Good Bread Series

* Introduction to Lenten season

* Our understanding of Lent is likely limited to knowing people who give up something for the season or don’t eat meat on Fridays.

* Season of preparation for Easter - the resurrection

* A time to reflect on Christ and His sacrifice so that when we come to Good Friday and Easter, we are better prepared. Easter weekend is more than just a family time, eggs, candy and going to church.

* From about 300 A.D. on, a season of the church.

* Ancient purpose to prepare/teach people in order to be baptized and brought into the church.

* Also a time for those who had left the church to rejoin.

* The whole community was called to prepare with them.

* Our method of preparation this year: Everyday objects to help us focus and reflect.

* Bread, crosses, coins, shoes, oil, coats, thorns, stones

* Don’t worry, it will all make sense as we go along.

* We begin with some basics: What fills you up?

* Bread. It’s literally a staple of most folks’ diet.

* The metaphor of bread helps us to prepare for the Resurrection and new life we have in Christ.

* Jesus often speaks of bread, grain, preparation of bread as ways to describe spiritual truths.

In Jn 6, he explicitly describes what a full life is like.

Context:

Jesus feeds 5,000 with loaves and fish.

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John 6:11–13 NLT

11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

* That got the peoples’ attention!

* The next day, they follow Jesus across the lake to find out when he was serving lunch.

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John 6:25 NLT

25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

* Jesus starts “telling them the truth.” The first of four interlocking, intensifying levels of the truth about what will truly fill our greatest needs.

Truth: Figure Out What Truly Fills You Up

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John 6:26–27 NLT

26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

* What “feeds” your life? We tend to follow after anyone or anything that we think will fill us up.

* The way to figure out what those things are is to ask ourselves, what am I concerned about right now?

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Matthew 6:31–34 NLT

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

* The crowd thought that sounded just fine. An upgrade in food would be great! Now, how do we make that happen?

Truth: Get the Right Source

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John 6:28 NLT

28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

* Jesus raises the intensity on the crowd by pointing them away from the “grocery store.” It’s full of perishable, limited resources.

* Instead, he points them to believe in Messiah.

* The crowd is still back on literal bread, but they’re making a connection between Moses and manna and what they had received from Jesus.

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John 6:30–31 NLT

30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

* Now, they’re seeing Jesus as their local baker. In their minds, they just come sit down every day and get delicious food for free!

* So the natural response is, “gimme some of that bread!”

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John 6:34 NLT

34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

* Not at all the same as Jesus taught us to pray for “daily bread.”

Truth: Be Filled With the Right Relationship