A Slice Off The Heavenly Loaf
Sermon
THE WORD IS NEAR YOU
Sermons For The Church
Jesus gave himself to hungry humankind as the bread of heaven. Imagine it! He called himself the bread of life. What did he mean? Among other things, Jesus meant that a relationship with him satisfies the deepest hungers of our lives. Consider some of these hungers.
I. All Of Us Have A Hunger For Satisfaction In Relation To Others
We want to be connected to other people and to feel valued by them. Do you remember the story of shipwrecked Robinson Crusoe? Remember that even he had his man Friday.
Dale Carnegie sold millions of copies of his book, How To Win Friends And Influence People. People want to be loved and needed. One of our deep needs is to have satisfaction in our relationship to other people. That satisfaction is given through Christ. He puts us together as the church and makes us brothers and sisters in him. We can rejoice at our large family.
Shared life is worthwhile and illustrated by an old story about stone soup. A beggar wandered into a village once and announced to the villagers that he had a magic stone that could make the best soup they ever tasted. The people did not believe him but one person put a pot of water on the fire to test the beggar. Once the water began to warm up, the beggar dropped his stone into it. He said, "This will be delicious soup. But if someone had a few carrots to add, it would be much better." A farmer watching the event said he had some so he dropped them in. The beggar said, "This is going to be great soup! But if someone had a bit of beef and some bacon to add, it would be even better." Two villagers went home and brought back a few chunks of meat and some bacon and dropped them in. The beggar mentioned potatoes, a little salt, and some cabbage. People brought them and placed them into the pot. Before long the villagers sat down to the best pot of soup they had ever tasted.
II. Another Hunger We Have Is Significance In Relation To The World
We ask ourselves, "Does life really matter? Am I contributing anything worthwhile?" Each of us wants to feel that way. Don't you like to feel special? Perhaps as a child you were made to feel special when your parents gave you special gifts or did little things for you that you liked. God does this for us now.
In Jesus Christ, we are given a sense of significance to him and to the world. Christians are given the special task of proclaiming the gospel and helping others to realize their salvation in Christ. Can that ever be insignificant?
III. Still Another Hunger We Have Is For Security In Relation To God
We want some assurance that God knows us and cares about what happens to us. In verse 47, Jesus gave one of his clearest words about what he offered people: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life." What he has to offer is not a matter of earning but of receiving. This life Jesus spoke of does not perish as does regular food. It is sustained, not by what one eats, but by what one believes.
Jesus gives life to everyone who believes. This, in short, is the gospel story. Christ wills salvation of everyone and offers himself as the One able to give this salvation. Verses 50 and 51 indicate that as persons eat the "living bread" offered them, they are nourished in a whole new realm - the realm of eternal life.
Jesus said, "If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51bc). This statement is a metaphor or word--picture. Jesus was trying to communicate the truth that he, and he alone, can offer to people what they most need. In the antebellum South many slaveholders would not allow their slaves to pray or call upon the name of God. They were afraid that the slaves' prayers might be answered. But no amount of rules or legislation can halt a person's heartfelt need to reach out to God. Many slaves would go into their cabins at night and kneel over a bucket of water and press their faces right up to the brim. That was to absorb the sound as they called out to God to rescue them and to free them.
Yes, the deepest hungers of life can be satisfied in Christ. These hungers are for satisfaction related to others, our hunger for significance in relation to the world, and our hunger for security in relation to God. All are satisfied through faith in our Lord. He is genuinely the bread of life. He invites us to come now and have a slice off the heavenly loaf.
I. All Of Us Have A Hunger For Satisfaction In Relation To Others
We want to be connected to other people and to feel valued by them. Do you remember the story of shipwrecked Robinson Crusoe? Remember that even he had his man Friday.
Dale Carnegie sold millions of copies of his book, How To Win Friends And Influence People. People want to be loved and needed. One of our deep needs is to have satisfaction in our relationship to other people. That satisfaction is given through Christ. He puts us together as the church and makes us brothers and sisters in him. We can rejoice at our large family.
Shared life is worthwhile and illustrated by an old story about stone soup. A beggar wandered into a village once and announced to the villagers that he had a magic stone that could make the best soup they ever tasted. The people did not believe him but one person put a pot of water on the fire to test the beggar. Once the water began to warm up, the beggar dropped his stone into it. He said, "This will be delicious soup. But if someone had a few carrots to add, it would be much better." A farmer watching the event said he had some so he dropped them in. The beggar said, "This is going to be great soup! But if someone had a bit of beef and some bacon to add, it would be even better." Two villagers went home and brought back a few chunks of meat and some bacon and dropped them in. The beggar mentioned potatoes, a little salt, and some cabbage. People brought them and placed them into the pot. Before long the villagers sat down to the best pot of soup they had ever tasted.
II. Another Hunger We Have Is Significance In Relation To The World
We ask ourselves, "Does life really matter? Am I contributing anything worthwhile?" Each of us wants to feel that way. Don't you like to feel special? Perhaps as a child you were made to feel special when your parents gave you special gifts or did little things for you that you liked. God does this for us now.
In Jesus Christ, we are given a sense of significance to him and to the world. Christians are given the special task of proclaiming the gospel and helping others to realize their salvation in Christ. Can that ever be insignificant?
III. Still Another Hunger We Have Is For Security In Relation To God
We want some assurance that God knows us and cares about what happens to us. In verse 47, Jesus gave one of his clearest words about what he offered people: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life." What he has to offer is not a matter of earning but of receiving. This life Jesus spoke of does not perish as does regular food. It is sustained, not by what one eats, but by what one believes.
Jesus gives life to everyone who believes. This, in short, is the gospel story. Christ wills salvation of everyone and offers himself as the One able to give this salvation. Verses 50 and 51 indicate that as persons eat the "living bread" offered them, they are nourished in a whole new realm - the realm of eternal life.
Jesus said, "If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh" (v. 51bc). This statement is a metaphor or word--picture. Jesus was trying to communicate the truth that he, and he alone, can offer to people what they most need. In the antebellum South many slaveholders would not allow their slaves to pray or call upon the name of God. They were afraid that the slaves' prayers might be answered. But no amount of rules or legislation can halt a person's heartfelt need to reach out to God. Many slaves would go into their cabins at night and kneel over a bucket of water and press their faces right up to the brim. That was to absorb the sound as they called out to God to rescue them and to free them.
Yes, the deepest hungers of life can be satisfied in Christ. These hungers are for satisfaction related to others, our hunger for significance in relation to the world, and our hunger for security in relation to God. All are satisfied through faith in our Lord. He is genuinely the bread of life. He invites us to come now and have a slice off the heavenly loaf.
