A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Then I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne. And when He had taken the ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A curious question from the Apostles sets up the Ascension event, its meaning, and implications. They ask the risen Christ: “Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?” Jesus does not answer the question directly but tells them to remain in Jerusalem (praying and keeping watch) until they receive the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Then, as they are looking on, Jesus ascends before their eyes, tipping us off to a double transition for Jesus: enthronement in Heaven but also His abiding Word-and-Sacrament presence with His people and the giving of the Holy Spirit who reveals this same Jesus is present with and for His people. Now, if Easter is about Jesus as the prototype of the New Creation, then the Ascension is about His coronation as the One who rules forevermore on Earth as it is in Heaven. Easter tells us Jesus stands as the firstborn of the New Creation. His Asc...

"Resurrection" by Rembrandt Click here to listen to this sermon. “So when they had come together, they asked Him, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ And when He had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:6–11). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! In 1997, Marshall Applewhite led thirty-eight other people...

"The Ascension" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. “[Jesus] presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God… So when they had come together, they asked Him, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts 1:3,6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! When it comes to Christian holy days and festivals of the Church there is no greater confusion than over the Ascension of Our Lord both in terms of what we are celebrating and why we are celebrating it. We confess the ascension of Christ every Sunday in the words of the creeds: “And He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father” but no further explanation is really given in either of the creeds, and we are left with more questions than answers concerning Christ’s ascension. Why didn’t Jesus stay? Where is He now? What is the right hand of God? D...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “ And when [Jesus] had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. A nd while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven” ( Acts 1:9-11). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Well. It came and went. Did you miss it? The great apocalypse linked to the last day of the Mayan calendar: December 21, 2012? Just another failed attempt to forecast the end of the world. I’d always wondered: What do you suppose those people who count so heavily on the world ending on a particular date do the day after? You know… the ones who give up everything they own, and then gather on a mountainside and wait for Jesus or the mothership to return. Now I know...