A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also (2 Corinthians 8:7). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! I often marvel at the spiritual insights of children. One week during chapel services I was teaching the preschool children about David the shepherd boy as part of a series of lessons on loving our neighbor. I showed the kids two pictures: one of David as a young boy watching over his family’s sheep, and another of David as the grown-up king of the nation of Israel. And then I asked them, “Which one of David’s jobs was more important—shepherd or king?” Most of them replied predictably: “King!” But one of them stole my thunder. “It depends upon whether or not you’re one of the sheep,” Patrick said. And he was exactly right. Both jobs are important for those who are under their care and influence....

Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today is our Gospel, Luke 10:38-42, which has already been read. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! “Martha was distracted…”   Now there’s a phrase we can relate to.   Finally, here’s a person in the Bible we can really understand.   Martha is a woman after our own hearts.   Distracted… and there is much to be distracted about.   Jesus has come to her village.   She has “welcomed Him into her house.”   He is an honored guest and that means much preparation.   We don’t know how many have come with Jesus, but there could perhaps be dozens.   That takes a lot of food.   And in the days before carryout, refrigerators, or microwave ovens, that means first going to the market or garden to get fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables.   And then preparing everything from scratch, spending hours over a hot stove. Well, you get the idea.   There ar...