A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel” (Luke 2:28–32). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Linda, Rick, and Jim, the words of our text were regularly spoken or sung over the years by your mother as she attended Divine Service at St. James, Memorial, Our Saviour’s and elsewhere. They are the Nunc Dimittis , part of the liturgy of Holy Communion. A few days before the Lord called her home, your mother recited these words, along “with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven,” having received Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of her sins and the strengthening and preserving of her body and soul. That individual communion of the Lord’s Supper in her room at Good Samaritan was the last of ...

"Presentation at the Temple" by Giovanni Bellini Click here to listen to this sermon. “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel’” (Luke 2:25-32). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A man of mystery waits in Jerusalem. We don’t know that much about him. We don’t ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Now that he now longer is here on this earth, we have only our memories of him. We close our eyes and can almost picture him, can’t we? No flashy, fancy clothes, no big, expensive car, no excesses of luxury, no political aspirations. He was an ordinary man, devout in his faith, humble in his attitude. You didn’t read about him in the newspapers all the time, but his name was written in the Book of Life. He knew of his salvation—that it was not something he could bring about. Like each of us, he had broken God’s commandments. He had failed to do the good he should do and had often done what he shouldn’t. But, by God’s grace, he had heard the good news of the Savior and believed it. He did not look to himself for his own righteousness or eternal salvation. Rather, the Lord was his hope; the Lord God was, and is, his future, his eternity. We know for certain that he was a r...

"Simeon in the Temple" by Rembrandt Click here to listen to this sermon. “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2:29–30). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! For many, it’s over for another year—the celebration of Christmas. After the parties, the food, the gifts, and the services, the days after Christmas are characterized by leftovers, crumpled wrapping paper, and a distinct lack of energy. The holidays are winding down; now comes the rest of a long, cold winter. Where do you go from here? What do you have planned? Plans aside, what will happen to you as 2019 begins and continues? There may be lots of good in store: Grandchildren, a promotion, true love, stability, graduation. There may be unwanted troubles: strife at work or unemployment, family disagreements, a call from the doctor because he wants to run some more tests, a death in the fam...