I AM the Bread of Life - John 6

John begins his Gospel with a loud declaration that Jesus is God, was with God in the beginning, and if we want to see and know God, you have to take a good long hard look at Jesus. Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus makes seven statements about himself. He begins each statement with “I AM,” echoing God’s name in Exodus 3. This week, we will be in John 6 where Jesus says, “I AM the bread of life. Anyone who comes to me will never be hungry” (v35). 

John is an excellent writer and leaves all kinds of bread crumbs to follow throughout his Gospel. There are three events in the Gospel of John where he mentions that something was happening near the time of Passover. Why is that significant? What do we practice today that is directly tied to the Passover? The first mention of the Passover was when Jesus cleared the Temple in John 2. The second is when Jesus was about to feed the five thousand in John 6. The final event(s) are all surrounding Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem and the Last Supper (11:55; 12:1; 13:1). 

So, when John mentions that Jesus miraculously feeds the fiver thousand around the time of the Passover, he hopes to draw connections in your mind not only with the Passover event, where God liberated his children and led them into the promised land. He also wants to connect your thinking to the Passover events in his Gospel – the cleansing of the Temple on one side and his death and resurrection on the other side. 

Here we stand with Jesus, up on a mountain, looking out over the people who followed him to the countryside. They follow him because they saw his signs. Are you hearing any of the echoes of Moses in the wilderness? 

John 6 is a huge text to work through. Cody is preaching this Sunday on the latter part of John 6 where Jesus addresses the crowed about the food they are looking for (6:26-35). Spend some time with all of John 6 this week. What does Jesus tell us about God in this passage? When we look at Jesus, we also see who we are supposed to be. Who is Jesus calling you to be in this passage? How does this story shape the way you view the Lord’s Supper? What could you reflect on this week when we gather around the Table? 

One of the practices I have when I read scripture is to spend time reflecting on who I am as different characters in the story. One of the powerful lessons that comes from this interaction with Jesus is standing with the crowed. Why am I following Jesus? How do I respond to something so off-putting as Jesus turning around and telling everyone to eat his flesh? Am I just searching for the benefits and power that comes with following Jesus? Or, am I searching for Jesus himself? I really like how one writer put it, “What matters is not just what Jesus can do for you; what matters is who Jesus is.” 

Jesus According to Jesus - "I AM"

In class last Sunday, I tried to cover a brief history of the Trinity and realized I was trying to get everyone to take a refreshing sip of water from a fire hydrant. We had some really good discussions but each question we talked about could have been its own class. We’ll come back to these discussions later and have a series on the Trinity. This week in class, I want to have a spin off discussion from this last week about Jesus: before, during, and after. What does it mean that he is 100% God and 100% man? What does it mean that he emptied himself of equality with God? What does it mean that the resurrected Jesus now sits at the right hand of the throne of God? I believe it is important as a community to be able to wrestle with hard questions together. This isn’t just for gaining knowledge but for continuing to strive for understanding that leads to transformation.

We’re going to take a break in our Sermon series of “5 Ways of Loving God” to talk about Jesus. From now till the first week of September, we will be in the Gospel of John focusing on the “I AM” statements of Jesus. I want to bookend this series with two sermons about truth. In the Prologue of John’s Gospel (1:14), we see that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…full of grace and truth.” Jesus’ time in front of Pilate ends with a discussion on who Jesus is and where he is from. Pilate, in 18:38, responds to Jesus’ claims on truth with, “What is truth?” At the bottom of this post, I’ve provided the schedule for what we will be talking about each week. I encourage you to spend time with these texts, listening to what God might be telling you. 

Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus says a lot about himself. When Jesus talks about himself in John’s Gospel, John uses the common Greek phrase “I am.” There are a lot of ways that John could have written these statements from Jesus. In the other Gospel accounts, Jesus would have said something like, “The Son of Man came to be the bread of life so that all might be filled.” John, in contrast, has Jesus speak directly about himself, “I am the bread of life…” Many believe John, in the voice of Jesus, is echoing God’s introduction of himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14. What does Jesus say about himself when he makes these “I AM” claims? 

Colossians 1:15 tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. When we look at Jesus, we see the image of God. If you want to understand God, you have to look to Jesus. If you want to understand who we are supposed to be as a church, as Christians, you have to look to Jesus. We were created as the Image of God, but that image has become distorted in us because of sin. We look to Christ to show us who we are supposed to be as the Image of God. 

Colossians 1:15-20

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Spend some time this week reflecting on John 1. What does John tell us about Jesus? What does John want you to know about Jesus by starting his Gospel this way? How are you to view the ministry of Jesus by how John sets the stage? I look forward to this journey together as we better understand who we are by better understanding who Jesus is as God in the flesh.

Sermon Series – Jesus According to Jesus, “I AM”

July 15 – Jesus According to Jesus, “I AM”

            Scripture – John 1:1-18

July 22 – I AM the Bread of Life

            Scripture – John 6:35-51

July 29 – I AM the Light of the World

            Scripture – John 8:12-20

Aug 5   – I AM the Gate for the Sheep the Good Shepherd

            Scripture – John 10:1-21

Aug 12– I AM the Resurrection and the Life

            Scripture – John 11:17-27

Aug 19– I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life

            Scripture – John 14:1-14

Aug 26– I AM the True Vine

            Scripture – John 15:1-17

Sep 2   – Jesus According to Jesus, “What is Truth?”

            Scripture – 18:28-40

Having the Mind of Christ - Connecting with God through Relationships

We’re continuing in our series on Connecting with God through relationships. The first week we looked at the beginning of the church and how their natural reaction to the grace given at Pentecost was to come together as one people and share their things as though were one unified body. Last week we looked at the call of Christ for his people to love one another. Choosing to love one another brings us into an encounter with the nature of God that cannot be experienced in any other way. In order to love one another, we have to be in relationships with one another beyond the cordial greetings on Sunday morning. This isn’t about loving those who love you but choosing to be in relationships that you would not choose in the world. 

This week, I want to look at Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi to see what Paul says about what it takes to overcome differences within a congregation. One thing we all know about being in relationships is that conflict will arise. There are a few different approaches to reading Philippians. The approach that makes the most sense to me, for what Paul is addressing in his letter, is some kind of conflict between two leaders in the Christian community in Philippi.  

In Philippians 4:2, Paul gets to the point of his letter. When you hear “plead” or “urge” used, the language is strong enough to draw the attention of everyone to listen closely. Everything said up to this point has built to this urgency. Who are Euodia and Syntyche? We don’t have much information about them, but they would have to be fairly prominent in the church to be called out for their conflict. Paul says in verse 3 that they have contended at his side in the cause of the Gospel. They worked alongside Paul, Clement, and their other co-workers. In regard to the work of spreading the Gospel, they were equals with Paul and his co-workers. We don’t know if they were “ministers,” leaders of house churches, or in some kind of leadership role. What we do know is that they were workers in the church in some capacity because of Paul’s comments and his desire that they find unity in their relationship. 

Paul leans on a Greek philosophy of wisdom that he then baptizes in his letter to the church in Philippi. This wisdom is called “phronesis.” When we think of wisdom, we think of knowledge that comes from book study or we think of knowledge that comes from technical work, or regular practice. “Phronesis” is a different kind of wisdom that is heavily practical and comes through both books smarts and practice. This is the word that Paul uses in Phil 2:1-11, when he calls believers to be “like-minded” in Christ and in v. 5 to have the same mindset of Christ Jesus. This mindset isn’t just a different way of thinking about the world. This “mindset” is a combination of knowing scripture as well as practicing the way of Christ in your life every day. “Phronesis” in this sense is developed as you walk in the way of Christ. You begin to develop the wisdom of Christ and it is then shown in your actions. 

With this conflict between these two church leaders in mind, read all of Philippians and see how Paul is using this concept of “having the same mind of Christ” to address these women. Paul points to others as examples of Christ-likeness as well. See how he develops his letter to then bring these two women to the point of confronting their disagreement. How would developing this kind of wisdom help you develop your relationships within the church? How would you think differently about those you don’t naturally connect with? How does Phil 4:8 apply to how you approach conflict with others? How would applying this verse to your relationships change the way you love others? 

As we grow in how we love God, we have to connect with God through relationship with others. Relationships are messy. Genuine relationships with people you wouldn’t naturally spend time with often takes grace that only comes from God. Choosing to be in relationship with others takes many small decisions that shape a new life of love for others. Grace and peace be with you this week as you pray for guidance on how you might expand your relationship with others at Queen City.

Love One Another - Connecting with God through Relationships

In our series on the five ways of loving God, we’re looking at how we connect with God through relationships. When the Church started at Pentecost, thousands were baptized and the immediately developed a new kind of community. Everyone had everything in common, they shared their stuff, and dedicated themselves to the Apostles’ teachings, the Lord’s Supper as a meal together, and to prayer. Luke paints a picture of what the church is supposed to look like in Acts 2:42-47. The rest of the New Testament letters are more or less written to help these new communities figure out how to have relationships together. 

The church is the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Family of God, the Kingdom of God. I am not the church. We are the church. I am not the Body. We are the Body. I am not the Bride. We are the Bride. Can I fully be a Christian and refuse to be part of a community of believers? The church is the place where we experiment with what it means to live out the two greatest commands to Love God and Love Neighbor. If we cannot learn to love one another in the church, how then will we ever learn to love our neighbors? 

In preparation for this Sunday, read all of First John and focus on what John says about our love for each other. Our sermon text will be 1 John 4:7-21 but take some time to read all of First John to get a feel for his overall message about love. What does it mean for God to be love? What is God’s love like? When I look back to the Old Testament and the covenant God made with Israel, I see God’s love. When we think of covenants between people, we think of them as a two-way commitment. If one breaks their end of the covenant, we assume the other is then released from their end. What we see in God’s relationship with Israel, and the world, is a God of love who refuses to give up on the covenant. Israel breaks their end of the covenant over and over and over again, but God stays faithful to them. God does send correctives so that they will come back to covenant with him, but he never gives up on the covenant. This is fully realized in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.

If we are to have the love of God for one another, at what point are we able to break covenant with one another? How quickly do people change churches because something happened they didn’t like? How quickly do we break relationships when we disagree in discussions? The question really becomes, do we really see ourselves in a relationship that is infused with the love of God? How would that change our community if we loved one another with the same love that God has for us? 

Connecting with God through Relationships

When you hear the word “spirituality,” what images come to mind? Pull up a search engine on your phone or computer and search “spirituality” or “Christian spirituality.” What are some of the common elements that you find? 

Find some time to read Acts 2 and pay special attention to what the response is of the new group of believers that come together in 2:42-47. When Luke, the author of Acts, paints a picture of “Christian spirituality,” what images do you see? How do these contrast with the images you found on the internet? 

There are five basic ways of connecting with God: Scripture reading/intellect, contemplation/prayer, relationships with others, acts of service, and through emotions/worship. This Sunday, we’re going to start a short series on connecting with God through our relationships with others. 

I want to leave you with a few thoughts to wrestle with over the next few weeks that I’ve been wrestling with for a while. I hope to make us all a little uncomfortable but move us towards a deeper spiritual life together. Let’s go on a journey together. 

One of the biggest detriments to Christianity in the Western world in the last few hundred years is the development of hyper-individuality. The “Age of Enlightenment” began at the end of the 17thcentury and dominated philosophy and politics of the 18thand early 19thcenturies. This age in philosophy brought about the American and French Revolutions, dismissed God to the heavens and out of everyday life, and developed the autonomy of the individual. In the centuries to follow, spirituality became a deeply personal part of life, the individual took greater emphasis over the community, and God ultimately has been dismissed from our public spaces. I’m painting with a very broad brush because people tend to glaze over whenever philosophy and history come into conversation. I give this brief history to show that the world we live in is not the world that the early Christians lived in. 

If you were to ask Peter, John, or Paul about their “personal walk with Jesus,” they would start telling you about the church, living in community with others, walking alongside people that they would not have chosen to walk with, and how the power of the Holy Spirit brings all people together as one people through Jesus Christ. While they would have elements of their personal lives that help them develop spiritually as an individual, they would have seen these practices as means to developing lifegiving relationships with those in the Christian community. Take a moment to think about this view of Christian spirituality as you read Ephesians 2.

There’s a lot more that I would like to go into, but we have a few weeks to wrestle with what it means to love God and connect with God through relationships with others. Here are some questions for you to sit with for the next few weeks:

• If God makes his covenant with a people, and not a person, can a person truly be a Christian and refuse to be part of Christian community?
• If the only people you engage in Christian community with are people who look like you, think like you, and are in the same socio-economic position as you, are you living out the call to “oneness” in Ephesians 2 (and other areas of the Bible)?
• How can you engage in relationship with others at QCC beyond our time together in Sunday morning worship? 
• Shifting our thinking from individual to community, how does this change how you approach “church membership”? 

Dwelling in Unity - Donald Howard

I consider it a true blessing to have such gifted and passionate people fill the pulpit while I am away at school. I missed being with you this last Sunday and I’ll miss being with you this Sunday. I know Donald Howard will do an excellent job filling in and will bring a word from God for you. My prayer is that you will be present to God to receive His Word. I continue to be in prayer for you while I am away. I’m excited to return and share with you all that I am learning in school these two weeks.

Bro. Donald will be bringing a word from Psalm 133 and Ephesians 4:10-15 in his sermon, “Dwelling in Unity.” Take time to read these passages and rest in them. Use the scripture as a lens to examine Queen City but then use it as a mirror to examine your own life within our community of faith at QCC. It is easy to read scripture with “other people” in mind and walk away unchanged by the encounter you just had with God. Allow yourself to be present to the text so that you will walk away changed by your encounter with the words of God.  

What does unity look like? What does it take to live in unity? Why is dwelling in unity important? What must we do in today's time to dwell in unity? What role does Christ play in unity?

I heard a Sister the other day make this comment about diversity and unity, “These are the people I’m going to be with in heaven, what does it say if I can’t live in unity with them now.”

We are called to live out what God intended his creation to look like. We are called to live out our unity in Christ because Christ broke down all barriers between people groups and social groups. We all come to this Family through the same Christ, through the same baptism, and we stay connected to this Family through the same Christ, through the same Communion/Lord’s Supper.

What are you doing this week to walk towards unity with others? What do you need to repent of that has moved you away from unity with others? Come hear a word this Sunday and be transformed in the presence of God.

Graduation Sunday Reflection

This is a guest post from Cody Poinsett

        I remember just five years ago when I was the one graduating high school. It was a fun time, an exciting time, a scary time. But, more than anything, I remember the overwhelming feeling of being in control. Clearly, this was just a feeling that I had conjured up and ended up being nowhere close to the reality of what my life was about to become. Reality was the least of my concerns, though. All I was focused on was my ego and blind-confidence in myself and my strength.

         As I’m sure you can imagine, it didn’t take long for that to all come crashing down around me. Within a year or so of graduating high school, moving to a new place, and starting this new period of life, it became abundantly clear that I was never really going to be in control of anything. Not only that, but I was also beginning to learn that there would be a great need for some sort of stability, something to cling to that would hold me steady throughout the more chaotic and unstable phases of life.

         In I Corinthians 12:12-31, Paul provides an extremely powerful image of where that stability can come from. He clearly and thoughtfully teaches that the body of Christ is made up of many members that can together make a whole, with each member playing its part. When a specific member fails to effectively fill their role, then the whole family suffers. On the flip side, when each member does meet the needs of the family, then everyone grows stronger and more effective in their own role.

         It took plenty of time for me to learn and accept that truth. In fact, I would say that it’s something that I’m still in the process of learning- what it means to truly be part of the body of Christ. But, while I still have a lot to learn, here’s what I do know: being part a Christian family has allowed me to stumble, fall, and waver, but because there were others that were invested both in me and in the greater body of Christ, I was never allowed to be alone.

• Pray for Justin and Chaney this summer as they transition into a new time of life.
• When has there been a transition in your life when you really saw the church step in and help you grow?
• Looking back over your life, where have you seen God work in these times of transitions? 

Reading Scripture Together

As we look to be a community of believers together, a family, God’s people, the Body of Christ, etc. we are reading the Bible together so that we align ourselves together with the same narrative and covenant. This last Sunday, we looked at the first two instances where the Bible records the Bible being written. The first is found in Exodus 17:8-16 and the second in Exodus 24:1-8. The first story is the recording of an event, a narrative, demonstrating God’s redemptive love coming to the aid of those who are abused and oppressed. The second story is of God’s covenant with the Jews and their response to do everything he has said. It is the recording of the vows from their wedding ceremony. We’ve seen how God acts and the marriage with his people.

