Presbymom

    John 6:56-69 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on...

  This is the third in a sermon series on The Bread of Life Discourse in which  Jesus is truly the Bread of Life. The discourse immediately follows the miracle or signs in John which were - the feeding of the 5000 with 2 fish and 5 loaves and then Jesus walking on water to the disciples when their boat was tossed on the waves so they were afraid. Jesus in this gospel doesn’t go into the how of communion but the why of sharing This Bread. The discussion continues. Listen for God’s living word in -    John 6: 51-58 (NRSV) 51  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52  The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”  53  So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  54  Those who...

  This is the second in a sermon series on The Bread of Life Discourse in which Jesus talks about     - well, the Bread of Life. It doesn’t go into the how of communion but the why of sharing This Bread. I’ve noticed with my study group that when verses are left out, we often want to know why – the portion we skip over is Jesus confronting those who refuse to believe in him. The discussion continues. Listen for God’s living word in -   John 6:35, 41-51 (NIV) "35  Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 41  At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said,  “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”   42  They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say,  ‘I came down from heaven’ ?” 43  “Stop grumbling among yourselves,”  Jesus ans...

  I find lectionary a bit confusing reading this gospel lesson the week before Palm Sunday because in the gospel, it actually comes right after Jesus has triumphantly entered Jerusalem. He raised Lazarus from the dead and had his feet anointed by the costly perfume of Mary. The mood of the people is divided – crowds flock to his miracles while others look for ways to separate him from the crowd plotting to destroy him. The words today are Jesus final public discourse. John 12:20-33 20  Now there were some Greeks   among those who went up to worship at the festival.   21  They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida   in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”   22  Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23  Jesus replied,   “The hour   has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.   24  Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, ...

John 3:14-21 14 “ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  15  that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 16  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  17  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  18  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  19  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  21  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may...