Words of Welcome

John 6:56-69 Has a preacher ever said something that offended you? Did you decide never to go back to that church? I expect we’ve all been there at least once in our lives. Since I’m the guest preacher this morning, I’ll do my best not to offend you. I don’t want to get Pastor Alex in trouble for inviting me here to preach this morning.  While I’ll do my best not to offend you, could Jesus say something that might offend you? Have you ever run into something that Jesus is recorded as saying that shocked you?  As we read the Gospels, it quickly becomes clear that Jesus had a tendency to step on toes and push people’s buttons. On one occasion, according to Luke, Jesus visited his hometown of Nazareth. Since they had heard he was something of a preacher and healer, they invited him to say a few words in their synagogue. That didn’t go well. By the end of the service, the home folks tried to throw him off a cliff. Fortunately, Jesus escaped and headed off to a friendlier venue ( Luke

        You may know the old gospel song that goes like this: “Living for Jesus a life that is true, striving to please him in all that I do; yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free, this is the pathway of blessing for me.” This verse from that gospel hymn is a good basic definition of what it means to be a Christian. To be a Christian is nothing more and nothing less than yielding allegiance to Jesus and doing all we can to please him. If we do this, then everything else falls into place.            Now, yielding allegiance to Jesus begins by calling him Lord. As Paul told the Corinthians, calling Jesus Lord requires the help of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). If we give full allegiance to Jesus then nothing else takes first place in our lives—not family, friends, nation, a political party, or a political leader. This is why I’ve come to believe that the Lord’s Prayer is our pledge of allegiance to God and God’s realm. So, as the saying goes: “If Jesus is Lord, then Caesar i