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Creekside Church || Wasilla, AK

11.30.25 ||  WK1_I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

11.30.25 || WK1_I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

Weekly Sermon Notes

Locations & Times

Creekside Church || Wasilla, AK

2201 S Knik-Goose Bay Rd, Wasilla, AK 99654, USA

Sunday 9:00 AM

Sunday 11:00 AM

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INTRODUCTION...
If you’re paying attention, then you know that today marks the beginning of Advent. And traditionally, Advent is a season where the church remembers the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas as a time of preparation as we await our coming savior. And so as we begin this advent season it seems like perfect timing for us to start into our new sermon series, “I AM”. The story of Christmas is the story of God revealing Himself to man! God became a man. The infinite became finite. The eternal one entered time. The invisible became visible. The unknowable made Himself known!
THE INVISIBLE MADE VISIBLE...
Want to know what the eternal God of the universe is like? All you have to do is look at Jesus! He is the image of the invisible God! The unknowable made known! The Christmas story in 4 words. The Word became flesh!
-Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of the Christmas story is that this eternal God that created the universe and knit you together in your mother’s womb; the eternal God that knows EVERYTHING there is to know about you was not content just knowing about you, but desires to be know BY you!!!
-Even with His very own disciples, we see Jesus desire to be truly known BY them! It was one thing for the crowd to all be clamoring after Jesus, but when He was alone with His own disciples he pressed them on it. “But what about you?”
"I AM"
“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”
-I’ve told the youth group many times that this is the most important question in all of human history. “Who do you say that I am?” What do you make of this man Jesus? And if you believe the Bible to be true, then eternity hangs in the balance depending on how you answer that question!
-The good news of Christmas is that God can be known! Wanna know what God is like? Look at Jesus! And just in case His life, His miracles, and His example aren’t enough for you, Jesus also told us quite plainly exactly what He was like. “You want to know who I am?”
o …I AM the Bread of Life!
o …I AM the light of the world!
o …I AM the gate for the sheep!
o …I AM the good shepherd
o …I AM the resurrection and the life
o …I AM the way the truth and the life
o …I AM the true vine
-The story of Christmas is the story about God revealing Himself to mankind through Jesus. What did Jesus tell us about Himself? And each of these statements are separate metaphors that Jesus used to reveal His divine nature and His role in salvation! And for the next number of weeks we will be walking together through the “I AMs” and looking specifically at what Jesus told us about Himself!
The Name of God
When Jesus said, “I AM”, it was a big deal! He was claiming deity, and the people didn’t miss it! Do you see how they responded? Instantly, they picked up rocks to kill him with! Jesus was using the very name of God!
I AM... This is how I am to be remembered in every generation!

-Now… jump forward in time, roughly 1500 years, and here’s Jesus saying… “Before Abraham was…. I AM”. They didn’t miss what Jesus was saying!
-In the Greek, there are two different verbs for this term ‘I AM’. The first is ‘ego’, which is where we get the English word for ego. It simply means, ‘I am’. Then there’s also the word ‘eemie’, which is simply another verb form which also means ‘I am’. What’s interesting and unusual, is that Jesus uses both verb forms here. When He says “I AM”, He says “ego eemie”. It quite literally means, I am/I am. It’s redundant!

It’s not JUST I am. It’s Ego Eemie.
-I am I am the Bread of Life.
-I am I am the Light of the World.
-I am I am the gate! etc. etc.

-With every one of the I AMs of Jesus, He was not only communicating a truth about His nature, but also making a claim about His identity! I am I am!
-Which leads us to our first ‘I AM’ in John 6. Ego eemie. I am I am the Bread of Life! So why bread? If Jesus is using this metaphor of bread to reveal to us something about His divine nature and His role in salvation, then what do we learn from bread?
-I’m going to have to back up a bit in order to give you a more complete answer… In fact, we need to go back like 1500 years before this, back to when God provided manna for the Israelites in the wilderness as a source of food during their 40 years of wandering. And manna was of course a white, flaky bread-like substance that God provided each day with the morning dew.
-And it was God that provided each day their daily bread! It was God that sustained them in their time of need! They were wandering around the wilderness, and quite literally would have starved to death without God’s provision! God sent bread from heaven! God gave them life! So this is the backdrop…This is their history…

Also... Don’t forget the context here as Jesus teaches in John Chapter 6.... If you look back to the beginning of this very same chapter, Jesus had just finished feeding the 5,000 with a little boys lunch. And don’t forget, that in their culture they only used to count the ‘heads of household’, and so this was probably more like 15,000 to 20,000 people!! And he fed them ALL with one kids lunch! Remember this?

JESUS REPEATED THE SAME MIRACLE
-In a culture that would have spent upwards of 80 to 90% of their total income just on food…this was a big miracle!!
-And if you look at Marks gospel, you’ll see that Jesus actually did this same miracle twice. He fed the 5,000 in Mark Chapter 6, but then like 1 page later we see Jesus feeds the 4,000 in Mark Chapter 8. Remember this?
MORE WITH LESS
-I’ve talked about it before, but if Scripture repeats itself, you just might want to pay attention to that! The repetition is there for emphasis. It’s there to draw your attention to it. It’s like Ego eemie. I am I am. It’s telling you something. Now… What does it tell you when Jesus repeats the very same miracle? I think it means we should pay attention to that!

-Did you notice the math in these two miracles?
-Mark 8- Feeds 4000- Seven loaves, a few small fish. 7 basketfuls of leftovers
-Mark 6- Feeds 5,000- Five loaves, 2 fish. 12 baskets of leftovers.

-I love god’s math! Did you notice that Jesus did more with less?!?

-I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but Jesus loves to do MORE with LESS! And if you’re anything like me, then sometimes you can go through life feeling like ‘less than’. I think so often the enemy lies by shouting out all of your inadequacies into your ear! Trying to make you believe you are less than! I love that Jesus illustrated for us through these miracles, that He likes to do MORE with LESS!!
WHO FORGOT THE BREAD?
-Keep in mind that within the last couple of days, Jesus had just fed the 5,000, walked on water, and now had fed another crowd of 4,000! They had just WATCHED HIM, take a few small loaves of bread, thank God for it, and then break it and somehow continue to distribute this bread until the crowds were filled and everyone was satisfied. Then they watched in amazement as the disciples gathered more leftovers than they had even started with! Amazing! But what’s even more amazing is what happens next!
-This is the part that I find hilarious and that I can unfortunately relate to… they had just gotten back in the boat after Jesus had miraculously fed ANOTHER crowd, and what happens? Somebody forgot the bread! They’ve only got 1 loaf between them and now they’re all starting to point fingers at each other like, “I thought he was bringing the bread.” Check this out…
God was faithful YESTERDAY, but somehow TOMORROW is dubious!!!

-I think it’s unfortunate how well I can relate to this passage of scripture! Can’t tell you how many times God has proved Himself faithful over the years! Time after time God has provided for our every need, and yet here I am stressing about stuff! Yes, God was faithful YESTERDAY, but somehow TOMORROW is dubious!!! Is anybody else like that? Is it just me? This was the disciples! They had just watched Jesus perform amazing miracles and yet they were all still stressed about not having enough bread for lunch! Jesus saved the day yesterday, but what about today and tomorrow???
-This is the context and the backdrop to our text today in John Chapter 6. Jesus had just miraculously fed the crowds and now Jesus disciples are squabbling about where their next meal is coming from… It’s at about this point in time that the crowd catches back up with Jesus after he ditched them by walking across the lake.
Jesus calls out the crowd.
He says…. “You’ve all seen the miracles and yet you still MISSED the truth of who I am! You missed all the signs! You guys aren’t here for me. You’re here for a free lunch! You’re not here because you think you may have found the messiah, you’re here to fill your belly!” It’s at this point that the crowd begins to question Jesus because He was using messianic language when He spoke of the ‘Son of Man’ and they noticed.
WHAT DO I GOTTA DO?
-Notice their first question for Jesus? Vs 28. “What do I gotta do?” If you’re the messiah, then “What do I gotta do?” This was the exact same question that the ‘Rich Young Ruler’ asked in Matthew Chapter 19. “What must I DO to be saved?”
-It’s the same thing that our culture today does today as people chase after empty promise after empty promise. Anything to fill the void. Anything to try to be good enough! “What do I gotta do?”
-The beautiful thing about how Jesus answers, is that He doesn’t give a list!!! He could have gone on and on and given all kinds of the rules and regulations, but He didn’t do that. He didn’t give a list!
-There is nothing that we can DO to be saved! We are saved by GRACE! You can’t EARN grace. Grace is by definition, UNMERITED! Jesus didn’t give them a list! Instead, look at how Jesus responded.
There’s no ‘To Do List’, there’s only BELIEVE!
-You don’t have to DO anything or accomplish anything, you only have to believe! You don’t have to give your money to the poor or give all your time to the church. You just have to believe! You don’t have to adhere to some sort of religious code, and you certainly don’t have to get your act together! You simply have to “BELIEVE in the one he has sent.” That’s it! There’s no ‘What must I do?”, there’s only BELIEVE!
"Well, how do we know you’re actually the messiah? What miraculous sign can you perform so that we may believe?" Essentially… “Why should we believe you?”
Jesus sets them strait.
“Hey…MOSES didn’t give you bread from heaven. GOD gave you bread from heaven!!" And by the way… you want to talk about bread from heaven? “The bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” And then Jesus tells them strait out…
Does this remind anyone of anything?
I personally can’t help but think of the woman at the well. (John 4) Do you remember Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman who came to draw water?
THE REPETITION OF JESUS...
We should pay attention to the repetition of Jesus. Not only has Jesus been repeatedly saying these things, but He has also been performing miracles that emphasized the same truth! He physically broke the bread and fed the crowds. He turned the water into wine and they were all satisfied! Jesus has been saying the same thing in so many different ways! What was it that Jesus had been trying to communicate through all of this? Finally, Jesus says it plainly…
JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE
The manna that God provided in the wilderness sustained God’s people temporarily, but Jesus will give life forever! He says that in Him you’ll be a “well of water springing up in him for eternal life!” Jesus is the giver of life! Jesus is the source of life! Jesus is the bread of life!

