A Famine Not of Bread

"The Appearance of Christ at the Cenacle" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.’ “Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (John 20:27–29, ESV). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! So… how hard should we be on Thomas? Apparently, pretty hard judging from nearly two thousand years of church history. Hardly anyone remembers his original nickname— Didymus , the Twin. He’s been called “doubting Thomas” for a long time now. But is that fair? Was he really asking for more than what the other disciples received? Does it really matter? Let’s take another look. Thomas was with the other ten disciples that Sunday when they first heard the angel’s news from the women that Jesus is risen from the dead. Luke tells us that non...

Sermon preached at Risen Savior Lutheran Church for the dedication of their new church and preschool building.   Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! This is a day that has been long in coming. A day for which many of you here have dreamed and prayed for over ten years—the dedication of your own church. It was my privilege to be with you for some of important milestones along the way, and I want to thank you for inviting Aimee and me to be here with you today. From a human standpoint, it started out as a thought, a prayer, and a hope. Perhaps a church could be planted in Tea—a place and a people at which, in which, to which, and from which, the Gospel would be preached and taught. A small group of people started meeting for Bible study. After a while, that group, supported by the South Dakota District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod decided to start holding Sunday worship services. Trinity...

Click here to listen to this sermon. The text for today is our Gospel lesson, John 20:19-31, which has already been read. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I have some discouraging news for you on the religious front.   A study released by Rasmussen Reports on Good Friday found that 64% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.   That is down significantly from only a year ago when Rasmussen released a poll finding that 77% of Americans believed the resurrection to be a historical fact.   A staggering 13 point drop!   Now, polls can be misleading, but you have to admit those numbers are discouraging.   But not near as discouraging as it would have been on that first Easter.   You see, the 64% of Americans who reportedly believe in the resurrection in 2013 is 64 percentage points higher than the total number who believed in Jesus’ resurrection on Good Friday in 33 A.D.   No one believe...