A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The Feast of All Saints is the most comprehensive of the days of commemoration within the Church year, encompassing the entire scope of that great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us (Hebrews 12:1). It holds before our eyes of faith that great multitude which no man can number: all the saints of God in Christ—from every nation, race, culture, and language—who have come out of the great tribulation … who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9, 14). As such, it ...

"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...

  "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" by Jan Van Eyck Click here to listen to this sermon. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 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 ...

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” (Revelation 7:13-14). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Today we observe All Saints’ Day. This day is a little bit different from other saints’ days we might celebrate in the Church. On other days we identify and commemorate one particular saint, such as St. Matthew or St. John. Just who are we commemorating on All Saints’ Day? Well, all the saints; but who are they? Traditionally, someone is called a saint who has lived an exemplary life of faith. Most of the people we call saints have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, which teaches that saints have lived so well that they have merited a superab...

"Allerheiligenbild" by Albrecht Durer Click here to listen to this sermon. “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! We observe the Feast of All Saints today. But you may rightly ask: Why? Why have such a day on the Lutheran church year calendar? Do “saints” have any significance for our faith? Let me say this at the outset: The saints are not important for us for our faith because they might in any way be the mediator between Christ and us. And certainly, the saints are not important because they might be the recipients of our prayers and petitions, as if we were afraid to address almighty God directly. And most certainly, the saints are not important to us and to our faith because they performed so many good works that they could pass some of them on to...