A Famine Not of Bread

  Click here to listen to this sermon. "Behold, the Word of the Lord came to [Elijah], and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He said, ‘I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away’” (1 Kings 19:9b-10). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The words can be some of the most intimidating ever heard: “What are you doing?” Then add another word, here —“What are you doing here ?” and it just ramps up the tension. “What are you doing here? You said you would be home right after work!” “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at church?” “What are you doing here? You know it’s going to get you in trouble.” “What are you doing here? I told you to stay out of Dad’s tools unless you’ve asked first!” Then think how much worse it would be i

  Click here to listen to this sermon.  I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;      I was ready to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, “Here am I, here am I,”      to a nation that was not called by My name. I spread out My hands all the day      to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good,      following their own devices; a people who provoke Me      to My face continually, sacrificing in gardens      and making offerings on bricks; who sit in tombs,      and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig’s flesh,      and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; who say, “Keep to Yourself,      do not come near me, for I am too holy for You” (Isaiah 65:1-5a).  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! In the two chapters prior to our Old Testament reading, Isaiah offers a prayer on behalf of Israel, beginning with a recitation of God’s compassion and kindness— to His people. Solely out of

"Building the Tower of Babel" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. "Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.’ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So, the Lord dis