A Famine Not of Bread

"The Call of Ezekiel" by Marc Chagall Click here to listen to this sermon. He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me. And He said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God .’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezekiel 2:1–5). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, a priest of Jerusalem, belonged to the company of Jews who had been carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon about 597 B.C. In the fifth year of his captivity, he was calle...

"The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones" by Gustave Dore Click here to listen to this sermon. “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord ’” ( Ezekiel 37:13-14). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord 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 dry bones, dead and 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, Ezekiel. And the Counselor with whom he speaks...

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...