A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God” (1 John 3:17-21). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!   You’ve probably had this experience: you learn a new word or concept or gain a new insight and suddenly see it everywhere. It has been there all along, but now it catches your attention, and it appears all over the place. That happened to me as I prepared to present a textual study of our Epistle lesson, 1 John 3:16-24, at this month’s Circuit Winkel. I noticed the word “heart” was repeated five times in five ve...

“This changes everything!” “This changes nothing!” Those are the two opposing views we’ve all heard in the news and social media regarding the recent Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage. Many opponents of the decision warn of the potential ramifications: proponents will seek to drive Christians and Christian institutions out of education at all levels; they will press laws to force faithful Christians and individuals to violate consciences in work practices and many other ways. Those in the political and legal arena cite evidence of a seismic shift of the legislative and judicial process—laws are no longer just made by Congress, but by the courts as well; public opinion, individual preferences, and personal feelings are now the basis for judicial review rather than a clear reading of the words of the Constitution and a historic understanding of the founders’ intent.  On the other hand, many of those who favor the court’s decision dismiss such concerns as hyperbolic hyste...