A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Jesus said:] “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the Last Day.” Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A significant theme in John’s Gospel is how Jesus came to give life, especially eternal life. You see this promise throughout the book. But in the Bread of Life discourse of chapter 6, Jesus says more. He explicitly promises to raise His people on the Last Day four times (v 39, 40, 44, 54). This promise of resurrection is central to the Christian faith. As we confess in the Nicene Creed, the goal of the Christian life is the resurrection of the dead and life in the world to come. This reading allows us to address a few foundational questions about the nature of this resurrection under the theme, “The Bread of Life Raises.” First question: He will raise from what? The short answer is death. But this is more than the ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “When many of His disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him.) And He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Then they said to Him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent’” (John 6:28-29).   Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! I’m sure you’ve heard this before: “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” It’s my experience that this is the kind of thing said at a question and answer session when nobody is asking questions. It’s meant to encourage more interaction between the speaker and listeners. And it’s been said so often that it’s become a truism—an “accepted fact of life.” But is it true? Some people ask questions just to gain attention. Others like to “play devil’s advocate” or “stir up the pot a bit.” A few already know the answer but want to test the speaker or to prove their own expertise. And some people just plain don’t think before they speak. So, yes, there are stupid questions—at least questions...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “And [Jesus] said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Our text begins with the apostles returning to Jesus and telling Him all that they had done and taught during their recent two-by-two mission tour. But something important happens during this brief “vicarage.” We dare not pass over it or we’ll miss the full impact of this passage. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, has just been executed thanks to birthday boy Herod and his hasty oath. John’s head is served on a platter, a gruesome party favor for Herodias and her daughter the dancer. John’s disciples claim his body and lay it in a tomb. The beheading of a prophet like John is big news. But Jesus isn’t surprised. That’s the way it goes with God’s prophets. How much more it is with Jesus, the Christ Himself! He is rejected by His hometown of Nazareth. He has bec...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I’m sure you’ve heard this before: “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.”   It’s my experience that this is the kind of thing said at a question and answer session when nobody is asking questions.   It’s meant to encourage more interaction between the speaker and listeners.   And it’s been said so often that it’s become a truism—an “accepted fact of life.”   But is it true? No, there really are stupid questions—at least questions that have less merit than others.   Some people seem to ask questions just to gain attention.   Others people like to “play devil’s advocate” or “stir up the pot a bit.”   A few already know the answer but want to test the speaker or to prove their own expertise.   And some people just plain don’t think before they speak.   So, yes, there are stupid questions.   But have you ever noticed how a skillful teache...