A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. And [Jesus] said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:20-23). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is a thought provoking tale that plays on the difference between what is on the inside of a man versus what is seen on the outside. An artist named Basil Hallward meets a young man named Dorian Gray. Impressed by Gray’s beautiful physical appearance, Hallward paints a picture of him. A friend of Basil’s named Lord Henry Wotton promotes a worldview that beauty and sensual desire are the most important things in life. Falling under the influence of this philosophy, Dorian wrestles with the harsh reality t...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, ‘Who sees us? Who knows us?’ You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me’; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding?’” (Isaiah 29:15–16).   Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Like the plot of a good action thriller it goes down to the wire. At the last minute, God mercifully intervenes to deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrian horde poised at the city gate. But something is wrong. The people do not see beyond the immediate threat they have just avoided. They fail to recognize the hand of the Lord or their sin and idolatry that brought them so close to utter ruin. God’s deliverance does nothing to turn them to repentance and the promises of the Messiah. And so the deliverance will only buy them...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The voice came from behind the stall in the men’s room: “So what about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?” Pete chuckled to find himself in such a significant conversation while standing in a public restroom. Yet he finished drying his hands and stood outside the stall and answered, “Well, that’s the one sin in the Bible that God talks about which won’t be forgiven. It’s amazing to think that God will forgive any sin we could commit, except for the sin of persistently shutting out the work of the Holy Spirit,” he went on. “But when you think about it, you’re shutting out the very One who is able to bring you to faith.” We shake our head and smile when we hear about that conversation. It is true that God works through common ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! This is every kid’s favorite time of the year, isn’t it? Summer! When you can sleep late, hang out with your friends, do as you please. Freedom from all the rules of school and the schedules everybody else makes for you. I hope you guys have been enjoying it! And we won’t talk about the number of days left until… Of course, it’s a good time of the year to be an adult, too—and largely because it’s such a great time for children. I love watching kids at play, at the pool, tee ball, family vacations, Vacation Bible School, just interacting with each other at home when they’re not tied down with homework. It is interesting to watch children interact, isn’t it? Sometimes they cooperate with one ano...