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! Janet selected a Bible verse for this day: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). She found great comfort in this verse and wanted to share that comfort with you. Let’s look at this verse in the context of the whole psalm, which was the basis for Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Nothing in the text specifies the occasion when it was written. It could have provided comfort for God’s people at many specific crises in Israel’s history. The reformers indeed recognized its value. But its scope extends far beyond any one fulfillment in history. The peace established by Christ’s return completes the fulfillment of this psalm, allowing us to be still, no matter what is happening around us. Psalm 46 expresses the belief that God actively controls everything and that no one can escape His reach. It is God who delivers disaster and deliverance. He decides our fate. No...

Click here for an audio version of this sermon. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Lutherans have always held the singing of hymns and the proclamation of the Word in sermons in high regard.   So it seems very fitting that we are combining the two in our joint Lenten services.   The sermon tonight is based upon Psalm 46, the introit we just spoke responsively a few minutes ago, which is also the basis for our Hymn of the Day, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” ( LSB #647).   This battle hymn of the Reformation will serve as an outline for our message. What distinguishes Lutheran hymn writers is that their hymns are to be in theological agreement with the central message of all scriptures—“Salvation by the grace of God alone through faith alone in Christ alone as revealed to us in Scripture alone.”   In addition, Lutherans who write sermons and hymns are to be concerned with properly distinguishing Law and Gospel.   Ther...