A Famine Not of Bread

"The Sermon on the Mount" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. The Beatitudes are some of the best-known passages of the Bible. We read them at least once each year for All Saints’ Day and every third year during Epiphany. There’s a good chance you’ve heard more sermons on the Beatitudes than any other text other than the Christmas narrative. So, I’m not going to go into detail about the individual beatitudes this year but will focus on the final beatitude. Jesus said: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! On the Feast of All Saints, the Church remembers those saints who have gone before us. The term “saints” does not mean that they were necessarily more pious and righteous...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! As one hears the Old Testament reading, you can clearly see a God who takes sin seriously. So seriously that it is a matter of life or death, good or evil, blessing or curse. Through His servant, Moses, the Lord God issues a warning and a promise to the people with whom He had chosen and established a covenant relationship based upon His grace: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shal...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13-14). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Today we observe All Saints’ Day. This day is a little bit different from other saints’ days we might celebrate in the Church. On other days we identify and commemorate one particular saint, such as St. Matthew or St. John. Just who are we commemorating on All Saints’ Day? Well, all the saints; but who are they? Traditionally, someone is called a saint who has lived an exemplary life of faith. Most of the people we call saints have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, which teaches that saints have lived so well that they have merited a superab...

"Beatitudes Sermon" by James I. Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Today, we observe the Festival of All Saints. We remember those who have gone before us, suffering persecution and even dying for the faith. We remember those saints who have, by the grace of God, served the Church and world with lasting contributions. We remember those loved ones who have now entered eternal rest. And we consider our own qualifications for sainthood! What does it take to be a saint? In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus recites the “Beatitudes,” qualities of those who are blessed to be saints. This is an important passage of Scripture, and one that carries with it great joy and blessing. However, it is also one that is often twisted and misunderstood to lead us to despair. Therefore, we examine these Beatitudes first according to the Law; then we will examine them in light of our Savior, the crucified and ri...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The brilliant comedian W. C. Fields had a reputation as a womanizer with a fondness for alcohol. He was not known as a religious man, but as his death approached, he began to study the Bible. When a friend asked him what he was doing, Fields replied: “I’m looking for loopholes.” Looking for loopholes. When it comes to God’s Word we all do it, though most of us gathered here today are not nearly as forthright in admitting our self-justification as Fields is reputed to have been in this case. But Jesus won’t have any of it. In our Gospel for today He continues to teach us about the Law. God’s Law remains God’s Law. God hasn’t relaxed it, softened it up, or dumbed it down so that you might be able to keep it. God’s Law is not something you can keep. It’s there to show you what you should be doing, what you fail to do, and how much you need Christ and His forgiveness. We ...