A Famine Not of Bread

"Flight into Egypt" by Jean-Francois Millet Click to listen to this sermon. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy Him.” And he rose and took the Child and His mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.   Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Gayle, Corey, Kyle, Kellie, Amy, grandchildren, the rest of Jerry’s family and friends gathered here today: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Just looking at Jerry’s life history , you can see that he had a pretty good life. Happily married to Gayle for over 54 years. A family man, blessed with children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. Starting his own electrical contracting company, successfully operating his own family business for 38 years before turning it over to his son. Civic-minded, active, and well-respected in the community. Known for his sense of humor, work ethic, kindness, and generosity. Jerry lived a pretty good life. But no one would say it’s been perfect. The evidence is right in front of us. If life in this fallen world was perfect, we wo...

"John the Baptist in Prison" by Cornelis Galle the Younger Click here to listen to this sermon. Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me” (Matthew 11:2-6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! In his weekly radio program, Garrison Keillor would end by saying that in Lake Wobegon all the children are above average. Fictitious or not, there is some truth in this. Every parent’s child has hidden talents waiting to be discovered. Our job as parents and teachers is to recognize their abilities and help them to perfect them. Without a se...

"St. John the Baptist Preaching" by Salvator Rosa Click here to listen to this sermon. [John the Baptist said:] “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Our Advent journey began last week with Jesus headed into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday. Today we back up a few years and take a detour through the Jordan where Jesus began His public ministry in baptism, much as we begin our discipleship in Holy Baptism. The way of the Lord is a rigorous one because we always journey “in Christ.” But we know where we are going, and we know who we are. In this second week of Advent, we remind ourselves that we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit for a life of repentance. We will soon celebrate Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, but already on these f...

Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] “ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once” (Matthew 21:3). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The two young Galilean men walk into the village. They look around a bit and then go up to a donkey that is tied outside the gate of the garden with her colt. They begin to untie it without asking permission. A couple of peasants ask them what they think they are doing. “The Lord needs them,” is their simple answer. The owner nods and the men go on their way. Give that a try some time. Walk over to a stranger’s house. Open up the garage door and start backing his car and pickup out of the garage and down the driveway. If anyone asks you what you think you’re doing, just tell them, “the Lord needs them,” and he’ll send you on your way. Right! It sounds like a good way to get arrested for grand theft; doesn’t it? Of course, it makes a huge ...