St John Valmy - 14th Sunday After Pentecost - 9:00 AM - August 25, 2024

14th Sunday After Pentecost - 9:00 AM - August 25, 2024
SERIES THEME - I Am the Bread of Life
“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).
What happened?! Jesus had recently fed many thousands of people. Everywhere he went,
he was mobbed by a multitude looking for the hope and healing he provided. In the first
part of Jesus’ ministry, he was extremely popular. That changed quickly. What had Jesus
done that offended so many? He said, “I am the bread of life.” That statement doesn’t seem
offensive. Perhaps cryptic. But as the crowd grasped what Jesus was claiming, they decided
they no longer wanted anything to do with him.
In this worship series we will examine what Jesus is teaching when he calls himself “the
bread of life.” We will discuss why people would abandon Jesus for making that claim. And
we will wrestle with whether we would ever do the same.
THEME OF THE DAY - We Must Make It a Priority
As Jesus concluded his Bread of Life discourse, many said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can
accept it?” and walked away. Read carefully. They did not say the teaching was hard to
understand. The meaning was clear enough. Eating this bread means reordering our lives so
that Jesus is our highest priority. It means realizing that Jesus is the only thing we really
need.
Then Jesus turned to the Twelve-he turns to us this week-and he whispers, “You do not
want to leave me too, do you?” May the Spirit give us the wisdom to answer, “Lord, to
whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
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