A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The word folly refers to a lack of good sense, judgment, or wisdom. It describes actions, ideas, or beliefs that are considered foolish, unwise, or absurd—often because they go against common sense or accepted wisdom. Folly can also mean a costly or foolish undertaking that is unlikely to succeed. But “accepted wisdom” is not always wise. What is considered folly is not always unwise. History is full of so-called follies that only looked foolish until the day they bore fruit. For instance: When Robert Fulton put a steam engine on a boat in 1807, people laughed and called it Fulton’s Folly . Many observers mocked the project beforehand, convinced that a steam engine could never reliably or safely propel a boat upstream against the current. ...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.  And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.  I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. . .” (Ecclesiastes 1:12-14). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Have you ever stepped back from your work, your possessions, your life—and asked, “What’s the point?” If you have, you are not alone. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, asked that question in Ecclesiastes. He had it all—power, riches, knowledge, pleasure—and still declared, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” That’s life “under the sun”—life apart from God. But thanks be to God, there is another way: life under the Son —Jesus Christ, the Redeemer who brings purpose, peace, and promise even in a world t...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Our text for today begins and ends with growing. We read in Luke 2:40: “The child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon Him.” In Luke 2:52, we are told: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). That’s something to think about. It’s hard to wrap our heads around. How can this be? The eternal Son of God, the Wisdom by whom all things were made, grew in wisdom. The Almighty, All-Present Second Person of the Trinity, grew in stature and strength. The Beloved Only-Begotten Son, with Whom God is well pleased, grew in favor with God and man. Everything in Jesus’ life was preparation for His work as our Savior. Early on, Jesus’ keeping of the Law was done primarily through the actions of His parents, much like most of you were carried to the baptismal font by your parents before you could sp...

Click here to listen to this sermon. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many...

"The Judgment of Solomon" by Giorgione Click here to listen to this sermon. “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart” (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! “His whole body was filled with delight. The aroma was so good, so tempting. It merited a closer look. At the jar’s edge, the scent overwhelmed him. He settled upon it and gorged himself with sticky sweetness. But then he could not pull away. Although he beat his wings until they buzzed, the ointment clung to him and drew him down to silence. ...