When Scripture is read aloud in community, it is read so that the people will unite in a common story and be reminded of their common commitment to covenant with God. Moses reminds the people of this in Deuteronomy 6 before they cross the Jordan into the Promised Land and Joshua assembles the people after the first two victories in the land so they will not forget their identity (Joshua 8:34-45). Centuries go by before they assemble together to hear Scripture read aloud. Josiah, in 2 Kings 22-23, finds the Torah in the Temple. After reading it, he tears his clothes because he realizes they weren’t living the right narrative nor were they keeping covenant with God. He reads it to the people so that they will be convicted and turn back to covenant and relationship with God.

Joshua reads Scripture to the community to remind them of their common narrative and their covenant with God in order to look to the future of where they can go. Josiah reads Scripture to the community so that it will be a mirror to look into and see where they have got things wrong. When we gather around the reading of Scripture in community, we are reminded of our common narrative and commitment to covenant with God. This becomes a window for looking into the future of where we should go as well as a mirror to check ourselves in to make sure we are keeping the covenant and living out our common narrative together.

Jesus didn’t come to dismiss that narrative or covenant but to clean the window and the mirror so that we might see clearly who we are to be (1 Cor. 13:12). Christ, as our Savior and as our Rabbi, has called us to follow him. We follow him by keeping close to his teachings and actions, and by doing everything we can to become like him in every way. This is why we are reading the Gospel of Mark together as a community. Take time this week to read Mark 8-10 while asking the basic questions that are provided below. Sunday, we will hear a reading from God’s word together. My prayer is that you will prepare yourself this week to receive a word from God.

Read Mark 8-10 over and over again slowly. Read the whole thing on Monday and then take a section at a time. Ask these basic questions:

• Who do I most identify with in this story? What emotion comes with this?
• What does Jesus do that is remarkable?
• What is Jesus asking of me? What do I need to change based on what I see Jesus doing?
• What questions do I have?

Follow Me - Loving God through Scripture Reading

If you missed the sermon on Sunday, here is a small recap for what we are doing in this series. We talked earlier in the year about the five ways of loving God and how balance in life is having each of the five ways to their fullest capacity in your life (You can see a description of these five ways on last week’s blog). Through this short series, I want to focus on why we need to study the Bible, not just as individuals, but also as a community. When I say, “study the Bible,” I don’t necessarily mean that we need to crack open a commentary and study everything around the Bible to then understand what is being said. There is a time and a place for that and I’ve spent all of my adult life digging into those conversations. There have been times in my walk with God that I have known a lot about God while not knowing God. I could tell you a lot of deep insights into the depths of the study of God but couldn’t tell you about the way I could see Him transforming me. So, here’s a recap of Sunday’s sermon and where we are going together as a Family.

Around 60 of the 90 times Jesus is addressed in the Gospel narratives, he is called teacher/rabbi. We don’t think of Jesus in this way very often and therefore we miss a huge part of what the call of Christ is when he says, “Follow me.”

Read Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-17; 3:13-15.

Jesus’ calls these 12 to follow him as their rabbi. Basically, what that means is, they are dropping everything to commit to being with Jesus 24/7 to learn everything they can from him. How he walks, talks, teaches, acts, reasons from scripture, addresses others, drives out demons, etc. etc. etc. They are to take on the identity of Jesus by observing his every move and by learning from him as they go from town to town.

In the first century world, only the best of the best of Hebrew boys would go on to rabbinic school. Who did Jesus call? Why?

When we read these passages in Mark, we see a pattern. In story after story, the invitation of Jesus was not “believe in me and you go to heaven when you die…” which is often what it sounds like in the American/Western Church. The invitation was to follow Jesus so that you might become like him. This is what the rabbis did with their disciples. They trained them so that they would then become rabbis and assemble their own disciples so that they would then become rabbis. The pattern is set that if you are going to follow Jesus, you drop everything to follow him, sit at his feet, observe his every move, mimic his voice, his theology, his teaching, etc. So, you will then walk in the way of your rabbi.

With this image of Jesus as rabbi in mind, we are encouraging everyone at QCC to read through Mark 8-10 over the next few weeks. Listen to Jesus. Ask hard questions of the text. Allow the text to ask hard questions of you. We want to read through this as a Family, as fellow followers, and hear what God is calling us to.

Read Mark 8-10 over and over again slowly. Read the whole thing on Monday and then take a section at a time. Ask these basic questions:

-       Who do I most identify with in this story? What emotion comes with this?

-       What does Jesus do that is remarkable?

-       What is Jesus asking of me? What do I need to change based on what I see Jesus doing?

-       What questions do I have?