James 2:1-17

 My brothers and sisters, when you heap attention on some people but ignore others you are acting contrary to the pattern of faithfulness established by our Lord Jesus, the glorious anointed king. 2 Imagine two people coming into your meeting -- one dressed to the nines, with all the designer labels, draped in jewelry. In contrast, the other person who shows up is clearly poor, dressed like a bag lady. 

3 Then suppose that you were to give the well-dressed person special attention -- offering her the best seat in the house. But to the bag lady, you say, “If you don’t want to stand you can sit in the back row away from everyone.” 4 If you did that, wouldn't you through your words and actions be saying that some people are better than other people? You’d have become corrupt judges.

5 Listen up, my dear brothers and sisters! God has chosen those whom the world sees as poor to be rich in faith. Aren’t these the very people that God has selected to be the heirs of his kingdom -- the kingdom he promises to those who love him? 6 But through your attitudes and actions you shame the poor people God honors. 

Think about it -- the wealthy people are the ones who make your life miserable with all their demands and legal threats. 7 They slander the good name of Jesus -- the name which you embraced at your baptism. How is it that you have become such boot-lickers at the expense of the poor?

8 Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way. Focus on keeping the rules of the kingdom -- the royal law expressed no fewer than seven times in scripture -- Love your neighbor with the same energy that you naturally give to loving yourself. 

9 When you show favoritism, you are not only sinning but you are by the laws of the kingdom exposed as a lawbreaker. 10 Anyone who commits to keeping all the law but fails in this one point is guilty of breaking all the law. For everything hinges on this one command. 11 God not only told us to refrain from adultery but he also told us to refrain from murder. If you commit murder while refraining from adultery you are still a lawbreaker. 12 So then, walk and talk as someone who expects to be judged according to this standard -- the law that will be your freedom. 13 For if you refuse to let kindness dictate how you treat people don’t expect kindness to dictate how you are judged. On the other hand, if you have been merciful, God will be merciful toward you.

14 My brothers and sisters, what good is it if you say that you have faith but do nothing to show it? Claiming to have faith can’t save anyone, can it?

15 Suppose a brother or sister is living on the street without proper clothing or food. 16 And after your church meeting you send that person on their way saying, “Go in peace! I hope you’re warm and well-fed!” What good is it if you don’t actually do something about what they need? 17 Living faith generates kind and merciful responses to the needs of people. Without this kind of follow-through, it’s merely dead faith.

Ephesians 6:10-20

Finally, God is super strong and he wants to share his strength with you. 11 So suit up in the armor he provides. That way you’ll be able to stand your ground against the devil’s deviousness. 12 I’m not talking about conventional warfare in which you’re going up against other humans; but this is a battle of cosmic proportions where you’re taking on the dark powers of the universe -- the evil spiritual forces -- their generals and despots.

13 So, gird yourself with all the God-issued battle gear and you’ll be ready to stand your ground on that evil day. And then once the battle is over you’ll still be standing. 14 Wrap truth around your waist as a belt and strap on justice as your chest protection. 15 Then lace up your shoes so that your feet are ready to run with the good news of peace. 16 Most importantly, use faith as a shield. And when the devil shoots at you with his flaming arrows they’ll just burn out. 17 Wear salvation on your head as a helmet and strap on the sword of the Spirit -- which is God’s Word.

18 Keep praying! Pray for the needs of all the believers. Let the Spirit guide you in that. Don’t flake out. Without wavering, maintain COR -- your condition of readiness. 19 When you’re praying for me, ask that God will give me the right words so that anytime I speak, the mysterious message of God’s good news will be revealed.  20 I’m an ambassador in chains representing this good news. Pray that the Lord will give me confidence to say what needs to be said.

John 6:35, 41-51

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread that sustains life. Whoever is with me never goes hungry, and whoever puts their trust in me will never be thirsty.”

41 The Jewish opposition groused about him because he had
said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”


42 "Wait a minute," they protested, “isn’t this the same Jesus, Joseph’s son? We know his parents! How can he say, ‘I've come down from heaven’?”

