A Famine Not of Bread

"Christ's Entry into Jerusalem" by Benjamin Robert Haydon Click here to listen to this sermon.  "The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!’ His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him” (John 12:12-16). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Palm Sunday processions come in many shapes and sizes. In some churches, they gather in the parking lot. Palms are distributed and blessed and then the crucifer leads then up the doors of the church. Th...

St. Paul in Prison by Rembrandt Our text for today is Philippians 1:2-11, which has already been read. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I would guess that you’ve heard many sermons begun this way.   Maybe you’ve heard this phrase so often that you haven’t really taken the time to think about what it means.   It sounds like a churchy greeting, something to break the ice.   Kind of like when someone says, “How’s it going?” or “What’s up?”   But it’s not.   Neither is it a signal for you to settle in and for the usher to turn down the lights.   Nor is it just a statement about the goal of this sermon, although grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ better be the goal of this sermon and every sermon.   And it’s not just a wish or simply information, either.   So, what is it?   It’s a benediction—a blessing that brings and bestows what it says.   It’s a proclamatio...