Sermon Response Guide
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE:
John 6:35-51 ESV
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And 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. 40 For 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.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They 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’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It 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— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I 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.”
Key Points
- Jesus is the I AM.
- Jesus is the bread.
- Jesus is the life.
- Jesus wants to give us abundant, eternal life with him, but we must believe to receive.
Memory Verse
Ask God to write this word on your heart this week:
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
-John 6:35 ESV
Questions for Reflection
Take time to reflect and respond to these questions on your own in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or with trusted friends or family members:
1: Why do you read the Bible? In other words, when you read the Bible on your own time, what motivates you to read it?
· On the other hand, what keeps you from reading the Bible on your own time?
2: What if every time you opened your Bible, you could see it as an opportunity to get to know God better?
· How would that affect the way you approach reading the Bible?
· What fruit do you think a perspective like that could produce in your life?
3: Read John 6:27-35 and answer the questions that follow.
· What does Jesus say is the work of God?
· What is the bread of God?
· What does the bread of God do?
· Why is our enduring belief in Jesus so important to Jesus?
· How do we first believe in Jesus, and how do we continue believing in Jesus?
· What is the relationship between coming to Jesus and believing in Jesus?
4: Read Matthew 4:4, 6:11, and 28:20, and answer the questions that follow.
· How do these words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew enhance your understanding of what the crowds ask of Jesus in John 6:34 and how Jesus responds?
· What is the significance of the word “always” (or its general definition of something ongoing) in these passages?
5: What is the primary truth God revealed to you today?
· How will you respond?
· Who do you know who you can encourage with the truth this week?
Pray
Lord, you are the bread of life. Forgive us for believing you are anything less. You are both the source and the satisfaction. We live by your every word. Help us to believe in you and help us to believe you. Stir our hearts to search your word of truth for more of you. Teach us not only the power of your promises, but the power of your presence.
