Pentecost 12

Christ Lutheran Church & School

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Pentecost 12

August 11, 2024 • Pastor Greg Stenzel • John 6:24–35

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Physical food is a blessing from God without which we would literally wither away and die. That is why Jesus lovingly and miraculously fed thousands of followers with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Yet, while physical food is a good thing, it is far from the greatest thing God provides us. The greatest

blessing God provides is spiritual food. The best thing God gives us is his Son, the bread of life. Without that spiritual food, we wither and die in a much worse way.

This week we see the multitudes coming to Jesus looking for two things: ever more temporal blessings—full bellies, healthy bodies—and an explanation of how to gain them. Jesus explains the greater need for spiritual food. He assures us that there is nothing we do to earn it. Our Father urges us to come to him for our daily bread, asking him to provide for our temporal needs. But may we hunger most for our greatest need: spiritual food that Christ freely gives.

Pentecost 14

August 25, 2024 • Mr. Alex Lancaster • John 6:51–69

As Jesus concluded his Bread of Life discourse, many said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it? and walked away. Read carefully. They did not say the teaching was hard to understand. The meaning was clear enough. Jesus was teaching that the only chance to enjoy eternity in heaven is through a close connection to him. He is the only bread that gives eternal life. That isn’t hard to understand, but it is hard to accept. Eating this bread means reordering our lives so that Jesus is by far our highest priority. It means loving the Blesser infinitely more than his earthly blessings. It means realizing that Jesus is the only thing we really need. If we had nothing but him, we would not lack anything that ultimately matters. Jesus watches the multitudes walking away from him. He turns to the Twelve—he turns to us this week—and he whispers, “You do not want to leave me too, do you?” May the Spirit give us the wisdom to answer, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Pentecost 13

August 18, 2024 • Pastor Greg Stenzel • John 6:35–51

Today is Week 2 of our “Bread of Life” series, and today builds upon last week by stressing the superiority of spiritual blessings above temporal ones. Contrast an eternal life in glory to a very short seven or eight decades in a world that is so fundamentally broken that it is destined to be incinerated. ‌ However, today’s text builds upon the fact that the “eating” Jesus is calling for (faith in him) is something that fallen man would never do of his own volition. Jesus speaks of the Father drawing in the elect. Jesus is the Source of all life and provides, through faith, eternal life that begins even in this life. This happens only through a relationship of faith with the true “Bread of life.” What’s more, this life is available right now, continuing into eternity even as physical life ceases. It is a thoroughly Christian and completely heartening truth to announce that ETERNAL LIFE IS A PRESENT TENSE