Sermon Summary
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 14, 31-33; Psalm 130; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51
Have you ever been on a diet? You don’t have to confess if you don’t want to 😀
I think that, other than football, dieting is the “Great American Pastime.” Tuesday afternoon, I was congratulating myself for making good choices all day (it was about mid-afternoon at this time), when on the way home I started to get that horrible, empty, hollowed-out feeling. And sometimes when that happens, I get all shaky and start to make bad choices.
Sure enough, as soon as I pulled into the garage, I ran into the house and found a bag (not a box!) of sugary cereal and plunked down at the counter and began to eat it. Without a bowl. Without a spoon. Without milk. Just the cereal. I don’t know how long I spent there chomping away, because I was kind of in a sugar coma by then. Probably not one of the healthier choices I have ever made.
Our Scripture this morning is all about food that will leave us completely satisfied, FOREVER! Jesus is the Bread of Life, and this outrageous statement both astounded and outraged his listeners. Our sermon examines what this means for both those listeners and for us.
Originally preached Sunday, August 12, 2018
I am sure that someone’s stomach is growling right now in this room. Whenever that someone is me, that kind of takes over my brain, and all I can think about is what I can find to eat—whether I am in my office or in the car or at home. Jesus/God understands hunger. He understands our nature, because he MADE it and he INHABITED it. So what does he mean by telling us that he is the bread of life? Our daily manna? We need him. We cannot exist without him. Every day. 3 squares. What happens when we fail to eat of that precious bread of life? Our spiritual life starves to death. You might not notice at first, but eventually you will need to rely on those “God calories.” We all do. So what to do? Come to God’s table. Holy scripture. Regular worship. Prayer. Meditation and thought. Holy friendships.
In order to eat, we must have the stuff of which to eat—that food. For most of us it does not magically appear in our refrigerators or pantries—we must choose it and buy it and take it home. And then we must prepare it and eat it. None of this is accidental, unless you are an infant or a toddler. We must eat to survive.
Intentional. Come to God’s Table.
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