A Famine Not of Bread

"Entry of the Christ into Jerusalem" by Jean-Leon Gerome Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! We live in an impatient world. Just look at our holiday observances. Black Friday is supposedly “the official start of the Christmas season.” But did you notice the Christmas decorations on the shelves right next to the Halloween candy this year? The world celebrates its holidays in advance. What it calls “Christmas”—the decorating, the feasting, the nostalgia—everything is done prior to December 25 th . Then people open presents, and that’s that. By December 31st, trees are hauled out to the dump and everyone’s gearing up for the Super Bowl. Advent, which begins today, is the time of the Church Year that’s most out of step with the concurrent cultural celebration. It is never harder to preach about John the Baptist than when people are humming “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Throughout December, the world i...

"The Healing of the Ten Lepers" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth ( 1 Timothy 2:1–4). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Thankfulness is to be the general spirit of the season. To cultivate this virtue, some people have joined a challenge on social media to share each day something they are thankful for. The lists often include things like good health, a fulfilling career, and loving family, and those are all good blessings. But what about the person who doesn’t have those things? Do they have nothing for which to give thanks to God or bless His ho...

  "The Pardon of the Good Thief" by James Tissot Click this link to listen to this sermon.

  "The Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem" by Nicolas Poussin Click here to listen to this sermon.

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A Christian funeral is a worship service where the focus is on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But it’s also fitting to speak of the faith God gave to the deceased and of the ways that faith was exhibited.   For over 97 years, Angie has been a child of God. As a baby, she was baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ at St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone. She publicly confessed her Christian faith at St. James Lutheran Church in Holland in 1947. Angie was a charter member (along with her husband Adrian) of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Pipestone when it formed in 1955. Attending worship services and Bible study and sharing her Christian faith with the church community brought her great peace. It was her delight to serve in the church to the best of her ability. I asked her children if they had any memories about their mother that might be fitting to...

"Adoration of the Lamb" from Ghent Altarpiece by Van Eyck Click here to listen to this sermon.   Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God,    and serve Him day and night in his temple;    and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;    the sun shall not strike them,    nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,    and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:9-17). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! T...