Sermon - National Youth Sunday, 25th August 2024
Old Testament reading: Exodus 16:11-15 “Manna and Quail in the desert”
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.”
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New Testament reading: John 6:28-35 “Jesus the Bread of Life”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
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.
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Order of worship:
• Call to Worship - John 14:6 - Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
• Opening Hymn #321, Praise to the Lord the Almighty
• Prayer of Adoration and Confession
• Hymn before scripture readings, #677, My faith looks up to Thee
• Scripture Readings: Old Testament, Exodus 16:11-15; New Testament, John 6:28-35
• Offertory Hymn #349, “My hope is built on nothing less”
• Doxology followed by the Offertory prayer
• Welcome and Announcements
• Sermon, “Jesus the Bread of Life”
• Pastoral Prayer
• Closing Hymn #507, “Break now the bread of life”
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Good morning everyone and welcome to our National Youth Sunday service. Our theme today is “Jesus the bread of life”. Let us pray. May the words of mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to You, O Christ, our Strength and our Redeemer, amen.
Thesis Statement: Jesus is the bread of life, He provides us with everything we need, whether material or spiritual.
Old Testament analysis: In a miraculous way, God provided Israel with plenty of meat in the wilderness. This was a significant display of the mercy of God. When Israel complained, God could have answered with judgment or discipline, but He gave them meat instead. Additionally, the purpose for giving the bread from heaven was not only to provide for the material needs of Israel, but also to teach them eternal lessons of dependence on God. In our modern context, when God puts us in a place of need, He wants to do more than meet the need; He wants to teach eternal lessons.
Furthermore, feeding Israel through the bread from heaven was an example of God’s way of cooperating with man. Israel could not create the manna and God would not gather it for them. Each had to do their part. It is of note that God provided manna, but the Israelites did not recognise it. Similarly, even today when God’s provision comes, we often do not recognise it. God met the needs of Israel, but He did it in a way they did not expect. Naturally, God also meets our needs, but sometimes He does it in a way we do not expect.
New Testament analysis: Of course, this manna, this bread from heaven, is a powerful picture of Jesus Himself. In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus had a discussion with people who wanted Him to keep on feeding them with His miraculous power. They wanted Jesus to provide for them just Israel was provided for with manna in the wilderness. He replied, “the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus is the bread from heaven, and we have to receive Him like Israel received the manna: Aware of our need, hungry; Each for himself, family by family; Every day; Humbly - perhaps even on our knees; With gratitude, knowing we don’t deserve it; Eating it, taking the gift inside, to our innermost being.
Like the strange manna from heaven, no one in the whole world expected Jesus. Although the prophet Isaiah foretold His birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection about 700 years before any of it happened, nobody could anticipate that this strange man would be the Messiah. On one hand, Judaism teaches that the Messiah will: Rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem; Bring about the end of war so that everyone can live in peace; Unite all people regardless of differences like religion or culture; Bring a true awareness of God to all people; and Signal the end of the world. On the other hand, instead of completing those tasks, Jesus was arrested and then executed by the state.
Why did the same God who performed numerous powerful miracles send His Son to die? The people did not understand, and neither did His disciples, because after His death they locked themselves up in a room and felt sorry for themselves. They gave up hope, and just like the Israelites wandering the desert 1,300 years before their time, the disciples believed that God had abandoned them. Fortunately, three days later there was a resurrection, and when they saw Jesus again the disciples finally understood that this strange man who they had followed around the Land of Israel for three years was the Living God. He broke bread with them once again, but more importantly, He established Himself as their Redeemer who forgave their sins, reconciling them with God the Father.
As Jesus went to the disciples, so too does He come to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is knocking at the door of our heart. Now it is our calling as Christians to answer Him, to receive faith in Him. Note that I said “receive faith”. The common expression is “have faith” but that’s not how faith works; it is a gift from God that must be given to us. You cannot just decide one day to “have faith” in Christ; that is completely impossible for human beings. Faith is not generated by the human spirit; faith is divine, so we must pray for it. Then, God will choose to give faith to us. This is accomplished through the Holy Spirit, who dwells with us and transforms us from within.
In response to Jesus caring for us, we must respond by caring for others. Our transformation from sinners to believers does not make us better than everyone else; quite the opposite: we become the servants of all people. We help others out of gratitude for the great gift of God’s Son. To put it another way, people who are sinners have nothing and will grasp at anything to fill the void. However, we as believers have everything in Christ; the whole Kingdom of God is our inheritance, therefore we want for nothing. This truth is echoed in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”. This relationship, this oneness with Christ is our reward, and His love is so immense that it spills out of us; it cannot be contained. Thus He leads us out into the world, to share the Good News that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, feed us with the Bread from Heaven and the Living Water so that we will be satisfied forever. We pray for faith, we pray that You will reveal Yourself as our personal Saviour. We invite the Holy Spirit to dwell within us so that we can be transformed and be made fit for Your service in this world. We are encouraged by Your promise that we are the heirs to Your Kingdom Eternal, where we shall see God the Father and become part of His family forevermore. Amen.