Anderson Hills

The second time Jesus takes bread into His hands, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it is at the Last Supper. The occasion is Passover, the feast which commemorates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt and God’s judgment of evil. Passover is when God dealt with sin and evil. God delivered His people by providing a covering of blood over their sins. It is the perfect setting in which to talk about what Jesus does with our own brokenness. Jesus takes the brokenness of our sin, removes our guilt and shame, and gives us peace. In the face of the brokenness of the world, we want to be spared pain and suffering, hoping God will prevent it. But rather than prevention, God chooses to major in in redemption. What God blesses, He redeems. Through Him, even the broken become blessed.

The second time Jesus takes bread into His hands, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it is at the Last Supper. The occasion is Passover, the feast which commemorates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt and God’s judgment of evil. Passover is when God dealt with sin and evil. God delivered His people by providing a covering of blood over their sins. It is the perfect setting in which to talk about what Jesus does with our own brokenness. Jesus takes the brokenness of our sin, removes our guilt and shame, and gives us peace. In the face of the brokenness of the world, we want to be spared pain and suffering, hoping God will prevent it. But rather than prevention, God chooses to major in in redemption. What God blesses, He redeems. Through Him, even the broken become blessed.

Being blessed is not a state—it’s a story. It’s an origin story. It’s the story of how you began and why. It’s the story of God the Creator calling you into being, on purpose and for a purpose. It’s the story of God taking delight in you and naming you as good and beautiful. It’s the story of God the Redeemer pursuing you, calling you, and returning you to whom He made you to be. The bread that Jesus took and blessed did not become something else; it became what bread was made to be. The God who called light out of darkness calls you out of darkness and into light. In doing so, He brings you back to the beginning, to your beginning. This is where it starts—You are blessed. You are one on whom God’s favor rests.

Being blessed is not a state—it’s a story. It’s an origin story. It’s the story of how you began and why. It’s the story of God the Creator calling you into being, on purpose and for a purpose. It’s the story of God taking delight in you and naming you as good and beautiful. It’s the story of God the Redeemer pursuing you, calling you, and returning you to whom He made you to be. The bread that Jesus took and blessed did not become something else; it became what bread was made to be. The God who called light out of darkness calls you out of darkness and into light. In doing so, He brings you back to the beginning, to your beginning. This is where it starts—You are blessed. You are one on whom God’s favor rests.

Throughout Scripture, we discover that nothing is as common as it seems, not even bread. Bread fell from heaven as a sign of God’s provision; bread became a metaphor for the law of the Lord. Jesus fed the multitudes with loaves of bread, and referred to Himself as “the bread of life.” This week we will see that ordinary bread in the hands of Jesus becomes something more. The feeding of the 5,000 began with “not enough” and ended with being more than enough. This is what happens when Jesus takes something that we think is just ordinary—like bread—and blesses it, breaks it, and gives it. Your life, as common and ordinary as bread, in Jesus’ hands becomes something more. Your ordinary life can become full of purpose and filled with God’s glory.

Throughout Scripture, we discover that nothing is as common as it seems, not even bread. Bread fell from heaven as a sign of God’s provision; bread became a metaphor for the law of the Lord. Jesus fed the multitudes with loaves of bread, and referred to Himself as “the bread of life.” This week we will see that ordinary bread in the hands of Jesus becomes something more. The feeding of the 5,000 began with “not enough” and ended with being more than enough. This is what happens when Jesus takes something that we think is just ordinary—like bread—and blesses it, breaks it, and gives it. Your life, as common and ordinary as bread, in Jesus’ hands becomes something more. Your ordinary life can become full of purpose and filled with God’s glory.

Grumbling, complaining, sin, hearts far from God—these things were far too common for the Israelites in these desert wandering years. And often like us, they lost sight of how far away sin could carry them. How easily we often forget God’s goodness, His provision and protection. When Moses seemed too long in coming down from the mountain, the people turned away from God by bowing down to a golden calf they had set up in the place of God Himself. What starts as complaining hearts gone astray, often ends up leading us farther down pathways we wished we had never entered. Sin gets ahold of our minds and hearts; and like a disease, we cannot shake it off in our own strength. But God, in His mercy, forgives and sets free.

Grumbling, complaining, sin, hearts far from God—these things were far too common for the Israelites in these desert wandering years. And often like us, they lost sight of how far away sin could carry them. How easily we often forget God’s goodness, His provision and protection. When Moses seemed too long in coming down from the mountain, the people turned away from God by bowing down to a golden calf they had set up in the place of God Himself. What starts as complaining hearts gone astray, often ends up leading us farther down pathways we wished we had never entered. Sin gets ahold of our minds and hearts; and like a disease, we cannot shake it off in our own strength. But God, in His mercy, forgives and sets free.

Since the Garden of Eden, man has rebelled against God. To help free humanity from this propensity to sin and help each of us to lead our best lives, God handed down the Ten Commandments through Moses as a code of moral laws by which to live. God’s commandments are not an onerous set of rules we should follow out of fear or guilt. Rather, they serve as boundaries that keep us on the straight and narrow path while showing us our need for a Savior when we inevitably stray from that path. The commandments represent God’s personal interest in bringing out the best in His children so that we may live life to the fullest. Obedience is life.

Since the Garden of Eden, man has rebelled against God. To help free humanity from this propensity to sin and help each of us to lead our best lives, God handed down the Ten Commandments through Moses as a code of moral laws by which to live. God’s commandments are not an onerous set of rules we should follow out of fear or guilt. Rather, they serve as boundaries that keep us on the straight and narrow path while showing us our need for a Savior when we inevitably stray from that path. The commandments represent God’s personal interest in bringing out the best in His children so that we may live life to the fullest. Obedience is life.