A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, ‘When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?’ The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: ‘Surely I will never forget any of their deeds’” (Amos 8:4-7). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It is a time of prosperity in Israel, but God’s people completely misunderstand His blessings. The people are greedy, and rather than seeing this prosperity as an opportunity to serve the neighbor, the people see their wealth as proof of God’s approval. Like today’s “prosperity Gospel” preachers, they reckon that riches are a mark of God’s favor, and poverty is proof of God’s...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! You’ve surely heard of how early Christians were tortured and threatened. Those threats posed a temptation for them to give up on Christ. You may know stories of personal rejection and humiliation that others less famous faced because of their faith, which created painful pressure for them too. Today there are folks like Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop; Baronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers; and Kimberly Davis, th...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “And as [Jesus] was setting out on His journey, a man knelt before Him and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’… Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:17, 21-22). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” the man says as he kneels before Jesus. He is a neaniskos , St. Matthew tells us, a young man between the ages of 24 and 40. A ruler, adds St. Luke. Here is a man who has everything. Evidently from a wealthy, religious family, he has already achieved some prominence and has a bright future. He is committed to an honest, upright lifestyle, and ready to do even more to assure himself of God’s favor. To...