only God knew the word of God. And God would never come in human form.

Spiritual practices of life – to truly be able to experience life
Forgot all about the bread – but remember the lesson
For Christians we don’t have to get caught up on the physical reality of what Jesus is saying. Jesus knew that the bread was important, but the bread would pass away. But the point of believing that Jesus us the bread of life should stick withus.


Early church thought of as cannibals- eating flesh and blood
Many people were critical of the early church, they thought they were cannibals, eating the flesh and blood of Jesus.

Not so – gather together in community, praying together, living together helping together, most importantly believing in Jesus together

Life is made up of many struggles, many pressures, many opinions, many decisions – but there is only one Jesus

We Didn’t read Ephesians this morning – in the scripture, Paul tells us to be imitators of Christ –
Imitate the ones we love and admire.


Jesus did he best to imitate God – and succeeded

Story of pastor visiting
There was a pastor who visited a woman in the hospital. She was very close to dying. And when you came to see her, she did not always open her eyes. On the day that pastor visited, she did not immediately open her eyes to greet him. But when she did – she told him that she thought that he was Jesus coming to visit her. He told her that when she did finally reach heaven and talked with Jesus, he hoped that Jesus did indeed look just like him. As Christians we are called to be mistaken for Jesus by many people. And in turn Jesus looks just like us in the face.

But the story – when I get to heaven and see Jesus – as if Jesus saw me – if He looks like me.

The point of bread from heaven – we are the bread of life from heaven, when we imitate Jesus.

Mutual love – we are in a mutual relationship, we look like Jesus and Jesus looks like us.

We will be studying John 6 for two more weeks. Two more weeks of this bread of life. John says that Jesus is bread, light, gate, shepherd, life, vine. All images that he uses in the book of John.

There is no one image that captures the full meaning of Jesus or of God’s love for us.

There is no one person who can be the body of Christ – we are all Jesus in our own way – when we come together and take the bread and believe it is from heaven.

God's Prestige

2 Samuel 11: 1-15
John 6: 1-23
Year B
The eighth Sunday after Pentecost



Experience at Michael Jackson memorial
I told you a few weeks ago, that I had went to the Michael Jackson Memorial in Gary, IN. No one wanted to go with me, but all of my friends made a point to call afterward to see how it was. Even Theresa (our day care director) asked about it. I told everyone, I was really glad to be there. It is a memory that I will treasure forever, but it was the weirdest thing I ever attended. You weren’t quite sure if you were at a funeral, a celebration, a giant talent show, a concert, or a dance party. And it wasn’t all of those things combined.

The show was very well planned out – but no thought was given to logistics
The stage was positioned so people could not see, the sound went out halfway into the show, and the acts had not performed ahead of time. There was only one person who was professional enough to project her performance for 6500 people. And when Joe Jackson came out- he was booed, so they spent the rest of the night trying to get the crowd to say – We love Joe Jackson. It wasn’t true – so the crowd would not say it.

Logistics a very important part of life – Napoleon
My lesson for the night was that logistics in any event is very important. But particularly when you are dealing with a crowd of people. Napolean made a point that wars follow the course of the men’s stomaches. An army can only fight a war, where they are properly fed. The mightiest warriors of all time, finally lost his battle – because he sent his army to fight in a place where he had not logistically thought through how his men were going to be fed and taken care of.

Jesus speaking to a crowd of 5000 – the important thing logistics
Logistics is important in anything where you are dealing with a large crowd of people. Jesus was good at thinking about the logistics of his message. He always gave a lot of thought to how his message was going to be received, and what he needed to give the people to make sure they would take his message home. In a movie I watched, this is called the prestige – the hook that people will always remember. For Jesus crowd – the hook was food. People were hungry and needed to be fed. Jesus knew that his message involved feeding them – they would listen to him.

There was a crowd of 6500 at the memorial for Michael Jackson. Jesus looked and realized that he was speaking to a crowd of 5000 people. 5000 hungry people.


What are these people going to eat, how are they going to take this message, what will keep them peaceful
Jesus is tired of teaching to the crowds. He tries to take a break and get away. But the papporazi search him out and find him. And the crowd is not far behind. Jesus looks at all of these people and asks the disciples – how are we going to feed all of these people?

We have heard this story before – why are we hearing it again?
The feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle story which has been featured in all four gospel. We are reading the book of mark, and this is a convenient time to switch gears and listen to John. We have heard this story before – even this year – we have heard this story before. Many of my colleagues have asked why are we reading and preaching in it again. And why are we reading it in John, in the middle of our study of Mark.

John has a very interesting perspective – and an interesting message
Well, it is because Matthew, Mark, and Luke like to tell the human story of Jesus. They want to fit Jesus into our lives, and things we can relate to. John was Jesus best friend – but he wants us to get a deeper understanding of Jesus – who is Jesus for us and why is so special to all of mankind? Jesus is the son of God, he is the messiah, He has the power of God on his side, because he is the power of God. He has the power to feed all of our hungers.

Tell the story.
In John’s feeding of the 5000, the disciples go out into the crowd. Andrew finds a young boy with three fish and five loaves. He brings it to Jesus, jesus blesses it and it is enough to feed 5000, with twelve baskets left over. After it is over with, jesus takes the disciples into a boat and walks on water.

What are we to get out of that story? We have heard it all before?

Jesus is thinking about the logistics – using this as a teaching moment.

Ask Philip – how are we going to find bread for these people?

Asks Andrew the same thing – and goes looking

Not looking for food – looking for opportunity for God to step in

The story is not about bread and fish, but about the miracle of God’s work - For John everything is a symbol.

People wanted Jesus to become their king – a reincarnation of David for their time. They wanted to good days of David to be restored. They wanted peace, stability, and a chance to be taken care of.

Jesus wanted them to know that we cannot eat by bread alone – but by God’s power.

Says I am he – but it is not what you think

Not a physical kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom

The nun and three pennies
There was a nun who got a vision from God to build an orphanage. As she got this idea- she thought of the logistics. How was she going to pay for it? In her search and her prayer, she found three pennies. She grabbed the pennies and ran to her superiors to tell them her vision.

With Three pennies and a dream from God you can do anything
When questioned about the logistics, she showed her superiors the three pennies. They laughed at her and told her there was nothing she could do with three pennies. She explained that with three pennies, and a dream from God you can do anything.

It is not the three pennies, not even the dream – but the power of God that makes it possible.

Jesus is the bread of life
The point of John’s feeding of the 5000 is the Jesus can satisfy all of our hungers. Jesus is the bread of life. Our hope is not in the food we receive, it is in the jesus who gives it to us. This story is so important to us. Jesus knows that we will be talking about the day he created enough food for he crowd out of a little boys lunch for 2000 or more years. All we know is that the people were hungry and they were fed. That’s the prestige, the hook. But this is not a story about loaves and fishes, it is not a story about food, it is not a story about being hungry. It is a story about acknowledging Jesus as our savior. And recognizing that Jesus provides all of that and more for our lives.

We will hear Jesus teaching about this next week
We will hear from John 6 for a few weeks. And after preaching this sermon, Jesus gives his own explanation to this story next week.

But today remember – Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is our lord and savior and king. Jesus is our hope. Jesus takes all of our earthly actions and makes them so much more – through the power of God.