[0:00] okay now on the screen here i've got can't quite make them out probably need the first two lights off if we could thank you very much four different types of bread breads which are from around the world but probably some of them we actually eat ourselves here in the uk nowadays and uh behind those pictures of bread is our memory verse every time we have an all-age service we have a verse from the bible which is the theme to help us think about uh who jesus is why he came into the world what it means to be a christian and so on so to discover our memory verse we've got to take those breads away so uh i wonder if anybody can tell me what this one is here if i don't know if you can quite see it it's that sort of shape it's sort of flat any any of the boys and girls know what sort of bread it is go on people sorry no this one here look i'm putting the thing around that one any idea adam non-bread that's right non-bread okay so you have that if you maybe have a an indian or a curry or something like that let's take that one away okay we've just not got a lot there just a the verse okay what about these here i think these people most people probably know what they are somebody likes them anyway what what are they sir they are bagels indeed and how do you like your bagels okay that sounds very nice so recipe tips as well we get here okay so that's bagels that's right so we've got the beginning then jesus the bread of life okay what about these down here they're more oval shaped there's two of them there sorry that hasn't quite come out as well as it could do pita bread that's it pita bread if you have a kebab or something like that then uh they open up well they're nice not just with kebabs you can have them with lettuce and salad and ham and all sorts of things like that okay let's get rid of that one then now the last one is a really hard one i wonder whether anybody i don't think you're going to know what it is paul no it's not french anybody idea what's called yeah no it's actually from germany austria it's lindia it is i was hoping that somebody of that family would be here to tell me what it is it's called zopf did you eat it do you like it is it nice i've never tried it but i found it on the internet that picture apparently for breakfast and things like that it's supposed to be really lovely like a brioc almost okay so that's the last one we'll take that one away and there we've got our memory verse so let's read this all together okay out loud 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 john jacks verse 35 okay so we're thinking particularly about these words of jesus i am the bread of life okay and then what he said afterwards so we're going to be thinking about that together now yeah well done please be seated please be seated okay so we're going to go uh we're going back onto the screen again because we're going to read from our bibles now and uh the reading is going to come up on the screen as well with a few pictures but if you want to follow in your bible it's in john and chapter 6 in john and chapter 6 so if you've got a bible there john and chapter 6 and we're going to read what's uh often been called uh the feeding of the 5 000 i pinched the artwork okay so i can't confess so i've got to give give um this man henry martin some praise because i found his store his uh pictures of the story of the feeding of the 5 000 on the internet so i've borrowed them to help us to
[4:00] visualize the story but but the words are directly from our translation of the bible so chapter 6 and we're going to read from verse 1 it's going to come up on the screen there sometime later after this jesus crossed the far shore of the sea of galilee that is the sea of tiberias and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he'd performed by healing those who were ill then jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples the jewish passover festival was near when jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him he said to philip where shall we buy bread for these people to eat he asked this only to test him for he already had in mind what he was going to do philip answered him it would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite another his disciples andrew simon peter's brother spoke up here's a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish but how how far will that go amongst so many jesus said make the people sit down there's plenty of grass in that place and they sat down about 5 000 men were there jesus then took the five loaves and distributed them to those who were seated as much as they wanted he did the same with the fish when they had all had enough to eat he said to his disciples gather the pieces that are left over so they gathered them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten after the people saw the sign jesus performed they began to say surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world jesus knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force withdrew again to a mountain by himself feeding of the five thousand jesus miraculously amazingly showing himself to be god in the world providing and giving for the needs of people and we're going to be thinking about that story and particularly what followed afterwards when jesus spoke to the people later on we're going to sing another song together now which is going to come up on the screen in a moment reminding ourselves really what we've been singing already and thinking already the greatness of god the provider the giver the one who created all things and so we're going to stand and sing together who has held the oceans in his hands who has numbered every grain of sand let's stand as we sing so i want us to think about our memory verse i'm just going to get through that's the end of our story and we're going to get back to hopefully in a moment our memory verse thinking about jesus who said i am the bread of life i don't know when the last time you went to buy some bread perhaps uh you might have had gone to the supermarket and mom might have said to you go down to the aisle and get some bread or you may have gone into a baker's and uh ask them for some bread if you do go into a baker's or even if you go down the aisle or the bread aisle in the supermarket uh you'll be asked
[8:04] what sort of bread do you want because it's not just one sort of bread is there there's all sorts of different types of bread there's brown bread and there's white bread there's granary bread and there's seeded bread there's a split tin loaf and a cottage loaf all sorts of different types of bread but there's definitely one bread that you will not find on the baker's aisle uh in the bakery there's one sort of bread that the baker will not have in their shop and that's the bread of life the bread of life well that's a strange thing isn't it nonsense with jesus to say i am the bread of life later on he in that same story as things go on he talks about himself as the living bread the bread of life the living bread what's jesus doing well he's comparing himself to the food that we eat every day the bread that we eat every day the everyday food that sustains us and helps us now in other parts of the world of course people don't eat wheat they eat rice nearly every day in the east and in some parts of south america they eat maize every day and in other parts of the world other things as well the staple diet around the world is different and perhaps if jesus had been living in those cultures he would have said i'm the rice of the world or i'm the maize of the world he's saying i am the food that everybody needs because who needs bread who needs bread who needs to eat well everybody needs to eat don't we we all do it doesn't matter bread isn't just for the really rich people there was a time in some parts of the world where people starved and they didn't even have just bread to eat but bread is for everybody it's for the rich people and for the poor bread is for people who are good and people who are bad bread is for people who are famous even the superstars on the movies and the sports stars they still eat bread bread's for the people who are professors in universities bread is for everybody no matter how old or young we are we all need bread why well without it we die that's the reality we all need to eat every one of us i'm sure had some breakfast or maybe you skip breakfast this morning and you're trying to diet or something like that but most of us have eaten today or will eat today we eat every day because we need to eat we know that our bodies need the food to sustain us to strengthen us to keep us alive if we don't eat for a long time then we die and we're very sad because we see around the world where because of war and because of man's greed and other things like that especially children go without food long enough and they die that's a very very terrible thing we need to eat or we will die so jesus i am the bread of life but really bread itself food itself gives us life so who needs the bread of life well jesus declares by saying that he is the bread of life that just as we need bread to eat to keep us alive we need jesus to give us life we need to feed on him otherwise we die he was talking to the people later and he talks about how in the wilderness in the desert when moses was leading the people god gave them bread he gave them manna to eat but this is what jesus says your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness in the desert yet they died i am the living bread that comes down from heaven whoever eats this bread will live forever
[12:05] so who needs the bread of life those who are dying and all of us are dying no matter how young we are old we are no matter how we look after our bodies no matter how healthy our diet is whether we do exercise whether we do our best to make sure that we don't have too much salt or too much fat or too much too many calories all these things it doesn't matter how we look after our bodies they will eventually die even if we manage to get to 100 or 110 they will eventually die we can't escape it we can't get away from death we can't avoid it but here jesus says he gives us life he says earlier on in verse 33 the bread of god is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world what sort of life does jesus give us as the bread of life he means life forever that's what he says eternal life i am the one who gives them life to live forever the reality is that when we physically die when our bodies die that's not the end that's not the end of us we don't just cease to exist we don't just sort of fade away the bible makes it very clear that there is life beyond death and for those who trust in jesus there is eternal life life which is stronger than death it's not the end when we die we don't have to fear death if we're a christian we don't have to fear death if we have jesus the bread of life because he promises us eternal life unspoiled life life without hunger life without pain life with god forever and ever that's the great hope that's the great certainty of the christian that even though this body may die we shall live forever but people need the bread of life not only because they're dying and because we must face death but people who are hungry hungry the life that jesus gives is not only life beyond death in heaven it's not only life for when we die the eternal life that jesus gives us is life now fullness of life he says that himself later on well i have come that they might have life and have it abundantly a habit to the full everybody that we meet is looking for something to satisfy everybody we meet is looking for something to make life worth living to give meaning to life and people find that in all sorts of things they may find it in their career in their job getting better and better getting a promotion or a rise people find it in sports in not just in doing sport but in their team they love their team they love to live for their football team or their sports team their rugby team or whatever that's life when i'm there watching them play life can be doing exciting things traveling the world visiting countries i wonder what it is that you are hoping or trusting or believing will satisfy your life it may be a relationship they may be getting married to somebody who loves me they may be having children and a family or having a home or a new car or whatever it is people are searching and looking for something they are hungry and jesus promises us that everybody who is hungry he will satisfy remember we read our memory verse i am the bread of life whoever comes to me will never go hungry what is it that we are hungry for well let's think about eating again and about bread what happens when we eat what happens when we eat well we know what happens isn't it first of all um the bread enters our
[16:11] body we put it in our mouths and we chew it and it becomes part of us the bread becomes part of our body doesn't it you can't separate the bread anymore or the food anymore it goes into our stomach and it becomes part of who we are we're it's absorbed and broken down and it goes around our body and it gives us goodness why do we eat well we need it our bodies need the fuel to keep the heart beating and the mind working and the blood flowing we need that the vitamins we need the we need the the energy that food gives us so when we eat our bodies are strengthened by that and sustained by that and we feel like we've got power to keep on going and to live so when we eat there's an incredible process whereby that food which is outside of us becomes part of us and the good things they're in that food and the bad things of course we eat bad food those bad things too but the good things become part of us as well so what has jesus done for me what happens when jesus becomes the living bread as part of our lives well we become one with him becoming a christian is uniting ourselves and becoming one with jesus we'll think about how that happens in a moment or two the bible often talks about a christian as someone christ in you we talk about becoming a christian as receiving jesus trusting him him becoming part of our lives and everything that is in jesus becomes part of us the goodness in him becomes ours and we become one with him jesus that's why jesus talks later and says whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and i in them think about that so what has christ done to make us the bread of life what is it that he gives to us that we need so much he given his life for us he given his life he has given his life for me jesus said my this is this bread is my flesh which i will give for the life of the world and elsewhere the bible talks about god so loved the world he gave his one and only son and jesus talks about giving his life he's talking about his death to give up his life to die he died so that he might give to us something that we really need more than anything else he died to give us forgiveness you see the problem is that we are hungry and searching and looking for something to satisfy because in our hearts and lives we have rejected the one thing that we need most god we've lived our lives to please ourselves to do what we want without remembering the good god who gave us everything we've gone our way turned away from god's good laws and commandments we've sinned the bible says and those sins creating us a great gaping hunger but more than that they separate us from the god who loves us they cut us off from him and they place us under god's just judgment they place us in that place whereby we are awaiting god's judgment against us for our sin we are waiting in one sense for hell but jesus came and he gave his life so that we might be forgiven in going to the cross he died for us he died in our place he died and paid the penalty which is against our sin he never sinned he's the only person who's ever lived and never done anything
[20:13] wrong never broken one of god's commandments he did everything right but he died for you and for me he gave his life for us and when we put our trust in him then jesus's death becomes our death in other words when when we take jesus then all our sins are placed on him when we receive him then all that we deserve is taken upon him once and for all and forever and we are declared forgiven by god we're declared right by god and accepted by god it's only because we are one with him but that's not the end is it not only did jesus give his life for us and die for us but he conquered death for us as well when he died on that good friday all his disciples were in tears and upset they thought that was the end just like we feel when we face death someone that we love or someone that we know someone that we care for has died and we're heartbroken we're upset because we think that's the end i'll never see them again i'll never speak to them again or know them again it's such a painful thing but jesus rose again from the dead on that third day the disciples john and peter went to the tomb after the women had been there and they'd seen the angels and said he's not here he's risen they went in and the tomb was empty where'd he gone later that day he met with them and over and again we find not only in the in the gospels and the life of jesus but through the book of acts as well we find that jesus meeting with people speaking with people revealing himself through he was alive 500 people saw him risen from the dead jesus on easter sunday conquered death for us just as when we're united with jesus when he is in us then his death is counted as our death his punishment pays for our sin so when we're in jesus then the blessings of that resurrection life of his life become ours as well sin under judgment but sin also deadens our hearts to god that's why many people don't even think about god and say well where is god and and don't even believe there's god it's not because god doesn't cease to exist just like when a cloud goes over the sun and we can't see the sun anymore we may say well there's no sun but it's there we just can't see it and so it is that cloud of sin has gone over our hearts so that we are dead to god's voice and dead to seeing the reality of who he is but jesus gives us newness of life he makes us alive towards god so that we begin to know him and enjoy him and trust him and the good gifts that he gives to us christian is somebody who's been raised from the dead christian is somebody who's been given newness of life and it comes when they eat the bread of life here's what jesus says first in the in just later here in john 6 truly truly i say to you unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and i'll raise them up at the last day that sounds rather weird doesn't it to begin with that sounds strange eating somebody's body eating drinking somebody's blood what is jesus talking about well he's not talking about that strange sort of a vampire type of thing he's talking about something else altogether how can i eat this bread of life how can we eat the bread of life which jesus is himself and as he has said is what
[24:17] gives us not only forgiveness for our sins but also life everlasting and life to the full what does jesus mean well remember our memory verse it says i am the bread of life whoever comes to me will never go hungry whoever believes in me will never be thirsty jesus has told us what he means we don't need to be confused and some christians and other people have been very confused about jesus's words even the people he spoke to there didn't understand they argued amongst themselves saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat his body to eat and some of them turned away from jesus and rejected him because of what he said now jesus has told us what to do he says i am the bread of life whoever comes to me and whoever believes in me the vital element the vital thing the difference that it makes between jesus being the bread of life and jesus being the bread of life for me is faith by faith we come to jesus and receive him with faith just as when you're sat at the table at lunchtime or maybe you go to a party and there's a great big buffet and all sorts of lovely things to eat you can walk around the table and look at it and smell it and oh it looks great but until you put your hand out and take it it's not going to do you any good is it it's not going to be feed you it's not you're not going to know the blessing of it and the enjoyment of it until you take hold of it and so knowing jesus and knowing about jesus isn't enough boys and girls and those you older you may know about jesus and heard the stories about jesus and you may think yes jesus is really great he may even believe he is the son of god but there's something more to faith than just believing certain truths about him faith is taking hold of him it's an action of our hearts and of our minds it's placing our trust in him how do we come with faith we come hungrily why do we eat sometimes we eat just because perhaps you've had a bad day and you get a bar of chocolate out the fridge don't you ladies and comfort eating uh but usually we eat because all the tummy's rumbling or i'm feeling a bit hungry a bit peckish i feel i need some food and our body tells us that let me ask you is there a rumbling in your heart rumbling within not in your tummy but within your soul we might say within yourself that says i'm hungry for that which will satisfy i'm hungry to know my sins are forgiven i feel bad about my past i feel i feel dirty about the things that have happened in my life i want to be right with god i want to to know this god there's a hunger within me that says there's something i'm longing for and there's nothing that i can find to satisfy it i've tried so many different things i've tried sport and career and money and i've tried relationships and i've tried all sorts of things but there's nothing that i can find which deal deals with that deep hunger within that's and i don't know what it is well then you need to come in that hungry state to jesus to come to him the bread of life a man who lived many hundreds of years ago in fact called richard baxter he said telling people about jesus is like one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread each one of us needs jesus no matter who we are just like we need that bread ordinary bread whether we're rich or poor good or bad whether we're important or nobody's young or old we all need jesus the bread of life
[28:20] and within us is a hunger is there a hunger in your heart to look for jesus and come to him come to jesus and and feed on him by putting your faith and trust in him thank you jesus that you died for me upon the cross thank you jesus that you're alive please come into my life come and come and be part of me so that i may enjoy the blessings of what you have done and what you give and then also we need to come every day remember jesus taught us the lord's prayer which we we say from time to time give us this day our daily bread we're to feed on jesus every day a christian is not somebody who just knows about jesus from years ago it's every day we enter into this living relationship with jesus every day we're putting our faith and trust in him every day we're praying and talking to him every day we're listening him talk to us through his word in the bible he's the only one who can nourish our souls sometimes as christians we make big mistakes we become a christian we trust jesus and then the rest of our sort of week we we may come on a sunday the rest of the week we just carry on with everything else the busyness of life and then by the end of the week we think well there's something wrong i don't feel right i don't feel comfortable well imagine that you only ate a meal on a sunday you've stuffed yourself with lots of food on sunday but you didn't eat anything in the week well you'd be hungry wouldn't you you'd be oh i feel really my tummy feels really rumbly and grumbly and wonder why that is oh it's because you haven't eaten why is it as christians sometimes we feel at the end of the week oh i feel so i just don't feel right have we really spent time in prayer have we fed upon the word have we spent time with jesus feeding on him the bread of life so i want to ask you this morning is jesus your bread of life is jesus the one who feeds you and provides for you is he the one you've put your faith and trust in have you come to him now there may be that somebody here feels yes i'd like to i'd like to know this jesus i'd like to come and trust him but i'm afraid i'm afraid that if i if i come to jesus he's going to reject me he's going to say go away you're too bad you're too selfish you're too greedy you you just aren't good enough well remember what we read right at the very start of our service that invitation from god and listen i'll read it again and part a little bit more of it as well this is god's invitation to you through jesus come all you who are thirsty come to the waters and you will have no you who have nothing to bring no money we've got nothing to give to god come buy wine and milk without money and without cost come buy and eat why spend money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy listen listen to me and eat what is good and you will delight in the richest of fair in the best of food what are we spending our energies on what are we spending our money on our time on our efforts on to try to satisfy that hunger of our souls what are we hoping for will keep us living longer in this world and we're putting off the reality of death let me urge you let me encourage you let me say to come to jesus the bread of life just as those people came seeking jesus and he fed them so what do we read we it tells us when they had enough to eat when they were full when they were satisfied there was loads left over come to jesus and find in him dear friends that he is the one who will give good things and uh he will fill us with great joy and blessing
[32:24] and you remember if you've ever read the story or see the film of oliver oliver twist it's a famous scene isn't there oliver is in the workhouse and uh he's had his gruel which is didn't look very nice in the picture if you read it in the story and he says i'm still hungry so he goes back to the person who had the food he goes back to the one of the the the men who ran the workhouse he says and the man says what do you want he says can i have more more he says more no you can't he knocks a bowl from his hand and beats him i think and chase him away god's not like that what is generous he wants to give more and more and more than we could ever ever imagine and the only thing that's stopping you and i from enjoying the goodness of the bread of life is us not god come to me jesus said you who are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest well let's sing our final hymn together our final harvest hymn come you thankful people come number 881 please love and
[34:02] Oh, I sing thee early, never winter storms begin.
[34:13] Come, our maker, now provide, for our wants to be supplied. Come, our maker, now provide, for our wants to be supplied.
[34:37] Father in heaven, we thank you again for the opportunity to be reminded of this wonderful truth, that Jesus is the bread of life, who gives life.
[34:49] And we pray again, oh Lord, as we go to eat and to enjoy the good things that you give us, help us not only to remember those who have so little and to give from our abundance to them, help us, oh Lord, to give you the thanks and the praise that you deserve.
[35:08] And cause us, oh Lord, daily to feed and to be nourished and to be filled with the good things that you give us and have given us in Jesus.
[35:19] For we ask these things, our Lord and our God, in Jesus' name. Amen.