{"id":23,"date":"2014-02-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2014\/02\/08\/sunday-26th-august-2012-bread-of-life-4\/"},"modified":"2014-02-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T00:00:00","slug":"sunday-26th-august-2012-bread-of-life-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2014\/02\/08\/sunday-26th-august-2012-bread-of-life-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday 26th August 2012 &#8211; Bread of Life 4"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><font size=\"4\"><strong>The Word This Week:<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n<ul style=\"\">\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=216#hebrew_reading\">1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43<\/a> and <a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=216#psalm_reading\">Psalm 84<\/a>\u00a0 <em>OR<\/em><\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=216#hebrew_oth_reading\">Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18<\/a> and <a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=216#psalm_oth_reading\">Psalm 34:15-22<\/a>\u00a0 <em>AND<\/em><\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=216#epistle_reading\">Ephesians 6:10-20<\/a>\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=216#gospel_reading\">John 6:56-69<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><font size=\"4\"><strong><span><\/span><span style=\"\"><\/span>Thoughts On The Word:<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n<p><span><\/span>It has been one of those weeks! I have had two essays due this week for my B. Theology, and as a result haven&#8217;t written anything for you!\u00a0 However I have below provided an excellent sermon by The Rev. Dr. Samuel D. Zumwalt, which was originally published <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de\/predigt.php?id=3716&#038;kennung=20120826en\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<br \/><span><\/span><br \/><strong>John 6:56-69 <\/p>\n<p><span><\/span>Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your  ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live  forever.\u201d He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>When many of his disciples heard it, they said, \u201cThis teaching is difficult; who can accept it?\u201d But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, \u201cDoes this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.\u201d For Jesus knew from  the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one  that would betray him. And he said, \u201cFor this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.\u201d Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, \u201cDo you also wish to go away?\u201d Simon Peter answered him, \u201cLord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.\u201d <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><\/strong><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  <br \/><span><\/span><strong style=\"\">JESUS MEANS ASSURANCE<\/strong><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Today  the Lord Jesus tells us that He means assurance &#8211; the assurance of  everlasting life to all who entrust themselves to Him as their Savior,  the Lord of Life and death, <em style=\"\"><strong style=\"\">and <\/strong><\/em>who are also  baptized into His death and resurrection. Jesus means assurance for  those that ponder who they are, whose they are, and where they are going  ultimately. Do you know Jesus as Savior, as the Lord over your life and  death? Do you trust Him to give you the eternal life that He has  promised? Have you been baptized into His death and resurrection?<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>A  few years ago a woman came into my office for pastoral conversation.  She had just been to a family reunion, and it was ugly. As she described  it, quite a few of her relatives had spent their whole lives swimming  in the shallow end of the gene pool. <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>With great tears in her  eyes, she asked: &#8220;Pastor, why is it that I feel closer to my church  family and safer around them than my own family?&#8221; Well, I couldn&#8217;t help  myself, I answered: &#8220;Because your family is crazier than hell.&#8221; That&#8217;s  when she got her sense of humor back.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Somebody once said: &#8220;Jesus  promises that you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.  What He didn&#8217;t say was: \u2018Before the truth sets you free, it really has  to tick you off.'&#8221;<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>My friend and former parishioner needed to tell herself the truth about her family. They <em style=\"\"><strong style=\"\">were<\/strong><\/em> crazier than hell. And she <em style=\"\"><strong style=\"\">was<\/strong><\/em>  a whole lot safer and whole lot more loved by her church family. And it  was really OK that she didn&#8217;t want to be around her family very often  or for very long. They spent more time tearing her down than building  her up. Alcohol was their best friend, and they wanted her to share  their best friend. My friend couldn&#8217;t be around them for very long,  because she knew the truth about herself, too. She had a fatal  progressive disease called alcoholism, and she just didn&#8217;t need to be  around people &#8211; even her own family &#8211; when they were drinking.