Lessons                                                                        Bread of Life                                                             7 August 2021

1 Kings 19:1–8

         ₁Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ₂Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” ₃Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

         ₄But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ₅And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” ₆And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. ₇And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” ₈And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

Psalm 34:1–8

₁I will bless the Lord at | all times;*

         his praise shall continually be |

         in my mouth.

₂My soul makes its boast | in the Lord;*

         let the humble hear | and be glad.

₃Oh, magnify the | Lord with me,*

         and let us exalt his name to- | gether!

₄I sought the Lord, and he | answered me*

         and delivered me from | all my fears.

₅Those who look to him are | radiant,*

         and their faces shall never | be ashamed.

₆This poor man cried,

and the Lord | heard him*

         and saved him out of all his | troubles.

₇The angel of the Lord encamps

around those who | fear him,*

         and de- | livers them.

₈Oh, taste and see that the | Lord is good!*

         Blessèd is the man

         who takes ref- | uge in him!

Ephesians 4:17—5:2

         ₁₇This I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ₁₈They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ₁₉They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ₂₀But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ₂₁assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ₂₂to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ₂₃and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ₂₄and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

         ₂₅Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. ₂₆Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ₂₇and give no opportunity to the devil. ₂₈Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. ₂₉Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ₃₀And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ₃₁Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ₃₂Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

         ₁Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ₂And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

John 6:35–51

         ₃₅Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ₃₆But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ₃₇All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ₃₈For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. ₃₉And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. ₄₀For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

         ₄₁So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ₄₂They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ₄₃Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ₄₄No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. ₄₅It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ₄₆not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. ₄₇Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. ₄₈I am the bread of life. ₄₉Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ₅₀This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ₅₁I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”