A Famine Not of Bread

Winnewissa Falls, Pipestone National Monument Click here to listen to this sermon. On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Today is the Day of Pentecost, which commemorates Christ’s sending of the Holy Spirit to His Church. The Church lives and moves and has her being through the gracious inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Without God’s Spirit, no one could come to Christ or believe in Him. No one would be saved. The fifty-day celebration of Easter ends with this joyous festival. The risen and ascended Savior has sent the Holy Spirit to be our Sanc...

"St. Peter in Prison" by Rembrandt  Click here to listen to this sermon. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you… And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:6,7,10). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Saint Peter, writing from Rome, addresses Christians in another part of the Roman Empire who are suffering because of their allegiance to Christ. Throughout this epistle we find Peter, himself in the hotbed of persecution in the city he calls “Babylon,” offering steadfast encouragement to those undergoing persecution for professing the fact of Jesus as truly Lord of all. Jesus, not Caesar, is the world’s rightful King who alone with the Father and the Holy Spirit is...

"The Ascension of Christ" by Benvebuto Tisi Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A curious question from the Apostles sets up the Ascension event, its meaning, and implications. They ask the risen Christ: “Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?” Jesus does not answer the question directly but tells them to remain in Jerusalem (praying and keeping watch) until they receive the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Then, as they are looking on, Jesus ascends before their eyes, tipping us off to a double transition for Jesus: enthronement in Heaven but also His abiding Word-and-Sacrament presence with His people and the giving of the Holy Spirit who reveals this same Jesus is present with and for His people. Now, if Easter is about Jesus as the prototype of the New Creation, then the Ascension is about His coronation as the One who rules forevermore on Earth as it is in Heaven. Easter tells...

"The Last Supper" by Jon Mcnaughton Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:15-21). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Quite a few folks have mentioned how with the Stay-at-Home order it is hard to keep track of wh...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Click here to view this sermon. “Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:5-6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Are you a “how” person or a “who” person? Let me explain what I mean—especially for all you “how” persons, who are wondering how this all fits with today’s text. It was remarkable, the way that Bill and Joanne each approached their surgery. Both were having the same operation: Knee replacement. But each of them approached it in a different way. Bill is a “how” person. He wanted to know all the details. He read up on the surgery and consulted with his physician. He investigated the manufacturer of the knee replacement parts, tuned into YouTube and watched videos of the procedure. He knew exactly how it was going to be done,...

Click here to listen to this sermon. 1 [Jesus said:] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them. 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the Door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes...