A Famine Not of Bread

"Adoration of the Lamb" from Ghent Altarpiece by Van Eyck Click here to listen to this sermon.   Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God,    and serve Him day and night in his temple;    and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;    the sun shall not strike them,    nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,    and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:9-17). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! T...

Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus makes two big promises that Christians need to hear. The latter is more popular and, at first glance, more comforting. It is the kind of promise that people put on the signature line of their emails or make into memes on Facebook or Instagram. The former is just as certain, however, and equally significant, but in a different way. Jesus spoke these two big promises to His disciples in the Upper Room just before His death and resurrection, but they apply to all followers of Christ. We’ll start with the first promise: “In the world you will have tribulation.” Jesus begins by talking about the world. He said a lot about the world in the Upper Room that night: it cannot receive the Spirit of truth (John 14:7); it does not give peace as Jesus gives (...