Let's pray and ask God to speak to us. And I
hope, as we've been going through John, that
John is starting to come alive to you. We're
going slow enough through it that, and I hope
just that as you're reading it and discovering
it, that God's word is doing a new work inside
of you. It's been really good for me, so I'm
hoping it's that way for you as well. But let's
pray and ask the Holy Spirit to do a work in
a very, there's a lot in this text. And you're
welcome. We didn't do all seven up to verse 71.
We'll tackle that next week. But there's so much
in here, but we'll try to simplify it and work
through it together. Let's pray together, okay?
Lord, we come before you. If we're really honest,
we're all kind of a big mess. And we are desperate
need of you. So help us fix our eyes on you right
now, on your word, to know you more, to be saturated
and soaking in what you have for us. Lord, you
use a really basic and simple metaphor in this
text, and I pray that it'll come alive to us
in a new way as we unpack it together. Lord,
I pray that for just our hearts, that they will
not be, a heart that they will be soft and shapeable
before you that we'll be honest with where we
currently stand and in the very private and quiet
places of our own heart but that we will just
be real with you i pray that for myself even
as i've spent hours studying through this god
that you'll continue even as i speak that you'll
speak to my heart lord we give it all to you
this morning amen Okay, if you don't have your
Bibles, go get one in the back. Otherwise, open
it up to John chapter 6. We're going to look
at unpack 22 to 51. Blaise Pascal, the 17th century
French mathematician, physicist, theologian,
has been the one that was credited with this
concept or this phrase that in us is a God -shaped
whole. It is this idea that all of us have this
longing or real, deep, authentic desire for happiness,
for fulfillment, that we've been created for
something more than this world that we're living
in right now. Inside of us is this hole. The
hole that needs to be filled. And so we strive
and we deliver lives. I'm part of this. I've
experienced this in my own life, that we strive
to fill that hole with the things of this world.
But it doesn't work. And so, C .S. Lewis, in
Mere Christianity, argues along this line. He
argues that if we find desires within ourselves
that nothing in this world can satisfy, then
it's most probably that we were designed and
made for another world. So the hole inside of
us, every one of us has it. We call it a God
-shaped hole because it can only be filled by
Jesus. Truth is that you and I are all spiritually
hungry. Even if we don't want to believe it right
out of the chute. There is a growling of our
souls that indicate there's this emptiness inside
of us. You guys know what I'm talking about?
Been there, you lay in your beds at night. What
is this all about? I've got to find something
to fill it. So in our passage today, Jesus tells
us, talks to us, tells us about the bread of
life. And it's an illustration, it's a metaphor
that is incredibly powerful. And so just for
a reference, think back to what we talked about
last week in the bread where Jesus feeds the
5 ,000s. I want you just to kind of have this
visual in your mind. So in our passage, Jesus
is going to unpack this bread of life. The only
thing that satisfies enough, the only thing that
really... fills the craving of our soul. That's
what he's going to unpack, okay? So real basic,
there's a lot of verses there, but that's the
big idea. That this bread of life that is offered
is the only thing that will truly satisfy you.
And before we look at what Jesus had to say in
these verses, though, we need to do a quick review.
Remember, I said last week as we started chapter
6, that chapter 6, all of chapter 6 happens about
a 24 -hour period. And there's a lot packed in.
And it's a real critical chunk of the Bible.
In fact, all four Gospels cover this chunk of
section. It's the only thing other than the resurrection
that all the Gospels touch on. Okay? Because
it's real important. And so last week we looked
at the first day, the first day of this kind
of two -day or 24 -hour period. And there's this
huge crowd. So if you remember, there's this
huge crowd that had followed Jesus. And now they
end up on the hillside. And I won't go into everything.
I encourage you, if you missed last week, go
back and listen to it because it does give context
to everything we're talking about today. But
they're up on a hillside, and Jesus is teaching
them all day. And we don't know what he was teaching
them, but most likely, according to the, it's
something to do with the kingdom of God, like
how Jesus was breaking into our world, God's
kingdom breaking into our world. A problem has
been presented, though. They get to the end of
the day, and there's an estimated, blow your
mind, I don't know how he taught all this, but
there was an estimated 15 ,000 to 20 ,000 people,
because when they say there was 5 ,000 men, they
only counted the men, but you wouldn't just have
men there. There'd be children. Because we know
there's a boy. Shows up with loads of bread and
fish. So they estimate, if that's true, there's
5 ,000 men, there's probably women and children.
So they estimate somewhere between 15 ,000 and
20 ,000 people. It's a big hillside. And they're
all there. And the problem is, is they get really
hungry. And so, Jesus takes five... small loaves
of bread, two small dried fish. And he multiplies
it and he feeds the thousands. It's a miraculous
miracle. And the crowd is so excited. And just
like we mentioned last week, if that was you
in that place and you got fed, you'd be like,
hey, I like that guy. And so they're all excited.
And so what they decide to do, because of all
the oppression that they're under with the Roman
Empire and all the things that they're dealing
with, like, that's our king. And so they kind
of start, you could hear them murmuring, like,
that's our guy. He's going to be the one to rescue
us. And so what Jesus does, knowing what they're
doing, he retreats to the woods. He goes up in
the wilderness. He disappears, and then he sends
his disciples across the sea, and it's dark at
night, and this sea is like, if you've ever driven
to Canada or going to Whitehorse, and you've
got Lake LaVarge, or you've heard of those big
lakes out there, it's massive, right? So the
sea is like five, six miles wide, and so they're
rowing across the sea, and they get close to
the middle, and a storm kicks up, and these very
experienced rowers or fishermen are like, what
is happening? And they start to fear for their
life. And in the midst of that, they look across
into the storm that's hitting them and they see
this figure walking across the water. And they're
scared. That's Jesus. And he shows up and he
tells them, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid.
And he gets into the boat with the disciples
and at once they are at the shore on the other
side, instantly to the other side, safe and sound.
What a day. Two massive miracles that those close
disciples got to see. At least everybody saw
the miraculous feeding. What a day and what a
night. And now we pick up our story in verse
22. As you can kind of think of it as morning
time comes. It's gotten bright now. The sun is
coming up. Pick up verse 22. The next day, the
crowd that had stayed on the other side of the
sea saw there had been only one boat. They also
saw that Jesus had not boarded that boat with
his disciples, but that his disciples had gone
off alone. Some boats from Tiberias came near
the place where they had eaten the bread, and
after the Lord had given thanks, when the crowd
saw that... Neither Jesus nor his disciples were
there. They got into the boats and they went
to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they
found him on the other side of the sea, they
said to him, Rabbi, when did you get here? So
the big question we need to ask here is, why
are the people chasing Jesus? This is the big
question that comes up in these few verses. Why
are they chasing after Jesus? Why did they leave
and make such an effort to find him? Why were
they looking for him? And when they found him,
they asked this question, where are you? Was
it because they understood that he was the one
who could quench their spiritual hunger? The
one who could fill their God -shaped hole? So
they ask the question in verse 25, when did you
get here? But Jesus already knew their hearts.
He knew what was going on. And so he, and not
just what they say, he just jumps right to their
heart level in verse 26. Now look what he says
in verse 26. He's answering the question why
they're there. They've shown up. They're pursuing
Jesus. Seems really good. Let's just pause here
for a second. As a pastor, I live in a culture,
in a world that puts great value on how many
people come to your church. Think about Jesus
for a minute. He just had 15 ,000, 20 ,000 people
following him. And they're motivated to follow
him. Seems like a pretty good deal, right? If
you read from this point on with a question in
your mind, What was Jesus really doing? He's
whittling down the crowd. He's not doing what
the normal pastor. And so it's a really good
challenge for me. I don't want our church to
be about numbers. I want them to be about a place
where we meet the real Jesus in the real way.
One more person gets a chance to meet the real
Jesus. So that's just a side note. But I want
you to think like, so Jesus knows what their
motivation of their heart is. And so look at
what he says in verse 26. Jesus answered, truly
I tell you, you are looking for me not because
you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves
and were filled. He says, you are seeking me
because you want more bread. You're seeking me
because you've seen some temporary things that
I've given you and you want more of that. You
want me to give you something. You want for me
something for you. That's what he's saying. Look
at your heart. You're not chasing me because
you see me as the Messiah, as the God who's come
from... It's come into our world. As John 1 says
in the beginning of the chapter, in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was with God. And that God came to us,
right? That's not why they're seeking Him. They're
seeking Him for what He can offer. Look at verse
27. Don't work for the food that perishes, but
for the food that lasts for eternal life. which
the Son of Man will give you because God the
Father has set his seal of approval on him. So
Jesus has a different kind of bread, he's saying.
You're coming for the things that I can offer,
but I have something more that I have for you.
I'm offering you this kind, this different kind
of bread, one that brings eternal life, lasting
life. I think Jesus is exposing something here,
he says, that I'm guilty of. Because I wrestle
with this even just as a human. We spend so much
of our lives in pursuit or looking for the things
to satisfy us. It's kind of sobering when I started
to think about all the things that I do to satisfy
me. To fill that hole in my life. It's the next
vacation. What is it for you? Maybe it's the
next vacation. Maybe it's promotion at work.
Maybe it's the next hunting trip. Maybe it's
the friendships. A romantic relationship where
you can have that somebody to love you and to
feel cared for. Maybe it's this perfect little,
or in our case at Radiant Mat -Su, big family.
Maybe it's secure finances. Maybe it's appearance.
If you want to look good, you go to the gym.
You're working really hard and hoping that will
satisfy. Maybe it's the safety of being the smartest
one in the room in a situation. Maybe it's just
straight up comfort food. You eat because it
feels good. Kind of makes you numb. Maybe it's...
And it's just find the next thing. Maybe it's
alcohol. Or the next toy. I mean, we could just
continue. There's thousands of things. Thousands
of things we run to and chase after to bring
us a sense of satisfaction. What's yours? Be
honest with you right now. You don't have to
say it out loud, but just think in your own heart.
What are the things that I run to? to bring satisfaction
to me. And then I think one of the things we
have to ask is, how's it working? Is it filling?
Is it temporary? It may feel good in the moment,
but is it really working? What Jesus has to offer
sounds really good to the people. They're like,
yes. Yes, that sounds good. We want that kind
of bread. So they ask the question, they turn
to Jesus after Jesus says, I have something that
satisfies. And they're like, yes, what is it?
Like, what do we do to get it? That's their next
question. Look at verse 28. What can we do? Underline
that. If you're Bible writer, underline what
can we do? Because I think that's oftentimes
our first go -to, isn't it? What do we got to
do? What do we got to do to get it? What do we
do to perform the works of God? Works of God,
they asked. And Jesus replied, this is the work
of God. Notice in your Bibles there's a dash.
He's pointing us to something. That you believe
in the one who sent me. Sent. Who he has sent.
You believe. They ask, what kind of work do we
need to do to get this bread that we need, like
you're talking about, the one that brings satisfaction,
the one that fills our lives? And Jesus' response
is, no physical work, no performing for God will
work. We just need to believe in Him. In Him.
The bread that satisfies, the bread that endures
comes through faith in Jesus. It's living your
life with... Full surrender, putting your faith
in Jesus. That's what he's saying. Unfortunately,
the crowd, though, still doesn't get it. And
you can see this by their response in verse 30
and 31. Look what they do. What sign? What sign,
then, are you going to do so that we may see
and believe you? They asked, what are you going
to perform? See, our ancestors ate the manna
in the wilderness just as it was written, he
gave them bread from heaven to eat. Okay. So,
they don't quite get it yet. The crowd is skeptical.
And by the way, guys, it's okay to be skeptical
of a certain place. I don't know about that.
But this is where they're at, and they're so
skeptical. they still are not sure if they can
trust Jesus in what he's saying. Now, think about
what they have gone through. What happened yesterday?
My goodness, what did he do? He just fed 15,
20 ,000 people. You think, well, and what are
they asking for? Another sign. Like, I've heard
people say sometimes, like, I wish I could just
see a sign. I wish I could just see God, then
I'd believe. Would you? They're skeptical in
what Jesus is saying. It's like they're saying,
you know, we are really interested. You did a
great job yesterday, Jesus. That was really cool
that you fed that many people. And hey, we like
what you're doing, and we're almost on board.
But you know, Jesus, you know, Moses, remember
how we talked about last week, how all of that
was tied to, you could just see the parallels
with Moses and the children of Israel. And they
go back to that and they says, you see, Moses
did a lot more though. Do you remember? That
was really good. No, don't forget. Like that
miracle you did with the bread thing, that was
really good. But do you know Moses did a lot
more? He did a lot more. Do you remember like
all those plagues? And then he took 2 million
people out of Egypt, and they got to the sea.
Do you remember that, Jesus? And they parted
the sea. Moses just like, whew, like a staff
out there. The seas parted. You remember the
Red Sea? Oh, and do you remember the manna that
fell from the sky? It fed them every day. We
want another sign. Prove it to us. Take us to
another level, Jesus, because what we have is
Moses, and we believe in him. So Jesus shows
them another. So Jesus, just show us another
sign. Prove to us that you give us bread that
will last forever, bread that will satisfy. Here's
Jesus' response in verse 32. Jesus said to them,
Truly. Now, whenever you see truly in here, Jesus
is going and saying, listen really close. That's
what the word means. Listen up. Okay? So truly,
I tell you, Moses didn't give you the bread from
heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread
from heaven. For the bread of God is the one
who comes down from heaven and gives life to
And they said, sir, give us this bread always.
