A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. At that time Jesus declared, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Matthew 11:25). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! When our oldest grandson, Abbott, was quite a bit smaller—about two years old—Aimee and I would take him along on our walks through Dunham Park in Sioux Falls. On one occasion, he insisted on bringing along one of his toys. Planning on walking at least three miles and knowing he would probably get tired before we got back, we tried to persuade him not to bring along the extra load, to no avail. So, we took off, with Abbott carrying the special toy he felt was so crucial to bring. We figured he would have to learn the lesson for himself. It took a while for our suspicions that his (in our view, unnecessary) burden would soon become too heavy for him to carry to materialize. For som...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me’” (Matthew 11:2-6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! There is a line of thought among some Christians that having questions about God’s dealings with the world is somehow being unfaithful or disobedient. To justify God’s action that seems arbitrary or unjust to us, we are tempted to suppress doubts and stop short of being honest with God and ourselves. This motivation, a desire to trust God no matter what, is well-intended, but the result is often a reluctance to take...

"John the Baptist in Prison" by Josef Anton Hafner Click here to listen to this sermon. “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me’” (Matthew 11:2-6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! There is a line of thought among some Christians that having questions about God’s dealings with the world is somehow being unfaithful or disobedient. To justify God’s action (or more likely inaction) that seems arbitrary or unjust to us, we are tempted to suppress doubts and stop short of being honest with God and ourselves. This motivation, a desire to t...