A Famine Not of Bread

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you look in the worship folder you’ll notice the sermon title listed as “Blame It on Your Lying, Cheating Heart,” a play on the lyrics of the Patty Loveless country hit from almost twenty years ago.   When Maxine asked me, that was the working theme I was using.   I’ve since had time to refine it.   Now it’s “Your Lying, Cheating, Cold Dead Beating, Two-timing, Double Dealing, Mean Mistreating, Unloving Heart.”   I know; it’s a pretty long title for a sermon.   But it seems fitting for our Gospel for today, where Jesus gives a rather extensive list of sins.   Beginning with sexual immorality, Jesus combines twelve kinds of evil thoughts and actions in a dreadful litany of vices.   The first six are in the plural form and describe behaviors.     The last six are in the singular and have more to do with attitudes.   These twelve vices leave ...

"Nathan Rebukes David, as in 2 Samuel 120" by James Tissot Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I don’t remember the details exactly.  Let’s just say, a particular Moeller boy, probably around the age of three, had carelessly broken one of his mom’s “pretties,” and then had hidden the evidence under his bed.  (In hindsight, it was not exactly the brightest strategy, considering it was his Mom who cleaned his room; but then you can’t expect a three-year-old to come up with really brilliant plans, no matter how precocious he may be.) Anyway, I do remember his Mom finding something destroyed that should not have been, and asking him if he knew anything about its mangled state.  From the look on his face, his Mom knew he did.  She also was pretty sure she knew who it was who had done the damage and the hiding!  Just to be certain, however, she stated simply and clearly: “You broke it and then tried ...