| Better Then Bread - article by Joel Hempel Some people love bread. I don’t love it, but I genuinely enjoy a couple of pieces of crusty bread when I make toasted cheese sandwiches to go with our tomato soup on a night when we don’t feel like doing serious cooking. Ooh, the crunch of toasted bread having been slathered in butter with hot cheese oozing out! Who needs soup? Then Jesus gets confrontational: You cannot live by bread alone! As you may recall, Jesus speaks these words in the Wilderness of Temptation when Satan is tempting our Lord’s starving stomach. How does our Lord respond? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (quoting Deuteronomy 8:3). That is: Crusty bread will help us survive, but if you want to thrive, be nurtured by God’s Word. We know God’s Word has great value for our individual faith journey. For those of us who are serious about studying Scripture – reflecting on its meaning for our lives – we know how rich it tastes and the satisfaction it grants. But God’s Word is intended not only for our individual faith journey, but also for our communal life together. In less than two weeks, we will begin a process to discern God’s will for our church. I get nervous thinking about it until I remember to pray. God’s got this! It’s his Word we will be studying, and it is from God’s Word that we will be seeking wisdom. So we enter this discernment process with faith in God and the power of His Word. And as Becci said in one of the facilitators’ training sessions, It’s God’s Word. Let him do the talking. In the weeks to come, we trust God will be speak through His Word and the Spirit who resides within and around us. It will be our job to listen. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.1 1. Psalm 32:8. Also see Psalm 119:105; 2 Timothy 3:16-17. | 
