Pentecost Season Series 3 2024 Intro

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66). What happened?! Jesus had recently fed many thousands of people. Everywhere he went, he was mobbed by a multitude looking for the hope and healing Jesus provided. In the first part of Jesus’ ministry, he was extremely popular. That changed so quickly. At this time many followers walked away from Christ. What had Jesus done that was so bad? He said, “I am the bread of life.” That statement seems, at worst, to be cryptic. It doesn’t seem offensive. But as the crowd grasped what Jesus was claiming, they decided they no longer wanted anything to do with him.
Bread is a staple food, something people eat every day (especially in Jesus’ day). Scripture will sometimes refer to bread and water as all one needs to sustain physical life. In this worship series, we will examine what Jesus is teaching when he calls himself “the Bread of Life.” We will discuss why people would abandon Jesus for making that claim. And we will wrestle with whether we would ever do the same. Our worship follows this path:
•Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Spiritual Food for Those Focused on the Earthly
•Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Bread that Gives Wisdom and Life
•Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Only Food We Really Need