A Famine Not of Bread

  Click here to listen to this sermon. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:17-20). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! You have likely heard these words before, the so-called Great Commission of the Church, where Jesus declares the Church’s mission until He returns. Many sermons have been preached on this text, usually about evangelism and the need to make disciples. We will speak a bit of evangelism today as well. But first, dear friends, we have some even better news from this Gospel lesson: The Holy Trinity is at work. In this text, the Lord Jesus Himself declares the identity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and you can’...

Kilbennan St. Benin's Church Window Green beer, parades, corned beef and cabbage, wearing green. It appears everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Like many holidays, St. Patrick’s Day has become known more for its secular activities, while the reason the Christian church observes this day fades in memory. On March 17 th , the Church remembers and thanks the blessed Trinity for St. Patrick, Missionary to Ireland. As we consider Patrick’s life, it is hard to separate fact from fiction. Historian Stephen Neill remarks: “Much in [Patrick’s] life history is obscure, and later legend has confused still more the scanty data which we have from Patrick’s own pen.” One of those legends would have it that Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland into the sea. Another has him using a shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity, three persons in one God, to an unbeliever. There is also a legend that Patrick and his company were miraculously spared from death in ambush when those lyin...

Click here to listen to this sermon.   “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17). 

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! You know an argument is not going well for someone when he or she has to resort to name calling. Experts call this argumentum ad hominem , a Latin phrase literally translated as “an argument to the man.” Argumentum ad hominem is a logical fallacy in which an argument is opposed by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself. The result of an ad hominem attack can be to undermine someone’s case without having to deal with the actual issue at hand. Stung by the unveiled truth from Jesus’ lips, the Jews resort to name-calling: “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” To be fair, our text drops in on the middle of the conversation, and Jesus has just told His opponents that ...