The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
SERMON TEXT: John 6:24-35
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You are not looking for me because you saw the miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not continue to work for the food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” So they said to him, “What should we do to carry out the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one he sent.” Then they asked him, “So what miraculous sign are you going to do, that we may see it and believe you? What miraculous sign are you going to perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said to him, “give us this bread all the time!” “I am the Bread of Life,” Jesus told them. “The one who comes to me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Bible Readings
FIRST LESSON: Exodus 16:2-20
The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat around pots of meat and ate as much food as we wanted, but now you have brought us out into this wilderness to have this whole community die of hunger.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Watch what I will do. I will rain down bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether they will follow my instructions or not. On the sixth day they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “At evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the Glory of the LORD, because he has heard your constant grumbling against the LORD. Who are we that you should grumble against us?” Moses said, “Now the LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because the LORD has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.” Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling.’” As Aaron spoke to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and suddenly the Glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses: “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Say to them, ‘At evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’” So in the evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew surrounded the camp. When the layer of dew was gone, there were thin flakes on the surface of the wilderness, thin as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given to you as food to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: All of them are to gather as much of it as they need to eat. You are to take an omer per person based on the number of people each of you has in your tents.” The Israelites did this, and some gathered more, some less. When they measured it with an omer, the one who gathered more did not have too much, and the one who gathered less did not have too little. All of them gathered as much as they needed to eat. Moses said to them, “No one is to leave any of it until morning.” However, they did not listen to Moses. Some of them left part of it until morning, and it became full of worms and stank. So Moses was angry with them.
SECOND LESSON: 1 Corinthians 10:1-5, 11-13
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them—and that rock was Christ! Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them. He had them die in the wilderness. All these things that were happening to them had meaning as examples, and they were written down to warn us, to whom the end of the ages has come. So let him who thinks he stands be careful that he does not fall. No testing has overtaken you except ordinary testing. But God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability, but when he tests you, he will also bring about the outcome that you are able to bear it.
VERSE OF THE DAY: John 14:23
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
GOSPEL: John 6:24-35
See Sermon Text
Is to make disciples for Jesus Christ by sharing the gospel in God’s Word and Sacraments. Following God’s direction and seeking His help, we will fulfill this mission by conducting the following activities: