A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! “Are you ready?” “Ready for what?” “Are you ready for the coming of the Lord?” “Sure. The tree’s decorated. The Christmas cards are ready. Most of the gifts are wrapped. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care. I’m ready.” “No, I’m not talking about getting ready for Christmas. That coming of the Lord was over 2,000 years ago. If you’re still trying to get ready for Jesus’ coming as a little baby in the manger in Bethlehem, you’re really late! I’m talking about the Lord’s Second Coming. Are you ready?” John the Baptist told people how to get ready—through repentance and Baptism. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, St. Paul gives further instructions: “ Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is ...

  Click here to listen to this sermon. “Encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! If you’ve watched any amount of religious programming on TV, you know that the majority of what many televangelists preach about is Judgment Day and the signs of the end times. They are forever exploring, interpreting, and guessing about what some of the more obscure prophecies about the future might mean, as they study the books of Daniel and Revelation and apply them to the headlines of the day, overlooking what Scripture says about “times and dates.” God has not chosen to reveal the time when Christ will come nor the reason that He planned it for when He did. Anyone who says he knows the time contradicts Jesus’ clear words: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). Thereby he also reveals himsel...