A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”   (John 14:1-6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! You don’t have to live very long in South Dakota to learn how quickly the weather can turn. A day can start calm and bright, and then—almost without warning—clouds roll in, the wind picks up, and the sky goes that strange color that makes you pause and think, “This could be trouble.” And when that happens...

Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:1–6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The tension was thick that night. The mood was somber because death was near. Repeatedly and increasingly, over the weeks and months, the Lord had told them that He was going to Jerusalem to be crucified. Now the betrayal was underway and His alarming prophecy would come to pass in less than 24 hours. So, wha...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in Himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because He has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:9–15). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! In this world t...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Click here to view this sermon. “Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:5-6). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Are you a “how” person or a “who” person? Let me explain what I mean—especially for all you “how” persons, who are wondering how this all fits with today’s text. It was remarkable, the way that Bill and Joanne each approached their surgery. Both were having the same operation: Knee replacement. But each of them approached it in a different way. Bill is a “how” person. He wanted to know all the details. He read up on the surgery and consulted with his physician. He investigated the manufacturer of the knee replacement parts, tuned into YouTube and watched videos of the procedure. He knew exactly how it was going to be done,...

Click here to listen to this sermon. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! At the dawn of the Reformation, the church in Germany was led by Joachim, an elector from Brandenburg, and his brother, Albert, who was bishop of Halberstadt and archbishop of both Magdeburg and Mainz. To get these jobs, these men contributed millions of dollars to the church in Rome. But because neither brother had this much money, they borrowed it from a family of bankers. Loans must be paid back, of course, and Pope Leo allowed Albert to raise money to pay this loan by selling indulgences. Half of the money they received from selling indulgences went to pay their debt to the bankers, and the rest went to Rome to help pay for the building of the Basilica of St. Peter. With Pope Leo’s approval,...

Click here to listen to this sermon. In the sermon text, Jesus was Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Dear Patricia and Richard, members of Sarah’s family, friends, neighbors, and members of Our Saviour’s congregation, At times like this, we are reminded of two days that are particularly and especially before us. One of those two days is the day of the funeral—today. As you well know, there have certainly been a great number of things to do and decisions to make since a week ago Friday when the Lord took Sarah to Himself in heaven. There have been numerous preparations in order that the grave site committal could take place and for this funeral service. Fortunately, Sarah had been preparing for this day and service. She wrote most of her own obituary (although since she was much too modest, Patricia had to add a few things like the variety of sports she played: tennis, bowling, and an industrial baseball league just a step below the one li...