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! A point of climax and decision has arrived on the Plains of Moab. Moses is nearing death after leading Israel in the wilderness for forty years. The younger generation is about to enter the Promised Land, and he is preparing them for what’s ahead. So, here it is: “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 shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jorda...

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. After six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, He charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead (Mark 9:2-9). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus...

"The Pilgrims of Emmaus on the Road" by James Tissot" Click here to listen to this sermon. "And He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:25–27). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! This story, recorded only by Luke, masterfully paints a picture of the atmosphere at the end of Passover. The empty tomb has not awakened any faith. It has only increased the weight of all the inconceivable things with which the disciples have had to wrestle. Two deeply disillusioned men are now walking home. All that they expected of the One whom they believed to be God's Messiah has come to nothing. They are shaken, upset, and without hope. Then a strang...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! On this last Sunday after the Epiphany, we celebrate with great joy the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Transfiguration of Our Lord is the annual feast celebrating Jesus’ stunning change of appearance while in the presence of Peter, James, and John. In our Gospel, Matthew writes, “[Jesus] was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light” (17:2). At that moment, Moses and Elijah appeared and they were talking with Jesus about His imminent departure, literally His exodus. Peter, misunderstanding the meaning of this manifestation, said, “Lord, it is good that we are here,” a...