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Today is a new day to gather together as a family of faith around Word and Sacrament.
We gather as God's people around the Bible readings, preaching and teaching of God's Word. We gather around the Sacrament known as a specific way God shows God's love and grace. Martin Luther liked Baptism and Holy Communion as our two sacraments in the Lutheran Church. This is because Jesus told us to "do" these two very things.
At the end of Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28, Jesus says "Go and baptize." In each of the 4 Gospels Jesus breaks bread at the Last Supper and invites us "Do this to remember me!" When we remember Jesus we remember grace, hope, faith and love. When we remember Jesus we are moving closer to having a heart like Jesus. This has been our theme in the Summer Sermon Series on the book by Max Lucado Just Like Jesus. Today it is about having an Enduring Heart! Max asks us to reflect on all the things we have started out to do but have not completed. Whether it's an exercise class or a book, we are all so often not completing the task, dream, goal, or job.
Max lifts up for us that Jesus kept the singular goal in mind to take Him to the Cross and to die for us only to rise again. This is Good News friends. And today Jesus says, again, "I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me will not be hungry, whoever believes will not thirst." And we, as God's people gathered for worship today, say "Amen!"
Introduction
Jesus says that the bread he gives for the life of the world is his flesh, and whoever eats this bread has eternal life now and will be raised on the last day. In Ephesians Paul tells us what this life Jesus gives us looks like, this life we live as those marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit in baptism. We live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. The whole purpose of life is giving yourself for the other.
Please note that the beginning of worship had some sound issues. We are so sorry about this!
