A Famine Not of Bread

"Nathan Rebukes David, as in 2 Samuel 12" by James I. Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A star athlete gets intoxicated, starts a fight, and spends the night in jail. The next afternoon, he holds a press conference: “I’m ashamed of what I did,” he says. “That’s not who I am.” A politician gets caught in an adulterous affair. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’ve embarrassed my family and damaged my reputation. That’s not who I am.” A comedian gets pushback for an offensive tweet. “That comment was inappropriate,” she says. "I’m sorry if I offended anyone. It’s not who I am.” Others take the opposite approach. They refuse to recognize their sin as sin, insisting “This is who I am. God doesn’t make mistakes, so He wouldn’t have made me this way, if it is wrong.” As Lady Gaga preaches acceptance of alterna...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’” (2 Samuel 12:5-7). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Psychologists say you’re only as sick as your worst secret. No wonder King David isn’t feeling so hot. He has a doozy of a secret; but he’s managed somehow to keep it under wraps for about nine months. At least he thinks so. But it’s taking a toll on him spiritually, mentally, and physically. Later, he will describe the experience in one of his psalms: “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer” (Psalm 32:3–4). But for now he is in a state of den...

Click here to listen to this sermon. An mp3 file is available upon request. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Dressed in the finest white gown, this beautiful young blonde comes to meet her Bridegroom and receive His name.   She’s escorted down the aisle by her father and her mother joins in giving her away at the front of the church.   Eight days old, she’s certainly unable to come up on her own or speak on her own behalf.   The pastor marks her with the sign of the cross as one redeemed by Christ the crucified and baptizes her in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.   And “there is joy before the angels of God.” Dressed in faded blue jeans and an old flannel shirt, he feels a bit out of place among the suits and ties, dresses and skirts, of those standing with him.   But then, he’s certainly not there to make a fashion statement.   He’s not even really sure why he’s there.   He ...

"Jesus Heals the Lame Man"  Used with permission of WorldMissionsClipart The text for today is our Gospel lesson, Matthew 9:1-8, which has already been read. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! The house is packed, because Jesus is there.  Four men come to the house with their paralyzed friend because they believe the Word they’ve heard about Jesus and His miracles and believe He might help their friend.  The Savior, seeing their faith, says to the paralytic: “Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.” “My son, your sins are forgiven”?  Now, what kind of a thing is that to say?  The teachers of the Law have a word for it: blasphemy.  “This man is blaspheming!” they say to themselves.  What they mean is: “This mere man is claiming divine authority.  We all know that only God can forgive sins.”     Like all effective lies, there is an element of truth here.  O...

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! The other morning as I was working in Wal-Mart, I saw a young woman with a puzzled look on her face.   Ever since a major remodeling of our store this spring I’ve seen that look regularly.   People want to know where the product they are looking for was moved.   So I was not surprised to find this young woman was in need of directions.   I was surprised at what she wanted to find.   She sheepishly asked me: “Can you tell me where I would find the checkout counters?” I thought to myself a little bit later: “You’d never find a man asking that question.”   Now, before you start calling me a male chauvinist let me explain.   I say this, not because it is only women who are directionally challenged.   There are more than a few of us men who can manage to get as lost as anyone.   We just seem to have a harder time asking for directions.   And so I def...