A Famine Not of Bread

"The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones" by Gustave Dore Click here to listen to this sermon. “And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O My people. And I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:13-14). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Admittedly, I chose the title “A Holy Spirit Revival” to be provocative. It is not a term we Lutherans would generally use because of the negative associations with the charismatic movement, altar calls, decision theology, and speaking in tongues. Many Pentecostal, Baptist, and American Evangelical churches describe a Holy Spirit revival as  a powerful movement of God’s Spirit that brings spiritual awakening and renewal to individuals, communities, and the church . And while that definition can be tr...

The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones Gustave Dore The text for this Day of Pentecost is our Old Testament lesson, Ezekiel 37:1-14, which has already been read. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It sounds almost like a scene out of one of my favorite movies, The Sixth Sense.  The young man talks to his counselor, a ghost. “I see dead people.” “In your dreams?” “No.” “While you’re awake.” “Yes.” “Dead people like, in graves?  In coffins? “No, they’re in a valley, a valley of bones.  Dry bones.  Long dead and completely lifeless bones.” But this is not a Hollywood movie; it is a biblical account.  The young man who sees dead people is the thirty-year-old prophet, Elijah.  And the Counselor with whom he speaks is the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Lord, who has brought Elijah to this valley.  And the “dead people,” “the dry bones,” that Elijah sees are the Israelit...