Scripture
John 6:56-69

Script
Pastor: Good morning boys and girls! Welcome! Let’s say good morning to our
friend Sammy and see if she is there. Ready? One, two, three: Good morning,
Sammy!

Sammy: Good morning, everyone!

 

Pastor: I have a big question for everyone here today: What is faith?

 

[Allow time for responses]

 

Sammy: Faith is all about putting your trust in Jesus, no matter what happens in
our lives.

 

Pastor: That’s right, Sammy! Let’s talk a little bit about the Gospel reading from
John today.

 

Sammy: Ooo! I was hoping you would say that!

 

Pastor: You really enjoy hearing and talking about scripture, Sammy.

 

Sammy: I do! I love to learn more about Jesus.

 

Pastor: That’s great! Today Jesus shares a hard teaching with his disciples and
others who were following him. He tells them, “Those who eat my flesh and drink
my blood abide in me, and I in them.  57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live
because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.  58 This is the
bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and
they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” What do you think he
means?

[Allow time for responses]

Sammy: I like talking about scripture, Pastor, but these words of Jesus are
confusing to me. I don’t understand.

Pastor: Jesus is talking about how we need to accept that he is the bread of life. He
is saying here that he is the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, and he is the Messiah
to the people.

Sammy: But what does all that mean, Pastor?

Pastor: Jesus is saying that he is God.

Sammy: Oh, I get it! But why is that a hard teaching for everyone to understand?

Pastor: Accepting this teaching takes faith. We have to trust in Jesus, no matter
what. Some people had a hard time putting their faith in Jesus and believing that
he came down from heaven to save us from our sins because of his great love for
us. Some people today have a hard time with faith, too.

Sammy: How do we increase our faith, Pastor?

Pastor: Our faith comes from God. We need to pray for more faith, and when we
spend time reading our Bibles and praying, God hears our prayers and will give us
more faith in him.

Sammy: That’s so cool! I have another question.

Pastor: Here we go again…

Sammy: What does Peter mean when he says, “Lord, to whom can we go? You
have the words of eternal life.  69 We have come to believe and know that you are the
Holy One of God,”?

Pastor: Peter is sharing that Jesus has words of life—Jesus has the power of eternal
life. Peter is putting faith and trust in Jesus here with these words.

Sammy: I want a faith like Peter.

Pastor: Me too, Sammy. Boys and girls, will you pray with me? Can everyone please
fold their hands and bow their heads? Dear Jesus, Thank you for faith. Thank you
for helping us to trust you. Thank you for increasing our faith. Amen.

Sammy: Bye, everyone!

Pastor: Bye, Sammy!

Scripture

John 6:51-58

Script
Pastor: Good morning boys and girls! Welcome! Let’s say good morning to our
friend Sammy and see if she is there. Ready? One, two, three: Good morning,
Sammy!

Sammy: Good morning, everyone!

Pastor: How are you doing today, Sammy?

Sammy: I am doing great!

Pastor: Me too, Sammy! Hey everyone, I have a question for you: What are some
of the rules that you have to follow at home?

[Allow time for responses]

Pastor: What are some of the rules that you have to follow at school?

[Allow time for responses]

Sammy: What about the rules at church? What rules do we have at church?

[Allow time for responses]

Pastor: Great answers, everyone! When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the lives
of people on earth became impacted by sin. But God had a plan.

Sammy: What was the plan that God had?

Pastor: God’s plan was to create a covenant with his people. There was an Old
Covenant…

Sammy: Oooo! What was the Old Covenant?

Pastor: The Old Covenant was a promise that God made with the people. God
promised to make Abraham the father of many nations and that his descendants
would include kings.

Sammy: I wonder if my descendants will be kings one day.

Pastor: ….

Sammy: Yeah I think you’re right. I’ll stick to being a sheep.

Pastor: Jacob had twelve sons, and these twelve sons became the twelve tribes of
Israel. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun,
Joseph, and Benjamin. These men and their children had to follow special rules,
just like we do at home, at school, and in church.

Sammy: What kinds of rules?

Pastor: There were rules about worshipping God and about making sacrifices to
God. Remember that people sin—we do bad things and we need to pay for our
sins.

Sammy: That could get expensive.

Pastor: Exactly. But God had a plan.

Sammy: What was the plan?

Pastor: The plan was Jesus.

Sammy: I KNEW IT!

Pastor: Yes, the covenant that God made with his people was sending his son
Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus paid for our sins with his blood and we
can live free from the burden of our own sins.

Sammy: Hooray for Jesus!

