Believing Thomas 5/1/11

Doubting Believing Thomas

RUMC  May 1 ,2011

SLIDE 1

·         By now all last week's Easter eggs have been transformed into egg salad and consumed. Right? 

·         The contents of all those Easter baskets have disappeared.

·         On this Sunday the spiritual and sugar high of Easter Sunday is wearing off.

·         The excitement of the confirmations is tucked away in our memories.

·         The Easter Lilies are thinned out and starting to droop.

·         And we set our face toward mother’s day and just over the hill Memorial Day.

Hence the in formal designation of this Sunday after Easter as "Low Sunday." 

After the "high" of Easter, we come back to the everydayness of life.  We seem to be "low" in energy, when we look around and realize that in spite of the preacher’s promises that resurrection changes everything… the world looks just like it did 7 weeks ago, before ash Wednesday.  In addition… we start to entertain some doubts about ourselves, our lives, our choices and our faith.

Faith is not nearly as easy as we would like to believe. 

Though Noah seemed to have no problem, Abraham and Sari sure struggled mightily with faith and doubt.  Fortunately, faith won out.

Though Joseph seemed to have little trouble, Moses and the Israelites of the Exodus sure battled the demon of doubt didn’t they?  Faith won, but not by much.

David, Jonah, Job, Isaiah, they all struggled with doubt.

After his baptism, Jesus was driven into the wilderness.  There he faced temptation. What was the very first temptation- The devil said, “If you are the son of God.”  That little  work “IF” was an attempt to plant the seed of doubt in Jesus mind.  Trying to get him to doubt what he had just experienced; to doubt the dove, the voice, and his identity.

We are no different.  It probably does not surprise you to know that I struggle with doubt.  Sometimes wondering how anyone could believe this utterly unbelievable story I preach.  In the dark quiet of my heart I sometimes wonder about my faith . . .  sometimes, but then I remember Peter Boehler’s advice to John Wesley “Preach faith until you have it, then because you have it, you will preach faith.”

Do you ever doubt?  Do you ever wonder about the strength of your faith, the truth of the gospel, or the validity of Jesus life and claims?

I think there are two kinds of Christians those who admit they struggle with doubt, and those who lie.

The story of Thomas’ struggle which is traditionally read the Sunday after Easter has lead Christians over the years to call him “DOUBTHING” Thomas.  Now I think that is being pretty hard on this poor guy who, if I have to be honest, is not all that different from me!  Besides that, in the end of the story he is no longer doubting Thomas.  He is “believing Thomas.  “

The truth is, that Thomas struggle is not with doubt and faith, it is with epistemology . Epistemology is the study of knowledge.  Thomas’ story causes us to ask the question how do we know what we know?  Why do we believe what we believe?

There are some of you who might believe because; as the old song says “The Bible Tells Me So.”  That’s OK. Bless you .  The word of God is a great place to find truth.  But only about 1/3 of Americans believe the Bible is the word of God.  Interestingly that is about the same percentage of Americans who believe that Jesus was raised from the dead: 36%. 

There are others who say they believe because they were brought up that way.  They say their parents, grandparents, the church, Sunday school teachers, and the preacher all taught them to believe in Jesus and his resurrection.  That is OK too.  Appealing to authority is a valid reason to believe in something.   And indeed there are things about which we simply have to trust an authority.

Third there are those who believe because it makes sense.  There are some who believe in God, as the confirmation class learned last month, primarily because it makes sense to them.  Or to put it another way, the world doesn’t make sense without God.  That is OK too.  Some beliefs really are grounded in  reason and science.

Thomas’ faith, however, is of a different kind.  He is not likely to believe because the Bible says so, or because someone else says so, or because it is the only explanation he can think of.  He is not likely to believe that Jesus is raised because the prophets predict it, or because Peter and the others testified to it, or because the tomb is empty and no one can explain where he is.

Thomas’ faith is a faith of experience.  He believes what he sees, and touches, and smells, and hears.  He believes because of personal, up close, one on one, real flesh and blood experience. When he says “I will not believe until I see the wounds and put my hand in his side,” he is not being stubborn or willful.  All he is asking for is the same experience the other disciples already had.  All he is asking for is personal experience. 

Over the years we have condemned him because he demanded proof-  he doubted until he had concrete proof in front of him.  But all of our belief’s need some kind of proof.  We don’t condemn those who appeal to Biblical proof , the testimony of others, or logical evidence  to support their faith.  Neither should we condemn Thomas for seeking a personal experience.

For most of us faith is based on a combination of  these.  That is perfectly OK.  At some point though we have to have the experience. Religious experience is a key element to Wesleyan and therefore our Methodist heritage.

 Faith might start with the Bible (click) You might know everything there is to know about the Bible- speak Hebrew and Greek and have large portions memorized, but if you have never seen the wounds or placed you finger in them you are missing something.

You might be an expert in history and doctrine.  (click)You might be the one the pastor consults before he climbs into the Pulpit on Sunday.  You might know all there is to know, but if you have never stood face to face with the risen and glorious lord, your faith is all in your head.

You might be the greatest theologian we have ever known.  (click)You might be St. Augustine, John Wesley, Karl Barth, and Hans Kung all rolled into one.  But if you have never enjoyed a seat at the feet of Jesus-  If you have never felt the resurrection in your heart, Your theological explanations are only the world’s greatest cure for insomnia.

Faith does not consist only of bible knowledge, tradition, and reason. As important as each of those are to faith, they are not the sum total of faith.  Faith is not personal until we have (click) experienced the love of Jesus in our hearts.  

The cross is not something we can simply read about in a 2000-year-old book.

The Resurrection is not something that we believe because someone told us.

The power of the Christ in our lives is not something we reason out.

But when we die on that cross with him , and are raised with him and experience the power of Christ in our lives- personally and completely our faith becomes more then a literary experience, more than a great legend, more than an intellectual exercise.   When faith is real and experienced- when we have seen the marks on his hands, and touched the wound in his side- when we have tasted the bread and sipped the cup that is when faith becomes real and personal .

Come- not to read and memorize.

Come- not to study and understand.

Come- not to reason out and systematize.

Come- to experience and celebrate that reality that Christ is risen in your life.  Here and now.

AMEN

I am the resurrection -- Easter 2011

I am the resurrection and the life

RUMC Easter Sunday 2011

(Intro)

No matter how often we read the Easter story it is still strange.

 Easter is all so strange to us.  It’s all so foreign!  Strange Jewish holidays, strange ancient customs, public executions, intentional legally sanctioned torture and   death.    But the strangest of all might be resurrection.  How is it that someone who is dead, dead, dead is suddenly alive and walking around eating, talking, and teaching?

Such scenes just blow out minds and make the familiar Easter story feel totally foreign!  We know that once someone is dead he is dead.  Funeral homes almost never complain about the deceased walking out on them.  In our experience no matter how long you wait, no matter how many tears you shed,  No matter how many times you scream into the tomb no one is going to come walking out.  We might say that this is totally unique to Jesus except there are a couple of other resurrections in the Bible.   Tthis story of Lazarus that Eloise read for us is one of them   And it is in this story of the resurrection of Lazarus that , Jesus  makes one of his most powerful I am statements.  I am the resurrection and the life.  Notice Jesus does not say I bring you resurrection.  He does not say I promise you resurrection.   He does not say I want to teach you about the resurrection. He says I am the resurrection.  I am the resurrection and the life.   He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

This is the last of the” I am” sayings in this sermon series. 

(review)

By now many of you know that the I AM part of the saying is a claim to divinity.

By now many of you know that the article “THE” is a claim to uniqueness.

But what about this resurrection?  What are we to think about someone who claims to be life itself??  HMMM... maybe that’s exactly the key to helping us understand.  We tend to focus on Jesus saying I am the resurrection which seems almost as foreign to us as death itself. What if we were to instead start with Jesus saying I am the life.  Turn it  around and read “Jesus said I am the life.” “ I am the life and the resurrection.”  

Life we understand.  Life is something we can all relate to.  In fact we relate to it so well that it is almost impossible for us to imagine not having life.  Think about it for a minute though. . . imagine death.  No breathing.  No heart beating in your chest.  No moving.  No getting hungry or tired.   Just the darkness of death.

Imagine death as the end.  No more hugs.  No more smiles.  No more joy.  No more hope.  No more sunsets.  No more babies cooing.  No more. . . just no more.

When Jesus teaches “I am the life”

part of what he is saying is that he has overcome these “no mores.” It is not life that will be no more, but death that will be no more..    In Jesus there is no more death.  As the book of revelation says, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.   Instead of  no more hugs, Jesus promises   no more mourning. Instead of no more smiles, Jesus promises no more tears.  Instead of no more joy, or hope, or sunsets,  Jesus promises no more pain.  For the old order of things has passed away.  This is something new. 

People look at Jesus’ resurrection and say “we’ve never done it that way before, and they are right!  We haven’t!  And we never will do it that way again.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ- the resurrection we celebrate on Easter is a once in a lifetime—no once in history event and will never be repeated.

Except.. .  except  in you.  Except in me.  Except in you.

Today Jesus is not talking in generalities.  He is  talking about your life and your death and your life. My life and my death and my life.  Physically and spiritually.

First physically.

 To be quite honest, I don’t have any idea how this works.  I have never died. By time I understand it, it will be too late to put it in a sermon.  But Jesus promises that death is not the end,.  Death is not the end of life for those who believe that he is life.  Now I said before that Jesus’ resurrection was unique.  And it was. In spite of the fact that I tease Robyn that I will come back to haunt her, I don’t really expect to get up and walk out of the funeral home on the third day.   I do, however, expect to experience life in a way I never experienced it when I was alive.  I expect to experience joy in a way that I never experienced it in this life.  I expect to experience love in a way that I never experienced it in this life.   I expect to experience intimacy with Christ in a way that I never experienced it in this life.  I expect to celebrate Jesus I a way that I have never been able to celebrate him in this life.  

How about you?  Do you claim that promise for yourself?  Do you believe that even though you die, yet will you live-- in a new way.  A better way.  A more wonderful and mysterious way than you ever lived when you were alive?  That is one of the promises Jesus makes for us today when he says I am the life and the resurrection. That is the physical promise for the future.

The other is a spiritual promise for today.  

Ø There is more than one way to be dead.  Not all death is of the body. 

Ø Hearts die from greed.

Ø Love dies because of egos.

Ø Joy dies because of wishes. 

Ø Compassion dies  because of  selfishness.

Ø Faith dies because of  self sufficiency.

Ø Friendship dies to hatred. Peace dies to unforgiveness.

·       Or you can choose to let the greed die and live for Christ. 

·       you can choose to let the ego die and live for Christ

·       you can choose to let the empty wishes die and live for Christ.

·       you can choose to let the selfishness die and live for Christ.

·       you can choose to let the hatred die and live for Christ.

·       you can choose to let the unforgiveness die and live for Christ.

That is really the choice of a lifetime.  .  You can choose to die a thousand deaths by yourself, or life eternal life with Christ starting right now.  Each and every one of us has to choose whether we let our old selves die, or let our old selves kill us.  

Paul Entreats us to die to our old selves and live in Christ Jesus. 

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

 (conc)

That is choice for today.  WHEN Jesus SAYS “I AM THE LIFE” HE MEANS THAT YOU have a choice-

Life or Death?   You can die in your sin.  Or you CAN BE DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE IN CHRIST Jesus.  The choice is yours.

These three young people today who are being confirmed and the two women being received into membership have made their choice.  And on this day of resurrection they will stand before us and declare that they choose life.    They choose life in Christ.  They are truly resurrection people.

How about you?  To what must do you die- so that you can live in Christ? 

Jesus says I am the resurrection and the life. 

Questions from facebook. . . WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE EASTER MEMORY.

Terry Plocher What is your favorite Easter memory?
One of mine is the smell of the Easter Lilies when I am the first one to open the door to the sanctuary on Easter morning.

I also remember Easter egg hunts... One year we didn't find them all until months later we noticed an odd shaped shadow in the globe of a lamp. We removed it very carefully ... very very carefully so as not to break the shell and let the putrid contents spill out.
See the NEXT POST for memory number one!!!

Terry Plocher But the favorite of all is Amber's first Easter- following along behind her and sneaking the eggs out of her basket and re-hiding them. That dozen eggs gave her as much joy as 5 dozen. Literally!!!

JOIN THE DISCUSSION ON FACEBOOK OR EMAIL.

pastoral prayer

PASTORAL PRAYER AND

Heavenly Father: we pray for your church on earth, that all Christians may bear their cross and follow Jesus.

We pray for brothers and sisters who praise you , like the crowds. Bless the witness of your church this holy week that the word of your Son’s death and resurrection may be clearly portrayed before the world.

We pray for all those who suffer, as Jesus did.  Give them grace whether they be broken of body, or mind, waiting for diagnosis or treatment, or preparing to die.

We pray for those who have sinned, like Peter.

Teach us to be sorry for our sins, and forgive us for Jesus' sake.

We pray for prisoners and criminals like Barrabas.

May they find true freedom by changing the way they live.

We pray for people in government, like Pilate.

May they be responsible and serve truth and justice.

We pray for those who are dying, like the thieves who died with Jesus.

May they die with Jesus by their side, and be received into your kingdom.

We pray for parents like Mary who have lost a child.

May they bear their suffering and know the comfort of your love.

We pray for the whole human race, that we may all come to know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

Father, may the suffering and death of Jesus lighten the burdens of all those who suffer. Lead us in the way of the cross, so that, as we suffer with Jesus, we may rise to life in his glory, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Jesus said; I am the light of the world

I am the light of the world

RUMC 4/10/11

• What goes 186,000 miles per second.
• It can be visible or invisible
• It bounces
• We communicate with it
• It can be bent, blocked and filtered
• It can be harnessed to destroy or to create
• I’ll give you one more hint------It is a kind of radiation

It is LIGHT -  Light. . .  one of the greatest powers in all creation.  What was the first things God created-  Light- “Let there be light”

When we think of light we think of the sun.  The Sun is the greatest light of creation. The sun is 93,000,000 miles from the earth. In other words in order to get there in an average lifetime you would have to spend 70 years traveling at 150 miles an hour.  The diameter of the sun is 109 times that of the earth. The Sun contains 99.8% of the total mass of our solar system.  The temperature at the sun’s surface is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.   And its  energy output in heat and light is an absolutely unimaginable 386 billion billion mega Watts

In spite of all that, Jesus did not say, the SUN is the light of the world.

No, Jesus says, “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”  That would be amazing enough but it is doubly amazing when you understand where Jesus said it.

He and his disciples were at the   Feast of Booths, one of three holy days when every Jewish male was required to present himself before the Lord in Jerusalem.

On the evening of the first night of the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles, there was a ceremony called the "Illumination of the Temple," which involved the ritual lighting of four golden candelabra. For additional reflection, each person lit four candlesticks and set them in a floating bowl, producing such a spectacle of light that it is said that all Jerusalem basked in its glow. All night long the light shone. The greatest, wisest, and holiest men of Israel danced before the Lord and sang psalms of joy and praise, while the people watched and waited.

They watched and waited, hoped and prayed, because this festival was a celebration that God had promised to send the Messiah; someone who would renew Israel's glory, release them from bondage, and restore their joy.

It is in this setting; against the magnificent, hopefilled glow of these candles that Jesus makes a dramatic announcement.  He looks at the disciples and says  "I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."

Imagine the impact of that saying.

Don’t you suppose everyone fell silent.

Everyone knew exactly what He meant. Jesus is saying:

"The one you've been watching and waiting and hoping and praying for in the Feast of Tabernacles is now before you. “I am the messiah, the light God has promised you." “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

"I am the light of the world." Let's take a closer look at this sentence. We first notice the words "I am." I have said before that this throws us back to God telling Moses “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

Jesus says "I am,".  The importance is inescapable: Jesus claims for Himself the divinity of God.  He is part of the Godhead. He is the Messiah; the Anointed One; the Son of God; the great "I am."

"I am the light." Notice, Jesus doesn't say "I have the light." Or I bring the light.  Rather, He says, "I am the light." What does it mean to be light. 

First we look to the first chapter of the Gospel of John says.  “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”  In John 8 Jesus says “He who follows me will have the light of life.”  The light is life itself.  Without the light from the sun there would be no life- we would be just a bunch of popsicles with clothes.

Without the light from the sun there would be no photosynthesis’ No photosynthesis, means - no plants, no food, no carbon-dioxide oxygen exchange- no life.   Jesus is saying that he is the light that gives life.

What is the opposite of Light.  >>>  Darkness???<<<  Actually there is no opposite of light.   What we call darkness is the absence of light. You can’t measure darkness like you measure light,  because you can’t measure the absence of something..  You can’t define darkness without light.  We wouldn’t even know darkness if we didn’t know light.  

No I think the opposite of light, the way Jesus used it is death.  In Jesus’ thinking Light was equivalent to life.  When Jesus says he is light, he is saying that he is life itself.

So the first thing I want you to know about light of Christ is that it is uniquely life itself.  And that light is uniquely for us. We don’t get to choose which light to follow. We don’t get to choose between light and darkness and.  Because there is only one unique light, one unique source of life- that is the one and only Light of Life  Jesus Chris who comes into the darkness just for us.

There is the darkness of sin.  Jesus is the light of salvation.

There is the darkness of despair.  Jesus is the light of hope.

There is the darkness of guilt.  Jesus is the light of forgiveness.

There is the darkness of  meaninglessness.   Jesus light gives meaning and purpose to life.

There is the darkness of death.  The light of Christ is the light of eternal life.

BUT---Second, I am sure you realize we now have a problem. The problem is how do we get this wonderful light of life? How do people who walk in darkness get the light?  How do people who sit in deep darkness find the light of life

Jesus answers that when he said in today’s reading; "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

To go from darkness into light we, by the magnificent grace of God, must follow Jesus. There is no light apart from Jesus.  We won’t find light by following our own whims, we won’t find light by following the culture. We won’t find light by following our friends or hanging on the coat tails of our spouse or a parent.   We only find light by getting off our behinds and getting behind the one who is the light of life.   

"Follow me” is a present participle in the Greek. That means it is not a onetime event that is over. Following Jesus is a continuous following.  It is a process, a journey, a life.   Jesus is speaking of a whole-hearted discipleship, not of a casual relationship.

·         "Follow me." Jesus is speaking of a life of commitment.

·          "Follow me." Jesus is speaking of a way of life.

·          "Follow me." By grace, we have to cut ties with all the works of darkness. The

Finally,  we need to understand that light by itself is invisible.  Can you see a light ray?  Can you see a single sunbeam?  Can the astronauts see light of the stars zipping past them in space toward the earth?  No.

Light is only visible when it reflects off of something.  It is only when the light bounces off something and reflects back in to our eyeballs and our optic nerve that we are able to see.  What we see is light reflecting off the atmosphere to make  the sky is blue.  Light reflecting off clouds and trees, and grass, and buildings, and water, and faces and everything else around us is what makes the world a bright place. 

Remember, first I said, Jesus light is uniquely life itself.  Second, we receive it by following Jesus, the Final thing is that  if the light is truly to shine all the dark places-- if the light is truly to shine in all the darkest corners of the human heart,  The light has to reflect off of something.  Guess what?  When you follow Jeuss you volunteer to reflect that light.  Jesus  needs someone like you and someone like me willing to reflect the  light of life into the darkness of the world. 

·         The light of Christ brings life to our dead  hearts and is reflected  in our attitudes and the way we treat others. 

·         The light of Christ brings life to our dead  lives and reflects off our hands as we reach out to those who need special care. 

·         The light of Christ brings life to our dead souls and reflects off our arms as we embrace those who are different from ourselves or those whom others are afraid or hesitant to embrace.

THE LIGHT OF CHRIST SHINES IN THIS WORLD FOR YOU.

FOLLOW HIM AND BE FILLED WITH THE LIGHT OF LIFE.

SHINE FOR HIM IN ALL YOU DO.

LET THERE BE LIGHT. 

Jesus said , “I am the Bread of life” “that came down from heaven”4/3/11

Jesus said , “I am the Bread of life” “that came down from heaven”

RUMC 4^th in the series “I AM”

4/3/11

Video 1 min 40 sec

Someone dies of starvation every 7 seconds.

Someone dies of a nutrition related illness every 3.8 seconds.

Spiritual Starvation- living without Jesus Christ is even more common.  In fact somewhere in the world, someone dies without accepting Christ  as their Lord -   lacking  of the bread of life is 4 times as often as someone dies of starvation.  Someone dies without Jesus Christ twice as often as someone dies of malnutrition related causes.  Every 1.8 seconds someone somewhere dies without the bread of life.  

