Emphasis Preaching Journal

Contents
“Living Bread” by Keith Wagner
“Spiritually Speaking” by Keith Wagner
“Finding Wisdom” by Peter Andrew Smith



Living Bread
by Keith Wagner
John 6:51-58

In the News
The President of the United States has, according to the Washington Post Fact Checker, made an average of 7.6 false or misleading statements per day since he took office. (That’s 4,229 lies or untruths in 558 days as of July 31).1

“You have the words of eternal life.” (v. 68b)

Good morning girls and boys,

Welcome. It's awesome to talk to you this morning. How are you? (children respond)

I have a question for you. Does your teacher ever teach something that is hard to understand? Are you sometimes puzzled or bewildered by something said?
Have you ever wondered about hard things like what electricity is and how it works?
Or gravity? Or the universe? Or algebra? (children answer)

1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14
It is no wonder that believers still view Solomon as wise and relate the wisdom of Solomon as an attribute we all might seek. Clearly, Solomon was a thinker, one who contemplated carefully. But it is even more important that Solomon sought wisdom as his blessing and gift from God. At a time when power or wealth or even military might may have been the obvious choices, Solomon wanted to be wise and discerning. Jesus says in Matthew 10:16, “Be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.”

This Sunday’s lessons in taking their bearings from the Gospel’s report of Jesus identifying with the living bread afford occasion to reflect on The Bread That Brings Life, Wisdom, and Unity.  

1 Kings 2:10–12; 3:3-14

A schoolteacher friend of mine tells the story of a class of five-year-olds who were lining up to receive their inoculation against one of the childhood diseases. They all had their sleeves rolled up and were waiting for the dreaded jab. After a while my friend noticed that one child was missing. She walked back along the line of children round the corner, and discovered the missing child out cold on the floor where he'd fainted.

Naturally she was horrified, and asked the other children why they hadn't told her that this little boy had passed out.

The day is picture perfect. The scene is a park lake, clean and tranquil. The lake draws to itself children, youth, and adults. They come to fish. They come to watch the ducks that float on the water's surface.