-Jesus is using a physical metaphor to explain an eternal truth! He is the bread of life!
SO WHY BREAD?
Why this metaphor? What are we to learn by comparing Jesus to Bread?

Why bread?
-Only Jesus truly satisfies the human heart.
-Just like bread satisfies physical hunger, Jesus satisfies spiritual hunger in a way nothing else can.

Why bread?
-We need Him daily, not just once.
-Bread is a daily necessity. Jesus was teaching that people need a continual relationship with Him, not just a one-time encounter.

Why bread?
-He gives life that never ends.
-Earthly food keeps you alive for a while. Jesus gives eternal life—life that continues forever.

Why bread?
-He is essential, not optional.
-Bread was the basic, most essential food of the ancient world. Jesus was saying: “You can’t have real life without Me.”

Why bread?
-He is the fulfillment of what the Old Testament pointed to.
-The manna in the wilderness fed Israel’s bodies but couldn’t give eternal life. Jesus is the “true bread” that the manna symbolized.

Why bread?
-Coming to Jesus ends spiritual emptiness.
-He says, “whoever comes to Me will never hunger.” A relationship with Jesus brings peace, purpose, and wholeness that nothing else can fill.

Why bread?
-Believing in Him is like eating bread.
-Eating bread is how you take nourishment into yourself. In the same way, believing in Jesus is how you receive the life He offers—faith is the “eating.”

Why bread?
-He came to give Himself for the world.
-Because Jesus said the bread was His flesh—pointing to His sacrificial death. In the same way that bread gave life to their physical bodies, His life was given so that we can have life! He gives life by giving Himself.

Why bread?
-He calls people to trust Him completely.
-Bread becomes part of you. Jesus invites you to receive Him fully. He desires for you to allow Him to come into you and become a part of you! To give you life and to be your source of power!

Why bread? Jesus was saying that, “In the same way that bread keeps your body alive, that He was the only One who could give true, eternal life. It was in Him that the people’s core needs were met. It was in Him that they were satisfied! It was in Him where there was abundance! He was the giver and sustainer! He is the bread of life!
RESPOND, REFLECT & COMMUNION

I would like to give you a chance to respond to God…

-- What did God reveal about who he is to you today in our time in God’s word?
-- What did God reveal about what he has done or is doing in our time in God’s word?
-- What did you learn about who you are as we looked at these stories today?
-- What did you learn about what you are supposed to do?

—> Let's take a minute to thank Him, respond to Him, confess our sins to Him, examine our hearts before we take communion...

—> WHAT IS JESUS SAYING TO YOU TODAY?
—> WHAT IS JESUS ASKING YOU TO DO?