Pastor: Boys and girls, let’s fold our hands and bow our heads in prayer. Dear
Jesus, thank you for the new covenant. Thank you for forgiving our sins. Thank
you for your great love. Amen.

Sammy: Bye, everyone!

Pastor: Bye, Sammy!

Scripture

John 6:35, 41-51

Script
Pastor: Good morning boys and girls! Welcome! Let’s say good morning to our
friend Sammy and see if she is there. Ready? One, two, three: Good morning,
Sammy!

Sammy: Good morning, everyone!

Pastor: Sammy, I would like to talk to the boys and girls today about resurrection.
I was hoping that you could help me with that.

Sammy: I can always try, Pastor.

Pastor: That’s great, Sammy. We are going to focus on something Jesus said today
in the gospel reading from John.

Sammy: I am ready.

Pastor: Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” Can you all help Sammy repeat that
verse? “I am the bread of life.”

Sammy: “I am the bread of life.” We did it!

Pastor: Very good, everyone!

Sammy: But what kind of bread, Pastor? Wheat? Rye? Whole grain? Honey?

Pumpernickel? Sourdough? Flatbread?

Pastor: [Interrupting] No, Sammy, hang on a second.

Sammy: What? What did I do wrong?

Pastor: Let’s go back to our verse. Can everyone repeat after me? “I am the bread
of life.”

Sammy: “I am the bread of life.” And now you tell us what kind of bread Jesus is.

Pastor: No, Sammy. It’s a metaphor for the resurrection of Jesus. He died and rose
and the same spirit that lives in him lives in us. So guess what?

Sammy: When we die, we get to rise again to live with Jesus.

Pastor: That’s called resurrection. Repeat after me, “I am the bread of life.”

Sammy: “I am the bread of life.”

Pastor: We need bread to nourish our bodies, and we need Jesus as our living
bread from heaven. When we eat the bread he gives us, we won’t die and we get
to live with him.

Sammy: But where is the bread? I want that bread!

Pastor: It’s right here. [Show communion bread to the children.] This bread is a
sign to us of the living power of Jesus. It’s the new covenant between Jesus and
us. He is the living bread. Remember the verse?

Sammy: “I am the bread of life.” And we can remember that verse every time we
come up for communion and receive the bread or a blessing.

Pastor: Yes we can. Let’s say a prayer. Can everyone please fold your hands and
bow your heads? Dear Jesus, Thank you for being the bread of life. Thank you for
resurrection and communion. Thank you for your many blessings. We love you.
Amen.

Sammy: Bye, everyone!

Pastor: Bye, Sammy!

JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE
Devotional for August 12, 2018 based upon John 6: 35, 41-51

Every culture on earth has some form of bread, be it bagels, biscuits, baguettes, tortillas, pita, matza, or even lefsa. People get together to “break bread.” In the Arabic language the word for bread is the word for life. Bread is basic to life. It sustains, nourishes, draws people together, and both tastes and smells good. So much so that it can help you sell your house if you bake some bread soon before someone comes over to look at your house.

That is what Jesus was saying when He said, “I am the bread of life.” Jesus is essential to life. Everything that bread represents – sustenance, relationship, goodness, and delight – Jesus claims that He is.

Notice that Jesus did not say, “I can give you the true bread from heaven.” Rather He said, “I am the true bread from heaven.” “You can live without manna, Moses, and religion, but you cannot live without Me.”

And that’s what makes Jesus’ claim so outrageous for many people. That’s why it became such a problem for the crowd. Jesus was telling them that He is more important than anything else in life. That was more than the crowd could take. That is why many stopped following Him.

There is no middle ground with Jesus. You either stone Him or you serve Him. You either receive Him and revere Him or you reject Him. You either follow Him or you turn away.

The people in the crowd that day were impressed by the miracles of Jesus. They also admired the teachings of Jesus. But they did not want to have to admit that they needed Jesus. They would rather have manna. They would rather have a list of rules. They would rather be religious than to have to be in a relationship with Jesus.

And many people today stumble over the same thing. They would like to experience the miracles of Jesus. They admire and would like themselves and other people – especially their children – to live according to the teachings of Jesus. But they would rather take their chances and try to do it by themselves than to have to admit that they need Jesus.

Every time we come forward to receive communion, we confess that we need Jesus. We admit our need for a relationship with Jesus. We are saying that we cannot live without Jesus – in this life and in the life to come.

Maybe we do not fully understand the nature of our need and how it works. But we know we need something that we cannot provide for ourselves. We cannot obtain it in any other way except to come forward and receive it.

Jesus is the bread of life. We cannot earn it, buy it, work for it, or come to the point of deserving it. All we can do is to receive it as we believe in the one whom God has sent.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE