A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! “ Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior. Now as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” So begins the famous passage in Ephesians about the blessed estate of marriage. Wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. This, of course, has led to all sorts of reactions—from snickers to cries of derision—as the world accuses Christians of seeking to subjugate women to a lesser role in life. It’s a strange accusation, even without exploring the Scriptures further. An unbiased look at world history would show that Christianity has done more to elevate the status of women in society than any other factor. Consider the plight of women in Hindu India who may be disfigured or killed for falling in love w...

Click here to listen to this sermon. "Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb’” ( Revelation 21:9). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! As I read our text, I was reminded of the wedding announcements we used to read in our local paper. For those of you who don’t have such memories, here is an example from the Mitchell Daily Republic about 40 years ago: “[The bride] wore a gown of white satin and mandel rose galloon lace. The gown was styled with an empire waist and the bodice and bishop sleeves were of lace. The sleeves were caught in a satin cuff. Lace edged the rounded neckline. The gown featured a full-length detachable train of satin and lace… Her veil was attached to a cap trimmed with lace, satin appliques, and scalloped lace edging. She carried red roses, cushion mums, and baby’s breath tied with red and white...

"Wedding at Cana" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. From sermon by Rev. Michael Salemink, Lutherans For Life.

"Jesus Blessing the Children" by Gustave Dore Click here to listen to this sermon. Pharisees came up and in order to test [Jesus] asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. And in the house the disciples asked Him again about this matter. And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” And they were bringing children to Him that He might...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways!” (Psalm 128:1). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Greg and Jessi, Almost six months ago, we met for a similar, though much smaller, gathering, as you were joined together in the union of holy matrimony. In the sight of God and before your parents and grandparents, you pledged yourself, your faithfulness, to one another, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death parts you, according to God’s holy will. You were pronounced to be husband and wife in the eyes of the state and of the Church. Today, you will not repeat those vows, for they have been made once and they are for a lifetime. So, we are not gathered here today so you can have the wedding of your dreams—whatever that may we be. Neither are we here for the party—though I’m sure the reception will be wonderful. And ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Greg and Jessi, In a few moments, you’ll promise yourselves to one another, according to God's holy will, “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish” until death should part you. It’s a heavy, solemn promise—I would say it’s the most serious promise that you will make in your life. That is why, as we just heard a few minutes ago, “marriage is not to be entered into inadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God.” It’s a difficult promise to keep, an impossible promise for you to keep perfectly on your own. For your marriage is, as is the whole institution of marriage, under fire from many directions. Satan seeks to undermine your marriage and marriage in general, because He knows God’s Word describes a good marriage as the closest pict...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Jim and Rebecca: When I asked you what readings you would like to have for today, you indicated that you wanted something different. Not the usual 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is…” or the Genesis account of marriage, or Matthew 19, where Jesus talks about marriage. By now, you probably noticed we still had those readings. They are too important to ignore. But I think you’ll find I’ve kept my promise to bring in something different with our text from Proverbs 30:18-19: “Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin.” How is that for different? I would guess that most everyone here this afternoon  had two immediate reactions to the passage I just read: First, what a strange text for a wedding address! Second, what a stran...