A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A few years ago (more than 15), we were headed to Gillette, Wyoming for a wedding. My grandson Abbott started fussing, so I just said: “Ten more minutes and then we’ll stop.” Much to my surprise, he quieted down. And in ten minutes, I kept my promise. After a quick diaper change and a bottle of formula he was good to go for another 200 miles. Then he started fussing again. Since it worked the first time, I decided to try the same line again: “Ten more minutes.” It seemed to work so well that I used it over and over again the whole trip. Now as biased as I may be about my grandchildren’s advanced abilities, I realize Abbott didn’t actually understand what I was saying. He was only four months old at the time. But still that voice seemed to reassure him. And the running joke seemed to pass the time more quickly for us adults than a crying baby. At the same time, it was a reminde...

Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today is our Gospel lesson, Matthew 16:21-28. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The time has come for Jesus to speak frankly to His disciples about His imminent suffering and death. He surely has spoken of these things before, but the disciples have not understood. They do not grasp what Jesus tells them here either. In fact, Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him: “Far be it from You, Lord!” Peter says. “This shall never happen to You!” Peter’s intentions are good., but He speaks without considering the implications. The man who just acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, now contradicts Jesus. Jesus must go to Jerusalem. Jesus must suffer many things. Jesus must be killed. Jesus must be raised on the third day. Jesus had commended Peter’s confession of faith, which came directly from the Father. Now He rebukes him sternly, even addressing him as Satan. Peter essentiall...

Click here to listen to this sermon. "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, ...

"Pashur Smiting Jeremiah in the Temple" by Leonart Bramer Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today is our Old Testament reading, Jeremiah 20:7-13. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Pashhur is a priest who oversees Jerusalem’s temple. His job description is simple: Make sure nothing changes. Pashhur’s mantra? “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” (Jeremiah 7:4). As chief of temple security, Pashhur polices the place and dispenses with all false prophets, placing a gag order on everyone critiquing the present arrangement of power. In walks Jeremiah. He’s not afraid to call ‘em as he sees ‘em. The prophet’s preaching is a threat to Pashhur’s livelihood. It’s hardly surprising that people give Jeremiah the name Magor-misabib . It means “terror on every side.” The nickname summarizes the prophet’s frequent message. When people see Jeremiah in the marketplace or walking in their neig...

Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today comes from our Epistle lesson, 1 Peter 3:15-22, which has already been read. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Death is inevitable. Sooner or later you and I must face the prospect of the end of our lives, because unless the Lord comes back for us first, we are all going to die. At this point, you may fear dying. You may be angry at the prospect of death. These are appropriate and valid feelings. Death never was God’s will or intention for humanity. He created us to live forever, but sin brought death. At the same time, we Christians need not fear death, for it is only the doorway into the loving presence of our heavenly Father. It is not a leap into the dark, but a welcome home into the arms of the One who first created us and has loved us from our mother’s womb. I firmly believe this. I am not courting my own death, but I have no anxiety about it either. I know that my eternal life—in wh...