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! By repeated and persistent habit, the people of Judah had made sin, faithlessness, and rebellion a way of life. The pieces of evidence were everywhere. Their children gave ample testimony to their idolatry. Everywhere, in every suitable location, even in the temple (2 Kings 23:7), they had set up shrines to Baal and his consort Asherah. She was the mother of the gods. They worshiped her by raising up sacred wooden poles near her shrines and offering themselves to the temple prostitutes. Through these widespread practices, they had turned their hearts from the Lord. Because of that sin, through their own fault, the Lord would surrender them and His temple and all its treasures to the looming enemy. Into this dire situation, the Lord had called Jeremiah to preach and to call the people to repentance, starting with their wayward kings. Jeremiah’s main opponent was Zedekiah, the last ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. And [Jesus] lifted up His eyes on His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. ”   ( Luke 6:20-26). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! So, is it better to be dirt poor or filthy rich? Horribly hungr...

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 and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Beloved! Children of God! That’s what we are called in our Epistle for today. Blessed! That’s what we are called in our Gospel. But it was not always so. When we first entered this world, it was as God’s enemies. Despising Him, wanting nothing to do with God or His Word. We were under His righteous wrath for our sin. No wonder throughout Scripture, God uses many unflattering adjectives to describe our first status: Foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved, and worst of all, cursed. So, which is it? Are we beloved children of God… or are we enemies? Are we blessed… or are we cursed? Are we sinners… or are we saints? What are we? What will we be? God calls believers by various names, but th...

Click here to listen to this sermon. An mp3 file is available upon request. The text for today is Revelation 7:9-10: “ 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!’”   Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! St. John gives us a glimpse of the other side of glory.   But be careful.   Don’t miss this brief opportunity by focusing on the wrong thing.    The great multitude is certainly impressive in scope and range.   But look beyond the great multitude to the object of their focus.   Notice how they are all staring in the same direction, with the same look of astonishment and awe and love upon their faces. T...