A Famine Not of Bread

"The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon .  And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:22-23). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Purified and redeemed. That is our theme for today. Two important words of Law from the Old Testament and two important words of Gospel from the New Testament. Purified and redeemed. In our Epistle, St. Paul tells us that at a specific and appropriate time in human history, God acted to fulfill His eternal saving purpose: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to re...

"The End is Near" by David Sipress (The Phoenix) Click here to listen to this sermon. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:18-23). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It seems the world is getting worse and worse. There’s a good reason for that…it’s true. Despite advancements in many areas our world is winding down. One step forward and two steps back. Science even ha...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The story of the boy who cried wolf is intended to teach an important lesson. If you don’t speak the truth, you become known as a liar. And when you have a reputation for tall tales it doesn’t take long before no one will listen to you. The boy in the fable amused himself by crying, “Wolf! Wolf!” when there was no wolf. Then when there was a wolf, no one would help him. This story has a vital lesson, but it also has an application to the Church and our teaching on the end times. The preacher sees this text and he wonders: Are the people going to listen? Or are they going to think I’m just “crying wolf”? Have they been conditioned to just dismiss it and say: “Yeah, yeah—the end is coming. We’ve heard that before! Tell us something we can ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! We are in the second week of the new year, a couple of days past Epiphany, the end of the twelve days of Christmas. Are you experiencing a little bit of a letdown? The Christmas decorations have been packed away and there’s a bit of a holiday hangover? Or maybe the credit card bills have started coming in and the reality of just how much you got in the commercial spirit of Christmas has come home to roost? Perhaps your struggle to keep this year’s New Year’s resolution reminds you of your miserable failure last year? Maybe your family gatherings were not so much like those painted by Norman Rockwell, but more like an episode of Jerry Springer? And then there’s the weather that’s generally so cold...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Dear members of Lucille’s family, her friends, and members of St. John’s: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! At a funeral service, I find that there are often younger people, and maybe some not so young, who are trying to find the place for religion in their lives. They’re asking themselves, “Does this mean anything to me? Is this just something my parents cared about?” But then, at some point, everybody faces something he or she can’t handle, something that shakes us up. Maybe it’s the biggest stress we’ve yet faced in this life. Maybe it’s the death of a loved one. Maybe it’s an unexpected diagnosis of a dangerous disease. Or maybe it’s the eventual realization that we have to face the end of this life. And suddenly we wish there could be some place to turn—or Someone to turn to—outside ourselves. Then maybe those who’ve gone before can teach us something after all. Turning to their example we see that ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today is our Gospel lesson, Luke 2:22-40. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord Why are you here? What do you seek? Why did you come here, to this place of worship, on this day? What do you expect or hope to find here? Those are important questions because someone (even with “good intentions”) could come naively here for the wrong reason.   Or because a seeker, whose particular desires are contrary to God’s will and Word, might come to this place hoping or expecting to find what he or she wants. Examples of such false expectations, wrongful motives, or selfish desires? To come here as a matter of course, merely out of habit. To try to impress other people with your personal piety. To get your parents or spouse off your back. To build up heavenly reward points for the number of trips you’ve made to be here. To seek to appease God’...