Click here to listen to this sermon. "King David at Prayer" by Rembrandt
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The King Was Dead; Long Live the King!
"St. Peter Preaching at Pentecost" by Benjamin West Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! If you read the bulletin carefully, you may have noted the title of this sermon: The King Was Dead; Long Live the King! It is a slight variation on the traditional proclamation made following the accession of a new monarch to the throne: “The king is dead; long live the king!” This seemingly contradictory phrase is used to simultaneously announce the death of the previous monarch and assure the public of continuity and governmental stability by saluting the new monarch who has immediately assumed the throne at the moment of the predecessor’s death. In this case, I’m using the past tense on the first phrase to emphasize an important point that Peter makes in his Pentecost sermon: “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless...
The House That David's Son Built
Click here to listen to this sermon. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that Your servant prays before You this day, that Your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may listen to the prayer that Your servant offers toward this place” (1 Kings 8:27–29). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! This is the house that David’s son built. It was an impressive structure in size and beauty, befitting its prominence and purpose. The temple functioned as God’s royal palace and Israel’s national center of worship. By its symbolism, the sanctuary taught the rule of the Lord over the whole creation and His special headship over Israel. The inside ceiling was 1...