Jesus says, look, boys. Look, boys and girls.
Moses didn't give you the bread. It came from
God. This is really important because what does
Jesus say he is? Jesus says, the bread I am talking
about. also comes from God, just like the manna
did, but this bread is amazing. It gives life
to the world. And they're like, yeah. They're
like, yes. Give us that bread. That's what he's
doing. That's what they're doing right there.
Okay. Give us that bread then. And Jesus then
drops the bomb. And this is the most important
verse in this whole section today. Look at verse
35. It's a key verse. Everything's pointing at
this verse. Jesus drops the bomb and he says,
I am the bread of life. Not Moses. I am the bread
of life. Jesus told him, no one comes to me who
comes to me will ever be hungry. And no one who
believes in me will ever be thirsty again. What
an amazing statement. He just took a metaphor.
He fed the 5 ,000. He says, see, I can do it.
And they're already hungry. He's talking about
the manna. And now he says, me. I'm the bread.
Eat my body. And they're going to struggle with
this later on. We won't get to that until next
week. But he's saying, I am that. I am the bread
that gives you life. I am the fulfillment. First,
this is the first of seven I am statements by
Jesus. An I am statement is this big explanation
point that points right to him saying, this is
who I am. I am. It's massive. And he says, I
am the light of the world. He says, I am the
door you go through. I am the good shepherd.
I am the way, the truth, and the true vine, a
life. I am the true vine. And then here in verse
35, the first one he says is I'm the bread of
life. And these metaphors throughout John are
incredibly important for us to come back to because
as we look at Jesus, we're trying to see Jesus
to really grasp and understand how big and how
massive he is and then say, do I really see him
that big? And so this metaphor of bread, he says,
I want you to see me for what I am and what I
offer because I'm calling you to believe in me.
I don't care if you went to church your whole
life. I'm calling you to believe in me. I don't
care if you've never heard of Jesus before. I'm
calling you to believe in me in this way. And
I'm going to call you to believe in me in six
other ways throughout the Gospel of John. This
is the first one, and he says, I want you to
see me as bread for your life. One of the commentators
said that it's no coincidence that Jesus was
born in Bethlehem, which means what? Anybody
know what that means? House of bread. He's born
in Bethlehem. The house of bread as prophesied
by hundreds of years earlier in Micah 5 verse
2. The word became flesh and he broke it. It's
no coincidence that either that it was all planned
by the Lord for our redemption. Think back to
the children of Israel. They're in the desert
and God gave them what? Manna. Bread, for they
can eat. All the bread they can eat. Consume
it daily. Oh, by the way, it rots at night, so
don't try to collect it. Trust me, every day
for me. I'm going to model this for you. This
is how I work. This is what I provide. I provide
for you every day. Jesus says, I am better bread
for you to eat. I am the one your heart and this
whole inside of you desires. Jesus is the bread
of life. He is our sustenance. He is that for
us. In verse 35, it says that those who come
to Jesus will never, will not hunger. And those
who believe in Jesus will never thirst. What
does that remind you of? Remember the, what did
he do? The wedding? Jesus constantly is using
these metaphors of food and stuff to say, that's
me. I am in that in your life. Not just once
a week. I want to be there in all the moments,
in all the days. Apart from Jesus, nothing satisfies.
The best adventure leaves you wanting another
adventure. Not a bad thing. Enjoy the adventure.
But know that adventure will not satisfy. Because
you'll just want another adventure. The best
meal leaves you hungry at some point. But the
bread of life truly satisfies. Having made this
massive claim about himself, Jesus goes on to
explain the mysteries of his grace. Now, I'm
not going to spend a lot of time in this section
because parts of John are going to unpack this.
This is almost his own sermon all by itself.
But understand that in these next verses, the
next four verses, Jesus is pointing at the mystery
of the grace that you and I get to receive. Okay?
Verse 36. But as I told you, you've seen me.
