A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today is our Gospel, Luke 3, especially verses 21-22: “ Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.’” Here ends the text. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! “I can’t believe how quickly time passes. It seems like it was only yesterday when we brought our little boy home. Now he’s all grown up and has started his own career.” I’m sure that many of you have already pondered or expressed similar thoughts. As a father of four and a Papa of thirteen, I can assure you, that if you haven’t yet, you probably will. And much sooner than you’d ever think. Time flies. Children grow up so quickly. You turn around and they’re all grown up. And so it seems with Jesus—at least according to St. Luke...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Our text for today begins and ends with growing. We read in Luke 2:40: “The child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon Him.” In Luke 2:52, we are told: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). That’s something to think about. It’s hard to wrap our heads around. How can this be? The eternal Son of God, the Wisdom by whom all things were made, grew in wisdom. The Almighty, All-Present Second Person of the Trinity, grew in stature and strength. The Beloved Only-Begotten Son, with Whom God is well pleased, grew in favor with God and man. Everything in Jesus’ life was preparation for His work as our Savior. Early on, Jesus’ keeping of the Law was done primarily through the actions of His parents, much like most of you were carried to the baptismal font by your parents before you could sp...

Click here to listen to this sermon. The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is Mine.” Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place” ( Exodus 13:1–3a). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Exodus 13 is a chapter where God deals with His people after having saved them from Egypt. There are three parts to this chapter. The first, which is the basis for our text, is God’s claim on the firstborn of Israel. It is a surprising development for the Israelites that is rarely taught about or preached on. The second part of the chapter deals with a remembrance of their deliverance from slavery. Finally, the third part is the beginning of their travels through the desert to the Promised Land. The Feast of Unleaven...

Click here to listen to this sermon. "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised (Proverbs 3:30). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A long time ago, about 2,500 years, in fact, there was a woman named Esther, known for her great beauty and wit. The ESV says, “The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at” (Esther 2:6). This beauty set her in the running to be the next queen of Persia even though she was not of noble birth. Esther was an orphan, an exile who had been captured from her homeland of Judah and brought to the kingdom of Persia. Esther’s charm captivated Hegai, the man who had charge of King Xerxes’ harem, leading him to advance Esther to the front of the line. Coached by Hegai, Esther “won grace and favor in [Xerxes’] sight” more than all the other young women. The king gave a great feast in Esther’s honor and made her queen. Esther was much more than just a pret...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:14–16). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The times are tough. King Ahab rules Israel, and he is considered to be the worst, wickedest king of all, which is something considering the notorious history of Israel’s kings. To compound his own evil, he has married Jezebel, princess of Sidon; and among other things, Queen Jezebel will be known in history as the one who particularly plagued Israel with the worship of false gods. She will also be remembered as one who “cut off the prophets of the Lord” (1 Kings 18:4), depriving the people of the Word of the Lo...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The Feast of All Saints is the most comprehensive of the days of commemoration within the Church year, encompassing the entire scope of that great cloud of witnesses with which we are surrounded (Hebrews 12:1). It holds before the eyes of faith that great multitude which no man can number: all the saints of God in Christ—from every nation, race, culture, and language—who have come out of the great tribulation … who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9, 14). As such...