Lessons                                                                       Bread of Life                                                                24 July 2021

Genesis 9:8–17

         ₈ God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ₉“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, ₁₀and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. ₁₁I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ₁₂And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ₁₃I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ₁₄When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ₁₅I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ₁₆When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ₁₇God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Psalm 136:1–9

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

₁Give thanks to the Lord, for | he is good,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever.

₂Give thanks to the | God of gods,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever.

₃Give thanks to the | Lord of lords,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever;

₄to him who alone does great | wonders,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever;

₅to him who by understanding made

the | heavens,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever;

₆to him who spread out the earth

above the | waters,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever;

₇to him who made the | great lights,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever;

₈the sun to rule o- | ver the day,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever;

₉the moon and stars to rule

o- | ver the night,*

         for his steadfast love endures

         for- | ever;

Ephesians 3:14–21

         ₁₄For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ₁₅from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ₁₆that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ₁₇so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ₁₈may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ₁₉and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

         ₂₀Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ₂₁to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Mark 6:45–56

         ₄₅Immediately [Jesus] made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ₄₆And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. ₄₇And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ₄₈And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, ₄₉but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ₅₀for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” ₅₁And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ₅₂for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

         ₅₃When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ₅₄And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him ₅₅and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ₅₆And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.