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>In  today&#8217;s Gospel lesson, the Lord Jesus is telling the truth about Himself  but some of His disciples can&#8217;t handle the truth. They can&#8217;t handle  that Jesus is God in the flesh, the Son of God and the Son of Mary,  truly God and truly human. They can&#8217;t fathom that He is claiming to be  the living Bread of Life, the living message of God&#8217;s great love. Jesus&#8217;  words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood in order to abide  in Him sounds to them like a bunch of cannibalistic gibberish. And so  some of them suddenly decide they have places to go and people to see.  They become the very first post-disciples. They are so done with Jesus!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Now  you probably know some people that are post-disciples &#8211; people that  used to follow Jesus and used to listen to Him and used to learn from  Him. But now, like the disciples in today&#8217;s Gospel lesson, they have  turned back and no longer walk with Jesus.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Someone once said that  Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting. That mostly  Christianity has gone untried. In other words, people never really got  to know Jesus as Lord and Savior in the first place. Some never really  listened to Him or learned from Him. For some, Jesus was like some fairy  tale figure that you grow too old to believe in. For some, Jesus was  like a childhood friend that you outgrew, because you were going places  in life where He was saying you just didn&#8217;t need to go!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Why is it  that some people leave Jesus behind? I think that they&#8217;re busy trying to  win someone else&#8217;s approval. My friend and former parishioner could  have decided that it was more important to be accepted by her crazy  family than to do the next right thing. She could have been so needy for  their approval that she would have done what would tear her life apart  just in order to fit in. But my friend didn&#8217;t go there, because she knew  Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She knew that she was more precious,  lovable, and valuable than God&#8217;s own life. And while it hurt not to have  a so-called normal family, she had found a more loving family in her  church and in Alcoholics Anonymous.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>When you know Jesus as Lord  and Savior, you know who and whose you are &#8211; you are a child of God. You  know where you are going ultimately &#8211; you have the Lord Jesus&#8217; promise  that He is yours and you are His. You have been buried and raised with  Him in Holy Baptism. Like Peter, you can&#8217;t go anywhere else &#8211; the Lord  Jesus has the words of eternal life. You know the truth, and the truth  has set you free.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>The sanest people I know &#8211; the most grounded  people I know &#8211; the most centered people I know all know who and whose  they are and where they are going ultimately. And you can&#8217;t budge them  with a bulldozer. They know Jesus, and they abide in Him.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>I say  this from time to time, and I&#8217;ll say it again today. We practice the  faith, so it&#8217;s there when we need it. We follow Jesus. We listen to Him  and learn from Him, so that when the really tough stuff comes along we  don&#8217;t stupidly try to handle it without Him!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Sometimes it&#8217;s really  hard to entrust yourself to Jesus, your Lord and Savior. When it seems  like no one loves you, you are vulnerable to settling for less. When it  seems like no one cares about you, you are vulnerable to settling for  less. When it seems like the really popular people don&#8217;t acknowledge  you, you are vulnerable to settling for less. When it seems like God has  forgotten you or has really let you down, you are vulnerable to  settling for less. When it seems like everyone else has it so much  better than you, you are vulnerable to settling for less. And that&#8217;s  when we are tempted to be stupid &#8211; to try to play the hand life has  dealt us without Jesus. That&#8217;s when a lot of us mess up our lives. We  leave Jesus behind. We settle for less, and we really get hurt!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>To  those that think Jesus is a spoil sport that just doesn&#8217;t want anyone  to have any fun, I have to say, &#8220;You&#8217;ve really got it wrong.&#8221; He doesn&#8217;t  want any of us to get hurt. That&#8217;s why our God says &#8220;No&#8221; to us in  Scripture. He knows that when we disobey, that when we don&#8217;t listen, we  are headed for heartache &#8211; ours and often someone else&#8217;s, too!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Jesus  means assurance. God so loved you and me, and the whole world, that He  became human in Jesus Christ to save us from sin, death, and evil &#8211; to  save us from ourselves. Whatever we have done, wherever we have been,  however we have been hurt, however we may have hurt others, the Lord  Jesus has died on the cross to take away our sins. God loves us. God  wants us to have His forgiveness. God wants us to live with Him forever.  He wants us to abide with Him in His life and His love. He doesn&#8217;t want  us to run away and to keep on doing stupid things to ourselves and to  others.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>So if today you are hurting deep down inside because of  something you have done or because of something someone has done to you,  hear the Lord Jesus&#8217; promise. God loves you. God forgives you. God  wants you to live with Him forever &#8211; and forever begins right here and  right now! The Holy Spirit is knocking on the door of your heart.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Bow  your head with me and repeat this prayer silently in your heart: &#8220;Lord  Jesus, I have done some really stupid things in my life. I have tried to  live without your help. I have run away from you too often. I have  cared more about what others think than about what you think. I have  doubted your goodness and your love. Have mercy on me, a sinner. Take  all my sins to your cross. Help me to trust you with my living and my  dying. I want to live with you forever. Help me to walk with you. Abide  in me. Stay with me. And help me never to leave you. You have the words  of eternal life, my Lord and my God. Amen.&#8221; <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Now please open your eyes.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Our  heavenly Father wants everyone in the world to be drawn into His  endless life and love. He not only sent His Son Jesus to be born of a  virgin and to die on the cross for the sins of the world. God&#8217;s Son  Jesus continues to come by His Word of promise in the bread and in the  wine of Holy Communion. He doesn&#8217;t solve the mystery for us. He isn&#8217;t  speaking figuratively. He promises that He is present in the bread and  the wine, and He comes to forgive the sins of all who are truly sorry.  Jesus comes to abide in us, to live in our hearts, so that we will be  able to remember who and whose we are and where it is that we are going  ultimately. The Holy Spirit is working to draw us and keep us close!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>If  you haven&#8217;t been baptized with water in the name of the Triune God or  if you have a child that hasn&#8217;t been baptized, then please speak with me  at the door. I&#8217;ll tell you to give me a call this week to set up a time  to talk about getting baptized. <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>If, like my friend and former  parishioner, you have been to hell and back and need to talk about it,  please call me or e-mail me, I would welcome pastoral conversation with  you. God does love you. He wants you to know His forgiveness in Jesus&#8217;  Christ. He wants you to share in His life and love forever.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>Jesus  means assurance &#8211; the assurance of everlasting life to all who entrust  themselves to Him as their Savior, the Lord of Life and death, <em style=\"\"><strong style=\"\">and <\/strong><\/em>who  are also baptized into His death and resurrection. Jesus means  assurance for those that ponder who they are, whose they are, and where  they are going ultimately. Do you know Jesus as Savior, as the Lord over  your life and death? Do you trust Him to give you the eternal life that  He has promised? Have you been baptized into His death and  resurrection?<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>If you know Jesus, don&#8217;t be a stranger to worship in  His house. Introduce your family and your friends to Jesus. Pray daily.  Worship Weekly. Read and study your Bible. Serve at and beyond St.  Matthew&#8217;s. Be in Relationship to encourage spiritual growth in yourself  and others. And give generously of the time, talents, and resources that  God has placed in your hands for a few short years! When you see Him  some day, you want to hear Him say: &#8220;Well done, my good and faithful  servant!&#8221;<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n<p><span>This sermon was taken from <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de\/predigt.php?id=3716&#038;kennung=20120826en\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de\/predigt.php?id=3716&amp;kennung=20120826en<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><\/a><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Word This Week: 1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43 and Psalm 84\u00a0 OR Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 and Psalm 34:15-22\u00a0 AND Ephesians 6:10-20\u00a0 John 6:56-69 Thoughts On The Word: It has been one of those weeks! I have had two essays due this week for my B. Theology, and as a result haven&#8217;t written anything for &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2014\/02\/08\/sunday-26th-august-2012-bread-of-life-4\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Sunday 26th August 2012 &#8211; Bread of Life 4&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}