A Famine Not of Bread

"Annunciation" by Caravaggio Click here to listen to this sermon. “But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan” (2 Samuel 7:4). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It just wasn’t right, and David knew it (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16). The enemies were conquered, the kingdom was secure, and he lived in a beautiful palace made of cedar in Jerusalem, but the Lord’s house was still the tabernacle. The house of worship for the one true God was still a tent, just as it had been for 400 years. It didn’t look right: it looked like David thought he was far more important than the one true God, and David wanted to fix it. He called Nathan and announced his plans. He was going to build a temple, a huge temple, the most glorious temple ever! One can imagine his excitement. Oh, to be there when the building was finished, when the Lord appeared in a glorious cloud, overshadowed the temple, and then entered it! It sounded perfect, and Nathan gav...

"Madonna with the Infant" by Albrecht Durer Click here to listen to this sermon.

Click here to listen to this sermon. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” ( Matthew 17:4). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Lord, it is good to be here. It is good to here at St. John’s/Trinity/Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. It’s good to be here to worship with you. It’s good to be here to hear God’s Word with you… to sing God’s praises with you… to come to the Lord’s Table with you… to share a Sabbath rest with you. Rest is good. Rest is important. Rest is necessary for our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. But rest is hard to come by, isn’t it? There is so much these days to keep us busy. If I projected a community calendar up on the wall here we’d all see how busy we all are. There are meetings, community events and family activities. Add to all this busyness our children’s schedules: play dates, basketball gam...

“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger’” (Luke 2:10-12). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The heavens are not silent in shame when the eternal, almighty God is born a helpless baby. They sing! “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” Perhaps they’ve chosen the shepherds as their audience because they are the only ones who might appreciate a Savior whose birthing room is filled with the pungent aroma of hay and manure. But there in the manger lies the swaddled Creator, all wrapped up in the things of creation—infant holy yet infant lowly, a diapered divinity. You might suppose all this to be beneath God, but you’d be wrong. The Inc...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! You know an argument is not going well for someone when he or she has to resort to name calling. Experts call this argumentum ad hominem , a Latin phrase literally translated as “an argument to the man.” Argumentum ad hominem is a logical fallacy in which an argument is opposed by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself. The result of an ad hominem attack can be to undermine someone’s case without having to deal with the actual issue at hand. Stung by the unveiled truth from Jesus’ lips, the Jews resort to name-calling: “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” To be fair, our text drops in on the middle of the conversation, and Jesus has just told His opponents that ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, He said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but a body have You prepared for Me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God, as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book’” (Hebrews 10:5-7). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! “Frost glistens in the light as it melts from the back of wooly lambs, gleaming and shimmering and dripping as the animals doze. The lambs rise to stretch. They shiver, steam wafting from their warm legs and bellies. They look up expectantly toward a man standing near their gate. He leans on the edge of the pen and looks the herd over carefully, wondering which lambs to feed and which to choose for the morning sacrifice. It is a great and festive day—most holy. And yet, tomorrow he will have to choose again, and so the next day, and the next” (...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Or here. “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! She’s a little girl—perhaps fourteen, maybe fifteen, years old. Still young by our standards, though old enough to get married in her time. She’s betrothed to Joseph. The vows are made, and soon they will be fully man and wife. Mary is wise and devout, a maiden who’s kept herself pure in her wait for marriage. But other than that, she has very few qualification for her upcoming assignment. Well, that and her family connections: She’s a descendant of King David, although many generations have passed since one of her ancestors actually sat on the throne. Now, she and her family live in a little hick town, far from where anything ever happens. Nazareth isn’t exactly Jerusalem, you know. In Jerusalem, you have the king’s palace and frequent visits from Roman commanders. You have the temple—the House of ...