A Famine Not of Bread

"Jesus Wept" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25). A smart man. A thirsty woman. A blind man. A grieving sister. Four different people in four different situations. Four people changed by an encounter with Jesus. They lived in places and times far from ours, but we have much in common with them. We are smart, but not nearly as smart as we think. So, as He did with Nicodemus, Jesus teaches us. We are thirsty, longing for something that will satisfy us. And Jesus, as He did with the Samaritan woman, gives us Living Water. We have blind spots which keep us from fully seeing God, ourselves, and others. As He did with the man born blind, Jesus opens our eyes. This week’s text invites us to walk alongside a grieving sister. There are many causes of grief. One of them is broken relationships. We w...

"The Blind Man Washes in the Pool of Siloam" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Today we have the third of a series of sermons on the Gospel readings for the month of March. Each reading features a specific individual who was encountered by Jesus and was changed. They lived in times and places far from ours, but we have more in common with them than we might initially imagine.  The Gospel reading for this week, John 9, puts a blind man in the spotlight. The text is long and complex with several subplots. The disciples asked the wrong question. The parents distanced themselves from their son. The Pharisees bullied and refused to believe. The neighbors were confused. And then there was the mud and the spit. These details and subplots are all significant. But rather than trying to unpack them all, we’ll stick with the man in the middle, a man born blind. This man had lived his entire life...

"Woman of Samaria" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Last week I introduced a four-part series of sermons on the Gospel readings for the month of March. Each reading features a specific individual who was encountered by Jesus. Everyone was changed. They lived in times and places far from ours, but we share much with them. The text this week, John 4:5-26, centers around a thirsty woman’s encounter with Jesus. She came to the well for literal water, but Jesus offered much more. Jesus had three routes He could have taken to Galilee. Many Jews elected not to go straight through Samaria because of lingering antagonism and hostility between them and the Samaritans. Some followed the Mediterranean coast north. Others crossed the Jordan and went north through Perea on the east bank. The text, however, says Jesus “ had to go through Samaria.” Reasons other than geography dictated the move. ...

"Interview between Jesus and Nicodemus" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.   Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who...