A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The word folly refers to a lack of good sense, judgment, or wisdom. It describes actions, ideas, or beliefs that are considered foolish, unwise, or absurd—often because they go against common sense or accepted wisdom. Folly can also mean a costly or foolish undertaking that is unlikely to succeed. But “accepted wisdom” is not always wise. What is considered folly is not always unwise. History is full of so-called follies that only looked foolish until the day they bore fruit. For instance: When Robert Fulton put a steam engine on a boat in 1807, people laughed and called it Fulton’s Folly . Many observers mocked the project beforehand, convinced that a steam engine could never reliably or safely propel a boat upstream against the current. ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. When many of His disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying, who can listen to it?” But Jesus knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?” (John 6:60-62). Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! The Bible has two basic, primary doctrines—the teaching of the Law and the teaching of the Gospel. The Law is Lord God Almighty’s holy will. The Law demands what we do and not do, what we say and not say, and what we think and not think. The Law is directed to the activities of man. The Law always accuses our old sinful self. Even one violation of one commandment condemns to everlasting separation from God and Paradise, “for whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10). Each of us has broken God’s Law. You know it. I ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me” ( Luke 7:22-23). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! We live in a day where it seems that everyone is easily offended. Just look at the news or social media. Some people are offended if you say, “Merry Christmas!”, others are offended by “Happy Holidays!” Some are offended by nativity scenes in public places, others are offended by red Starbucks cups that fail to mention Christmas. Some are offended by just about anything said by President Obama or Hillary Clinton, others are just as scandalized by Ben Carson or Ted Cruz. Only Donald Trump seems to be able to offend just about everybody and get more attention and gain popularity. What does it take for someone or...

Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’” (Mark 9:42-48). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The last few weeks we’ve been reminded over and over how slow Jesus’ disciples are in getting the Good News of Jesus Christ. Jesus foretells His death and resurrection, and Peter ge...