A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that Your servant prays before You this day, that Your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may listen to the prayer that Your servant offers toward this place” (1 Kings 8:27–29). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! This is the house that David’s son built. It was an impressive structure in size and beauty, befitting its prominence and purpose. The temple functioned as God’s royal palace and Israel’s national center of worship. By its symbolism, the sanctuary taught the rule of the Lord over the whole creation and His special headship over Israel. The inside ceiling was 1...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! You know an argument is not going well for someone when he or she has to resort to name calling. Experts call this argumentum ad hominem , a Latin phrase literally translated as “an argument to the man.” Argumentum ad hominem is a logical fallacy in which an argument is opposed by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself. The result of an ad hominem attack can be to undermine someone’s case without having to deal with the actual issue at hand. Stung by the unveiled truth from Jesus’ lips, the Jews resort to name-calling: “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” To be fair, our text drops in on the middle of the conversation, and Jesus has just told His opponents that ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Our text, Acts 2:1-21, is the start of something big, and it happens on the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost is the Greek name for the Old Testament Feast of Weeks that God required the Israelites to celebrate each year seven weeks after the Passover—thus it was called the Feast of Weeks because it took place a “week of weeks” after the Paschal Feast. That means the feast was celebrated on the fiftieth day—that’s the “Pente” in Pentecost.                        The feast of Pentecost was a day of rest when all the men of Israel were to appear before the Lord and offer appropriate sacrifices. Each farmer was to come into the temple courts, bringing a basket with his first sheaf of the year’s wheat harvest. At his turn, the farmer would step forward and say the liturgy o...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing My recompense with Me, to repay everyone for what He has done.” (Revelation 22:12). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! “Just wait until your father comes home!” Those words can bring two extremely different reactions, depending upon the father and his disposition to his son or daughter. It could be a word of woe and warning—or it could be a word of joy and promise. The father could be an iron-fisted tyrant with a terrible mean streak bent on meting out punishment for each and every offense and infraction. Or he could be the Ward Cleaver type who opens the front door to be greeted warmly with hugs and kisses from his wife and kids. It all depends. Jesus’ words have a similar effect: “Behold, I am coming soon!” These words always have a double edge, frightening those who picture a wrathful Judge, but comforting those who know Jesus as gracious Savior, warning the unrepen...