the bread

so today i was introduced as the new part-time associate pastor at holy covenant umc in katy.

first task at hand: the children's sermon. for some reason that is something that stresses me out more than the "real" sermon. they are not afraid to chat with you. you never know what they are going to say. you are looking for a good laugh at some point, but you don't want to loose control. you always need a good visual. it's an art for sure.

today we talked about jesus being the bread of life. illustration: the food pyramid that we all learned when we were kids. it was great for getting the point across that bread (grains) are at the base...very important to growing strong and healthy bodies. bread has always been an important, even in biblical times...bread was sent to the israelites when they were hungry in the desert, bread fed the 5000, and we pray "give us this day our daily bread." but then we talked about how the bread we eat can get stale and even after eating it you eventually get hungry again. god wants to give us more. in sum: bread will give you life. jesus will give you life forever.

but here is what i left pondering today after using that food pyramid illustration...who in the world says it's okay to have 6 grains a day? seriously, there must be a revised pyramid out there. carbs are like devil food, and that is what that pyramid said we should be eating the most of!

aside from the distraction of my illustration today, i have reflected on how thankful i am for the people at holy covenant umc. they are good and hospitable people. i look forward to doing life with them as we all seek nourishment from the bread of life...and be sure that we'll have some of those carbs along the way...i saw and smelled what the "breakfast ministry" had prepared today!