Words of Welcome

  John 6:56-69 Last Sunday I shared a word from John Calvin, who wrote about the connection between Jesus’ declaration that he was the Bread of Life and the Lord’s Supper. He wrote:  [T]he Lord intended, by calling himself the “bread of life” (John 6:51), to teach not only that salvation for us rests on faith in his death and resurrection, but also that, by true partaking of him, his life passes into us and is made ours—just as bread when taken as food imparts vigor to the body.   [John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, IV:17.5].    I invite you to keep these words in mind as we dive into the reading for today from John 6, which continues the discussion from last Sunday. To set the stage, I invite you to envision Jesus teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. He’s telling them that he is the bread from heaven. He also tells the congregation that those who partake of his flesh as true food and his blood as true drink will abide in him, and he w...

John 6:51-58 Welcome to the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. This morning we jump right into the middle of a long and complicated story that began with Jesus feeding the 5000 but has taken some interesting twists and turns. So, this morning we’re doing something similar to jumping into the middle of a TV series that’s been on for several weeks and we don’t have a clue as to what is happening. Therefore, I need to catch you up with the story. According to John, after Jesus fed the 5000 the crowd tried to make him their king, but he slipped away to a quiet place where he could pray. Then, when evening came, he took a stroll across the lake toward his home base in Capernaum. But, first, he caught up with the boat carrying his disciples across the lake. The next day the crowd gathered once more in Capernaum hoping Jesus would give them more bread. That leads to a conversation about bread from heaven. You know, like the manna Moses provided, or, rather, God provided in the wildernes...

John 6:25-40 After his baptism, Jesus went out into the wilderness and fasted for forty days and nights. By the time the fast ended, Jesus was famished. Then the tempter came and said to him: “If you are the Son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Though Jesus was very hungry, he told the tempter that “one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ( Mt. 4:1-4 ).  In the Gospel of John we find Jesus facing another temptation. On the morning after he fed the multitude, the crowd followed him across the lake, hoping that he would feed them once again. Jesus left the crowd behind the day before because he realized that they wanted to take him by force and make him their king ( Jn. 6:15 ). Clearly his withdrawal didn’t deter them, because they hoped he would be a new Moses who would provide manna from heaven. Jesus responded to their requests by telling them that he was the bread of life. He was the bread from...

1 Kings 8:22-30, 41-43 Having a house is a good thing. It doesn’t matter if you’re buying or renting, whether it’s big or small, it’s good to have a roof over your head. Soon we’ll be hosting SOS, and I expect that during that week many of us will pause to give thanks for our homes. Home ownership has its challenges, but it is good to have a home.  We can give thanks that as a congregation we have a roof over our heads and a fairly comfortable space to gather for worship, for fellowship, and for study. Since this building has been around for more than thirty years, it’s easy to take this blessing for granted, forgetting that it takes a lot of resources to keep up the place.  This morning’s reading from 1 Kings forms part of a story about a house built for God. We meet up again with Solomon, that wise king whom Susan introduced last week. He’s standing before the altar of the newly constructed Temple in Jerusalem, getting ready to deliver his prayer of dedi...

John 6:58-69 Has a preacher ever said something that offended you so much that you never went back to that church?  I hope that none of you will take offense at what I say today, or if you do, I hope you’ll come back next week!   And what about Jesus, is there anything that he said that offends you?   I’d be surprised if you said no.  After all, Jesus did have a tendency to say things that got him into trouble.  Remember how his sermon back at his hometown synagogue went?  He was just coming off being baptized by John and had begun to gain a following.  But as they say – you can’t always go home.  On that evening, after Jesus read the text from Isaiah, he began to preach and before too long, the people were getting restless and just a bit angry with what he had to say.  So, instead of celebrating a triumphant homecoming, the hometown crowd tried to throw him a cliff.  Fortunately, Jesus escaped this fate and head...