Pastor’s Page | March 5th, 2026
Sermon Prep (Read John 6:26-71)
I’m a protein guy. We had a church group meet at Cracker Barrel once and we had a lady order a vegetable plate. It had lots of great items on the plate, but no meat. I thought, “What’s the point?” In my understanding of how things ought to be, every plate of food needs to have some form of dead animal on it: Beef, Chicken, Pork, maybe even fish. No matter how good the green beans, the corn, or the tomatoes are, if there is no meat then the meal is not satisfying. When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life”, what I hear is this, “I am the meat on the plate…without Me, everything else is not satisfying or filling. Yet with Me, everything else takes on another level of goodness.”
Jesus is the bread of life. I had a friend who served as a missionary in Asia, and he said that when he was sharing the Gospel with the people in that region, bread was a delicacy for them. So instead, he said that Jesus was the “rice of life” and they immediately understood what he meant.
This Sunday we are going to be looking at how Jesus is foundational to everything we do in life. We can do lots of things, even good things, but if Jesus is not at the center of our lives, then we are going to end up unsatisfied. As you get ready for Sunday, I want you to ask yourself where you find your ultimate satisfaction and contentment in life? Keeping with the food theme, what makes you feel full and happy? What do you build your meal around? Compare that to your life. What is the one thing that you build everything else around?
The passage this week has a lot more to it. The context is that Jesus has just fed the 5,000 (10,000 -20,000 if you include women and children…or those who went back for 2nds and 3rds). So, when the people are seeking Jesus, He knows their hearts. He knows that they really don’t want Him, they want Him to feed them again. Jesus had done a great miracle, but now they wanted the miracle and not Him. Jesus didn’t say that He would provide the bread of life, He said that He is the bread of life. As you prepare for Sunday, think about the difference between wanting Jesus and only wanting what Jesus can give.
And finally, as you study this passage, notice what it is you must do to receive this bread. This is at the core of the Gospel. Why would people be confused about this? How do we still fall into this trap?
As you prepare for Sunday, here are some passages for you to study: Exodus 16:1-15, Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 26:2, 1 Corinthians 10:16–17, Isaiah 55:1–2, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:4, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 22:37, Philippians 1:21, Colossians 1:18, Hebrews 12:2, John 15:5
March Sermon Series
“The Great I AM”
03/08 - The Bread of Life - John 6:35-39
03/15 - The Light of the World - John 8:12-19
03/22 - The Door - John 10:1-10
03/29 - The Good Shepherd - John 10:11-18
Updates, Thoughts and More
Mission Fair. We will be having a mission fair on March 8th. You will have a chance to hear about all the great things that Acton Methodist Church is doing both globally and in our local community. For more information, you can contact Doug Crumrine via email at doug.crumrine@gmail.com
Don’t forget that this upcoming Sunday is Daylight Savings Time. Don’t forget to change your clocks or you may show up to church an hour late. If that happens, I will make the entire congregation wait on you to show up before we begin.
Registration for our Upward is open. Our first game will be April 11th and will go until May 16th. If you have any questions, please go to our website to find more information.
The Easter season is often the time in the past when people would choose to be baptized or to reaffirm their baptism. If God has been moving in your heart to be baptized or to reaffirm your baptism, please give me a call and I would love to talk to you about it.
This upcoming week is the beginning of Championship week for college basketball. This means that beginning on Wednesday, if you walk by the Pastor’s office you may hear screaming and shouting. Do not be alarmed. This is typical March Madness behavior. This will go on for the next few weeks. If you hear a loud crash, it means Kentucky has lost and I will be entering into a deep and dark depression. Pray for your pastor.
What’s Going On This Week
Sunday (03/08)
Worship Services - 9:00am & 10:30am
Mission Fair
Monday (03/09)
Stitching Angels - 1:30pm
Tuesday (03/010)
Men’s Prayer Breakfast - 7:30am
Bible Study - 10:00am
Wednesday (03/11)
Prayer Warriors - 9:00am
Sip And Share - 10:00am
Youth & Kids - 5:00pm
Table Talk - 5:00pm
Choir - 7:00pm
Thursday (03/12)
Psalms Bible Study - 9:30am
Upward Volunteer Meeting - 6:00pm
Joke of the Week
The Pastor and a member of the church ended up in a heated argument over a seemingly minor worship detail.
“I suggest we go home and pray to God to grant us peaceful hearts,” said the Pastor as the man stormed past him into the churchyard.
After worship the next Sunday morning, the man greeted the Pastor warmly. “I took your advice,” he said. “I went home and said a prayer.”
“Great!” said the Pastor. “So did I! I prayed that God would grant us both peaceful hearts and a fresh start.”
“That’s not what I prayed,” said the man. “I asked God to help me put up with you.”
Memory Verse of the Week
“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
~John 6:35 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“The purpose of the sign was that He might preach the sermon. Again, it was a ministry of “grace and truth” (John 1:17). In grace, our Lord fed the hungry people; but in truth, He gave them the Word of God. They wanted the food, but they did not want the truth; and, in the end, most of them abandoned Jesus and refused to walk with Him. He lost His crowd with one sermon!
~Gary Burge