And yet, you do not believe. Everyone the Father
gives me will come to me, and the one who comes
to me I will never cast out. For I have come
down from heaven. He's just telling us again
who he is. Not to do my own will, but the will
of him who sent me. this is the will of him who
sent me that i should lose none of those who
have he has given me but should raise them up
on the last day this is the will of my father
that everyone who sees the son that's me as jesus
is saying and believes in him will have eternal
life and i will raise him up on the last day
so here's what's going on jesus is on a mission
to gather people to himself he just tells us
this is why i've come that every one of you would
believe in me that you would come to me he claims
that he is from heaven this goes back to john
chapter one where john explains like this in
the god of the universe has come to us he says
i he claims i'm from heaven but those listening
to jesus he also declares will struggle Many
struggle to believe in Jesus, don't they? Look
at verse 41. Therefore the Jews started grumbling
about him because he said, I am the bread that
comes down from heaven. They were saying, isn't
this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and
mother we know? How can he now say, I have come
down from heaven? If I'm being real honest, I
think I'd be asking that same question. We've
seen you grow up. It's like me saying, Raul's
kid Isaiah, I've watched him grow up. Now Isaiah's
saying he's in his 30s and he's saying he's come
from heaven? It's a hard thing to believe, isn't
it? I think it's fair. He says, even after experiencing
all the signs and miracles that Jesus has been
doing, and we know this in John, that John says
like, hey, there are so many more I didn't even
write about that Jesus is doing. There's more
than we can even count. Jesus has been running
around doing like, he's showing everybody who
he is. And even after all of that, they still
struggle to believe in Jesus. So Jesus continues.
Look at verse 43. Jesus answered them, stop grumbling
among yourselves. No one can come to me unless
the Father who has sent me draws him. And I will
raise him up on the last day. It is written in
the prophets and will all be taught by God. Everyone
who has listened to and learned from the Father
comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God. He has seen the
Father. Okay, so one of the mysteries of the
gospel is that God is the one who draws you to
himself. This is where this is a massive text.
But here's a mystery. I don't know how it works,
but God is drawing you to himself. A good chance
if you're here today, he's drawn you to himself.
And so that's a mystery. That's grace. We don't
deserve that. He goes deeper in verse 47 with
this same kind of thought. Truly I tell you,
anyone who believes and believes has eternal
life. Believes what? Believes what? Anyone who
believes has eternal life. Believes what? Verse
48. I am the bread of life. Believing in Jesus
as the bread of life is putting Jesus at the
center of our lives. That's what he's saying.
It's pretty simple, pretty hard. I am the bread
of life. He does it again. Verse 49. Your ancestors
ate the manna in the wilderness and they died.
Another way of saying it is, you can eat this
all day long and you're going to die. Even manna
that God provided every day, they ate it in the
wilderness. Are any of them around? They died.
This is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am
the living bread that came down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread, they will live
forever. The bread that I give, that I will give
for the life of the world is my flesh. What's
he going to do with his flesh, church? He's going
to give himself. He says, this bread, this me,
my life is going to be broken for you. I want
you to believe, to put all your hope, everything
in your life in me. As we wrap this up, I want
you to think about this piece of bread, this
loaf of bread, or whatever you want to call it,
in comparison to what Jesus is saying about himself.
When you take a bite of this bread, when you
eat it, you believe it's safe. You believe it's
safe for you to eat unless you're gluten -free,
and then you've got a gluten -free one. I know
how this works. Gluten -freers. But you eat it
knowing it's safe, right? You believe it will
give you strength to make it through the day.
You can't eat it halfway. You can't just put
it in your mouth, chew it a little bit, spit
it out, never swallow it. It just does you no
good. You have to consume it. You either eat
it or you don't. The same is true of believing
in Jesus. You either believe him or you don't.
You either trust him To give you life so you
receive him fully and completely, or you don't.
There's no middle ground. You don't just chew
it up, Jesus, spit it out a little bit when you
want to. It don't work that way. It's either
one way or the other. You either trust him or
you don't. Thinking about eating is not the same
as eating. I consider, like, I should take a
bite of this. I'll think about it. That's not
eating, is it? Thinking about it is not the same
as eating. Knowing all about this nutritional
fact of this bread is not the same as eating
the bread. You know all about it. Understanding
how this bread is processed as you chew it up
and stick it in your body is not the same as
eating it. To believe is to internalize the truth
about Jesus. It's to receive him into your soul.
Thinking about Jesus is not the same as believing.
For that matter, even reading your Bible is not
the same as believing. Knowing all the facts
about Jesus, although those are really important,
is not the same as believing. Believing is staking
your life on the fact that Jesus is the only
way, the only truth, and the only life. You receive
him as Lord and Savior. That's why we, in our
baptisms, we ask this question, who is Jesus?
Craig, you're going to be baptized. Who is Jesus?
He's my Savior and my Lord. I believe 125 % in
Jesus. I would give it all to Him. Now, how good
are we at staying there? We struggle, aren't
we? All right. And so every day, it's not that
we're getting saved again, but every day we walk
back and say, God, just like I need to eat this
every day for my food, I need you every day as
the true life that I consume. It's placing all
your hope in Jesus to sustain you. It's placing
all your confidence in him, even when it doesn't
make sense. You place all your confidence in
him as the one who can give you life and strength.
and the future. Believing in Jesus means you
realize that all other means of salvation don't
work. You say, I cannot do this on my own, Jesus.
I need you. I need you, Jesus, today. I need
you every hour. You are what sustains me. You
are what gives me life, and I cannot do it on
my own. I need you. I can't make this on my own.
I need you, Jesus. I will die apart from you,
Jesus. Jesus, save me. Jesus, forgive me. Jesus,
give me life. This is the daily prayer of...
Or this is the first prayer of somebody who says,
I want Jesus in my life. You pray that prayer.
But it's also the daily prayer of every one of
us. The gospel is you did nothing to earn that.
Sorry, guys. Only Jesus could do it all. The
gospel says that Jesus stood in your place. He
took your sins. And so a lot of us grew up in
a church thinking, well, I've accepted Jesus
into my heart, and so that's good. I've got it
covered. No, that means that Jesus stood in your
place for yesterday, today, tomorrow, and every
moment. It just keeps going, and you just got
to still keep coming back to Jesus. I need to
hear this every day. I need Jesus every hour.
Only Jesus can satisfy the growling of my soul.
Only Jesus can fill that hole that's inside of
me. We enjoy the things he offers, but we cannot
place them as our salvation. We cannot place
those things to satisfy us. Jesus is the only
thing. You know, when we think about communion,
what we're really saying, I mean, in baptism,
when we think about baptism, Which we're going
to be celebrating here really soon at our camp
out. And one of the pictures I love about baptism
is this idea that when I baptize you or somebody
else baptizes somebody, they're fully letting
go. And I lower that person into the water. They're
not going, hey, I'm doing it myself. There's
this release that says, God, I give it all to
you, Jesus. All of my sin. All of my shame. All
of my past. I give it to you because you died
for it. And so put it to death. And so you go
into the water. The symbol of death. But then
Jesus, I also trust you to give me life. The
life that only sustains. So you come up out of
the water as a picture of the resurrection of
Jesus. Going in Christ I resurrect. In Christ
I have hope. In Christ I have a life. In Christ
I have a future. he's my savior and he's my lord
and so i simplify the fact that i surrender all
to jesus okay lord you take it and in communion
what we say every week band you can come up we
say this as we go and celebrate communion every
week we say this body was broken for you jesus
your body was broken for me and i know that the
only thing that makes it work in my life is you
jesus and so i remember you today and so i i
take a piece of this bread and i i break it and
we here we just dip it into a cup of juice or
symbolizing the this blood is the blood the wine
that symbolizes his blood that was shed for me
so i dip it into this is i am nothing without
that Jesus, I consume you. I eat you. I want
you to be at the center of my life. And so that's
what we're going to do today is the band plays.
We're going to respond. And seriously, if there's
massive sin in your life you haven't repented
of, don't go do communion. It's mocking God almost.
Like he paid for that. Repent of that sin. Run
to him. If you are not a believer, don't go do
communion because it's really what it says to
the Christian is this is... What I identify,
Jesus did this for me. If you are a follower
of Jesus, though, we go and we remember who is
the real bread of our life. Who is the one that
sustains us? Let's pray together. Lord, as I've
thought about the sin that's in my life, even
this last week of... looking to, thinking about
the next adventure, maybe in my life, oh God,
I wish I could go do this, it would be so much
fun. And being honest with the fact that that
is what I was looking to, to satisfy my whole.
Even though God, you created adventures for us,
you created those things, Jesus, forgive me for
not looking to you. And Lord, I come back to
you today to say, Jesus, you are what sustains,
you are what gives me life. So Jesus, we look
to you as a church. Psalm 34, verse five says,
those who look to the Lord are radiant. Their
faces shall never be ashamed. Help us, Lord,
as we sit and respond this morning to readjust
our gaze back to you. If those are in the room
who've never surrendered to you, Jesus, I pray
today that you will become their Savior and their
Lord. For those that have made that commitment,
God, remind us again and again, you are what
sustains us.