A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” ( 1 Peter 1:3–9). Christ is risen! He is...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Click here to view this sermon. “Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:5-6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Are you a “how” person or a “who” person? Let me explain what I mean—especially for all you “how” persons, who are wondering how this all fits with today’s text. It was remarkable, the way that Bill and Joanne each approached their surgery. Both were having the same operation: Knee replacement. But each of them approached it in a different way. Bill is a “how” person. He wanted to know all the details. He read up on the surgery and consulted with his physician. He investigated the manufacturer of the knee replacement parts, tuned into YouTube and watched videos of the procedure. He knew exactly how it was going to be done,...

Click here to listen to this sermon. But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:1-3a). Cheri, Scott, Brendon, Cyndi, and other members of Pat’s family, her friends, and Our Saviour’s congregation:         Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! When I speak at a funeral service, there are often younger people, and maybe some not so young, who are trying to find the place for religion in their lives. They’re asking themselves, “Does this mean anything to me? Is this just something my parents cared about?” But then, at some p...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It’s called “the rule of threes”—how long a human being can go without the basics of life. A man can go three weeks without food. Three days without water. And three minutes without oxygen. But I submit to you that there’s one more basic of life even more vital: Man cannot go three seconds without God. The people of Israel have about run out of God. In the first 39 chapters of his book, Isaiah has repeatedly warned them that because of their idolatry and apostasy, the Lord is sending judgment upon them, first in the form of the Assyrian army, then through Babylon. Beginning with chapter 40, we read about dramatic changes for God’s people. Because of God’s intervention in history, God’s peo...

Click here to listen to this sermon. An mp3 file is available upon request. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The text for today is Job 14:1-2: “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.   He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.”   This is the Word of the Lord. Perhaps you noticed a theme today: “Trouble.”   I don’t mean it to say that Jack was a troublemaker… although I’m sure he had his moments, as we just heard from his grandson.   But the theme just sort of developed as we met to plan for this service.   Talking about Jack’s love of games, Vernice mentioned that every morning after milking the cows, they would go into the house and play a game of “Trouble.”   As we talked about Jack attending country school, Jack’s granddaughter, Kayla laughed as she recalled a story she had heard about him getting in trouble for throwing a snowball at the teac...