A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Context is crucial for understanding any text, especially when it comes to interpreting the Bible. This includes the historical context, the circumstances of the world in which it was written; and the immediate context, the verses preceding and following the passage. This is especially true with our Gospel, where Luke carefully links his account to the previous exchange between Jesus and His disciples: “Now about eight days after these sayings [Jesus] took with Him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray” (Luke 9:28-36).   What are the sayings? Well, Peter’s great confession of faith, Jesus’ prediction of His suffering and death and resurrection, and Jesus’ description of the demands that discipleship would place on those ready to follow Him. All “these sayings” really focus on one question: “Who is this Jesus?” The crowds suggest Jesus is John the ...

"The Transfiguration" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The mountain traditionally identified as Mount Nebo is located about 12 miles east of where the Jordan River enters the Dead Sea, and it rises more than 2.600 feet above sea level. The Dead Sea is the lowest spot in the world, 1,300 feet below sea level. What a dramatic view of this land that Moses longed to see! By inviting Moses to a bird’s eye view of the Promised Land, the Lord showed one last act of kindness to this special leader of God’s people. But maybe it was more than that. Biblical precepts let a man view land he was about to possess. Perhaps this was the Lord’s way of giving Moses a legal guarantee that Israel would really inherit the land, even though Moses would die before it happened. The Lord had an even better promised land in mind for Moses. The writer to the Hebrews includes Moses on his list of believers wh...

"Jesus Goes Up to Jerusalem" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. As they were going along the road, someone said to [Jesus], “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” To another He said, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:57-62). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! About few years ago I read about a place called “Eden by the Sea.” A Lutheran pastor and his wife started a ministry in which they invite pastors and their families to come to Hawaii ...

 "Moses Sees the Promised Land from Afar" by James I Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. “And behold, two men were talking with [Jesus], Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Moses’ long life was marked with mountaintop experiences. At the age of eighty, God spoke to him out of the burning bush on Horeb, the mountain of God, and called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:1ff). On Mount Sinai, the Lord spoke to Moses out of the thick cloud and gave him the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19-20). When Moses came down from the mountain, the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God (Exodus 34:29-35). In today’s Old Testament reading, Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. The mountain traditionally i...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “As He was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!’” (Luke 9:34-35). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! From here on out, it’s all downhill—in more ways than one. Peter, James, and John had gone up this mountain with Jesus to pray. Waking from another careless sleep, they are astonished at what they see. Jesus is transfigured, shining. Not like under a spotlight from above. No, He’s glowing from the inside out. His clothes are white as lightning. Elijah and Moses have appeared and are speaking with Him about events to come. And then, to top it all off, a cloud envelops them and the Father’s voice declares, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Now, take a moment to review what happens there; for if this does not convince the disciples of Jesus’ identity,...