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Upcoming Events:
- Westside 101 on March 22, 10:30am
- Springfest Youth Rally: March 27-29
- Easter Sunday: “Love is Found at the Cross” April 12, 9am
March Message Series: Bible It
Recap: Truth is under attack in our world. Now more than ever, we need to pursue truth as a core value.
1. God pays close attention to our commitment to truth.
2. The Bible is inspired by God and supported by history.
Today’s Big Idea: God Expects us the
Our Daily Bread
Jesus: Give us today our Daily Bread (Matthew 6:11)
The Food Delivery Industry is currently worth $82 billion and is expected to grow to a $200 billion industry in the next five years. Customers are willing to pay $8.50 extra to have food delivered to them.
The Original Uber Eats: Manna in the Desert
God pioneered food delivery by sending manna and quail to the Israelites in the wilderness.
“2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” —Exodus 16:2-5 (NIV)
God was instilling in his people a culture of
Moses reflects on the spiritual lesson from the manna:
“1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” —Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (NIV)
Job experienced a metaphorical wilderness, but had this to say about God’s Word:
11 My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. 12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.” —Job 23:11-12 (NIV)
The Big Idea: God allows us to hunger to remind us of our
Jesus and the Bread
Jesus faces temptation in the desert:
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” —Matthew 4:1-4
Jesus knows that a physical tool (bread) can never solve a spiritual problem (temptation).
Instead, Jesus is the bread of life, which does solve our spiritaul problems:
“48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” —John 6:48-51 (NIV)
Manna was a bread that gave strength to the
Jesus is a bread that brings strength to our
Application
You can study the Bible without ever feasting on the Bread of Life. Are you reading for information? Or for inspiration? Is the goal greater knowledge, or is the goal a deeper relationship with Jesus?
1. Embrace Your Hunger.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” —Matthew 5:6 (NIV)
2. Go On a High-Carb Diet (Daily Bread)
Download the Read Scripture app and start a Bible reading plan.
3. Taste and See
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” —Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
Response
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Questions? Contact Bryan: (609) 356-3147 or bfojtasek@westsidelife.org.
Reflection / Life Group Questions
Today’s Theme: Feasting on the Word
Note: Thank you to everyone for your flexibility with our worship service this morning. We hope you enjoyed being “together” even though we couldn’t physically be in the same room. We love you!
- What were some of your big takeaways from today’s message titled “Daily Bread”?
- In the Exodus story, God’s people felt like they were in grave danger of starving to death in the desert. The reality is that God was never going to let that happen. Why do you think it’s so hard to trust in God’s unseen plan when our physical circumstances start to become overwhelming?
- Have a volunteer (or a few) read Isaiah 55:8-13 and then discuss the following questions:
- Why is it important for followers of Jesus to know that God’s thoughts are higher than ours, especially in turbulent times?
- God says when he speaks his words, they never return to him empty. What are some of the practical, tangible ways that God’s Word has had an impact on your life? Your relationships? Your ability to cope with a difficult problem?
- Deuteronomy 8:1-5 says that God caused his people to hunger in order to train them and disciple them. What lesson(s) was God hoping his people would learn through their season of hunger and wandering in the desert?
- When we face our own moments of wandering and confusion, it’s tempting to blame God for being absent. How does the Exodus story help us reframe those difficult moments?
- In Matthew 4:1-1, Jesus gives us a practical example of how God’s Word is a crucial weapon in the spiritual battle that is waging. In your own life, is the truth of God’s Word one of the first things you turn to for answers and help, or do you tend to try to solve things on your own?
- Bryan used the analogy of knowing everything about a sandwich without ever taking a bite to illustrate our need to really feast on the word instead of just reading it for information. In your own words, how can we really focus on spending time with Jesus through our Study of his Word instead of just reading it intellectually?
- What is the one thing you hear God inviting you to do, think, or believe differently as a result of your discussion today?
- End your time in prayer for one another.