In Moses’ day, the Israelites thought they were going to starve in the desert.  “It would have been better to stay in Egypt under the taskmasters than to die of starvation in the desert.”  God provided manna: bread flakes that appeared as dew each morning.  The people ate and were satisfied . . .  for a little while.

Jesus’ crowd of 5000 men was probably more like 15 to 20,000 when you add in women and children.  Jesus tests Philip by asking, “Where will we buy bread for all of them?”  Philip responds with something along the lines of “Don’t ask me.”  Jesus finds a little boy and takes the salted fish and bread with which he intended to make a sandwich for lunch. The disciples pass it around.  You would think was a mile long sub because it fed everyone and they picked up more leftovers than they started with!

The next day some of the crowd chased Jesus down saying do it again, do it again!  It must have been a group of teenage boys.  They enjoyed the free meal and thought Jesus should open “The Smorgasbord by the Sea.”

The truth is, Jesus would have fed anyone who was really hungry on any given day..  I am certain that Jesus would not let anyone starve.    But he knew that that wasn’t the case here. . .  he saw how much they ate the day before and knew that (like most of us)  a growling stomach was not their biggest problem. 

Jesus says, “Forget about that food.  It only lasts for a day.  I have something better for you.  I have food that endures to eternal life.  No more dried fish for you . . . only the best from heaven’s kitchen for you from now on!

Ø  Their first response is the same as ours would have been-  “OK fine- whatever- what do we have to do so we can get more lunch.”  They are frankly much more interested in the food that only lasts a few hours. But they are willing to jump through the teacher’s hoops in order to get it.

Ø  There second response is not unfamiliar to us either. “  Yea, Right, Prove it.” Actually, they ask what sign he is going to give them.  How stubborn are they?  Just one day earlier, Jesus just fed 15,000 people with a little boy’s snack.  And still they are asking for proof?

Ø  Finally Jesus  says it as plainly as he can-  “I am the bread of life.”     It is as though Jesus is saying “Get off the bread already!”  I am not talking about sandwiches here.  I’m not talking about empty bellies here.

--- I am talking about empty hearts and empty souls. 

---I am talking about hearts so empty they are like black holes into which everything disappears, and nothing ever escapes.

--- I am talking about souls so empty that people walk around like automatons with no purpose or hope. 

---I am talking about lives so empty that they have nothing to offer anyone.

---I am talking about people whose faith is so empty all they care about is following the rules.

  Jesus continues by promising I can fill that emptiness. He could fill it for the crowd 2000 years ago.  He can fill it for us today.  There is nothing else that fills the God shaped void in our live.  There is nothing else that can satisfy the God sized emptiness in our lives.  There is no one else who is the bread of life.

Listen to those beeps-…

 one person dies without Christ every 1.8 seconds. But just like I said the hunger of the belly is not the worst hunger, compared to the hunger of the soul.  The death of the body is also not the worst death compared to the death of the heart, the death soul and the death of hope that we live each day, when we live without Christ.

There are hungers worse than physical hunger. 

§  Are you hungry for acceptance- just plain knowing that you are acceptable and lovable the way you are?  Jesus can fill that hunger.

§  Are you hungry for forgiveness- forgiveness for the evil you have done or the good you have ignored?  Jesus can fill that hunger.

§  Are you hungry for community?  Not people who pass you in Wal-Mart or honk at you as they pass your house.  Are you hungry for deep relationships, caring relationships, relationships based on unconditional love and infinite grace? Jesus can fill that hunger when you become part of the body of Christ.

§  Are you hungry for joy or hope-  hungry for some real reason to smile. Hungry to be freed from the grip of worry and doubt?  Jesus can nourish you with joy and fill you with hope.

§  Are you starving for meaning?  Do you wake up thinking “Is this all there is”  do you go to bed saying another one bites the dust?  Christian discipleship is that journey, not just toward God.  It is a journey toward seeing and living into God’s purpose for your life. 

Jesus says I am the bread from heaven that can satisfy your longing hearts.

Video  starts-  it starts with low volume and increases on its own. "You satisfy the hungry heart."

Fill your emptiness and nourish the deepest parts of you with the finest wheat. .  And all you have to do is believe a come.

Believe- accept- have faith that Jesus is all you need. 

And come.  Feast on him.  Be filled with him.  Follow him.