43 Jesus responded, “Enough whining! 44 Only those who are
led to me by the Father who sent me will get me. Those are
the ones I will raise to life on the last day. 45 As it is written in Isaiah 54:13, they're all God-taught. All those who have
learned from the Father, having listened to him, come to me.
46 The only one who has actually seen the Father is the one
who comes from God. He's seen the Father. 47 And I assure
you that whoever believes me has real life -- life without end.
48 I am the bread that sustains life. 49 Your ancestors ate manna
in the wilderness but they eventually died. 50 This bread that
has now come down from heaven will keep those who eat it
from dying. 51 I am the life-giving bread that has come down
from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live on forever. And I'm talking about my flesh -- my flesh is the life-giving bread that
I will give for the life of the world.”

John 6:1-15

Sometime later, Jesus crossed Lake Galilee (aka Lake Tiberias). 2-4 After arriving, Jesus went up onto a mountainside and sat down with his apprentices. (It was, BTW, almost time for the Jewish Passover festival -- just making sure that you catch the thematic parallels with the Exodus story.)

A large crowd of people eager to see more of the miracles Jesus had done among the sick followed him across the lake. 5 When he looked up and saw the large crowd coming his way, Jesus turned to Philip and asked, “Where are we going to be able to buy enough food to feed all these people?” 6 (Jesus asked this to teach him, for he already had a plan.)

7 Philip replied, “It would take more than a half year’s salary worth of food just to provide hors d’oeuvres for everyone.”

8 One of Jesus’ other apprentices, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, chimed in, 9 “There is a kid here with five loaves of cheap barley bread and two sardine-size fish. But with a crowd this big I don’t know what good that would be.”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

There were about five thousand people who sat down in the grassy area. 11 Jesus then took the bread and after saying the prayer of thanks, distributed it to the seated people. He then served the fish in the same way. Everyone got their fill.

12 After they’d all had plenty to eat, Jesus said to his apprentices, “Go collect the leftovers. We don’t want to waste any of it.”

13 They filled twelve baskets with the leftovers of the five barley loaves from which the people had eaten.14 When the people realized that Jesus had performed a miraculous sign, they said, “Truly this is the prophet for whom the world has been waiting.”

15 Jesus read the crowd and realized that they were planning to try and force him to become their king; so he slipped away to a place where he could be alone on the mountain.

John 15:1-8

Jesus continued teaching his apprentices, saying, “I am the vital vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He’s into pruning -- lopping off any of my branches that don’t produce fruit. And then he cuts back the fruit-bearing branches -- so that they’re even more fruitful. 3 My teaching has already begun to cut into your life. 4 Just make sure that we remain connected -- stay attached to me and I will remain attached to you. Remember, a branch disconnected from the tree won’t produce fruit by itself. It MUST remain attached to the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain connected to me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches connected to the vine. If you remain connected to me -- and my sap flows into you -- then you will produce a lot of fruit. However, without this living connection, you’ll be fruitless. 6 If you become disconnected, you’ll dry up and be tossed onto the burn pile, where you’ll be unable to escape the hot flames. 7 But if you remain attached to me and my teaching is likewise growing out of your life, go ahead and ask me for anything you want and it will happen -- for your wants will mirror my wants. 8 My Father is honored when you produce a lot of fruit. Your bumper crop will validate that you are really my apprentices.

1 John 3:1-8

Look! This is really cool -- the mind-boggling love gift that God the Father has given to us. He called us his “children” -- and indeed that is who we are. Of course, the world doesn’t recognize the family resemblance but that’s because they’re unfamiliar with the Father!

2 Dear friends, we ARE God’s children and it remains to be seen where that will lead us. We do know that when the curtain is pulled back and we again see Jesus we will be seen to be like him. The family resemblance will be glaringly obvious. 3 In light of what we confidently expect to happen, we busy ourselves cleaning up our lives, so that at the big reveal moment we’ll truly look like we belong to the ultraclean Jesus. 4 Everyone who indulges sin is on the wrong track by God’s standards. Sinful living is fractious -- for sin is by definition fractious.

5 Surely you know that Jesus was shown to remove sin -- even though he himself was sinless. 6 Everyone connected with Jesus rejects sin. Any person who continues to indulge sin hasn’t really seen him or known him.

7 So dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you. The righteous person is the one who acts in the right way -- who lives in accordance with the righteousness of Jesus. 8 But those who make a practice of sin are straight from the devil, who has been sinning from the get-go. The Son of God came to cancel the devil’s sinful ways.

Psalm 71:9

God, don’t throw me out with the trash just because I've gotten old. Now that my strength is waning I need you more than ever.