Pastor's Corner: WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?

  The Lord of the Storm John 6:15-21 Introduction : Storms come in life. One writer described how he had a cartoon cut out and pinned to a bulletin board in his office… He said it pictured two cowboys, taking cover behind a rock, with a hoard of hundreds of [“indigenous Americans”!] on horseback charging toward them. One cowboy looks at the other and says, “This isn’t going to be as easy as it looks.” Life in a fallen world can be hard, right? Jesus said, “ In the world you will have tribulation …” But then He says, “… be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Several Psalms depict the tribulations of life poetically, using the imagery of the chaotic waters, and also the comfort available to those whose trust is in God. For example, Psalm 46 begins… Psalm 46:1-7,    “God is our refuge and strength, a very present   help in trouble.   2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of t...

  Passover and the Bread of Life John 6:1-15 Introduction : John 6 is the longest chapter in the Gospel of John, one of the longest in the New Testament. We’ll see in this chapter Jesus providing physical bread to a hungry multitude, and offering the Bread of life to those who had ears to hear… We’ll see Him walk on the water, further revealing His glory to His disciples, and we’ll see some difficult teaching as we go on in the chapter, teaching that divides the crowd, but that also leads the disciples closer to understanding who He truly is. We’ll see that He did not come primarily to give bread, but to be the Bread of Life . John wrote to show that Jesus is the One, the only One, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life . Jesus will apply and elaborate the truth later in the chapter, in the “Bread of Life Discourse.” Today our focus will be on the first 15 verses John 6, and on this, the fourth “sign” given in detail by John, the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, as Jesus gives...