A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:1-3). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Thanksgiving is a time for reflection and remembrance. A time for reflecting upon the bounteous blessings God has so freely bestowed upon us out of His lavish love and abundant mercy. A time for remembering the...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! A point of climax and decision has arrived on the Plains of Moab. Moses is nearing death after leading Israel in the wilderness for forty years. The younger generation is about to enter the Promised Land, and he is preparing them for what’s ahead. So, here it is: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in His ways, and by keeping His commandments and His statutes and His rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jorda...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! They had been attending worship faithfully for two months. Actively participating in two weekly Bible studies, they seemed to drink in everything, asking the most insightful questions. They were the kind of prospective members that a pastor dreams about. “We think we’d like to join your church,” they said. “But before we do, we want to know just what you believe and teach. Do you have a book or something more in-depth that we could read?” I sent them home with one of my favorites, “Spirituality of the Cross,” by Gene Edward Veith. Two days later they returned. “Pastor, we’ve read the book you sent with us, and we just can’t agree with some of it. We can’t, in good conscience, join, because we would like to become involved in teaching. We know that we would always have some level of conflict with what you’re teaching.” Though I disagree with their conclusion, I could apprecia...

"The Scapegoat" by William Holman Hunt Click here to listen to this sermon. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him,...

"Temptation of Christ" by Vasily Surinov Click here to listen to this sermon. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, He was hungry. The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to Him, “To You I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If You, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’” And he took Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourse...