A Famine Not of Bread

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 ...

  "The Protestations of St. Peter" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It may be the case, that as Jesus meets with His disciples near Caesarea Philippi, He is geographically farther away from Jerusalem than at any other time in His earthly ministry. The town was about twenty-five miles north of the Sea of Galilee, at the base of Mount Hermon. That’s around 100 miles from Jerusalem, a long trip in the day when just about every land journey was completed on foot. Whether or not Matthew intends the geographical perspective of distance and separation to highlight how far apart the religious establishment in Jerusalem is from Jesus, the comparison is certainly applicable. It is also true that the religious leaders of Jerusalem would hav...

"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. “As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4–5). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Back in Matthew 16, Jesus said to the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered for the disciples and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He was absolutely right, and so to Peter Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on ...

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. “Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (John 20:27–29, ESV). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! So… how hard should we be on Thomas? Apparently, pretty hard judging from nearly two thousand years of church history. Hardly anyone remembers his original nickname— Didymus , the Twin. He’s been called “doubting Thomas” for a long time now. But is that fair? Was he really asking for more than what the other disciples received? Does it really matter? Let’s take another look. Thomas was with the other ten disciples that Sunday when they first heard the angel’s news from the women that Jesus is risen from the dead. Luke tells us that non...