A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Dear Bette, Linda, Bryan, Nancy, other family and friends of Walt: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! In some ways, I feel a bit like an intruder on this occasion. I only met Walt a little over a year ago. I didn’t know him for years—or even a lifetime—as many of you have. I didn’t know Walt the husband, the father, or grandfather. I didn’t know Walt the farmer or business owner. I never got the chance to go fishing with him. But I count myself fortunate because I came to know Walt in a way that many of us never have the chance to know others in the distractions and daily grind of life. I came to know Walt at a time in his life when his thoughts were focused on what was most important to him—his family and, most of all, his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I came to know Walt as a fellow redeemed sinner and child of God. Each time I met with Walt, we would first talk about whatever sport was in season and t...

"Annunciation" by Caravaggio Click here to listen to this sermon. “But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan” (2 Samuel 7:4). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It just wasn’t right, and David knew it (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16). The enemies were conquered, the kingdom was secure, and he lived in a beautiful palace made of cedar in Jerusalem, but the Lord’s house was still the tabernacle. The house of worship for the one true God was still a tent, just as it had been for 400 years. It didn’t look right: it looked like David thought he was far more important than the one true God, and David wanted to fix it. He called Nathan and announced his plans. He was going to build a temple, a huge temple, the most glorious temple ever! One can imagine his excitement. Oh, to be there when the building was finished, when the Lord appeared in a glorious cloud, overshadowed the temple, and then entered it! It sounded perfect, and Nathan gav...

"Madonna with the Infant" by Albrecht Durer Click here to listen to this sermon.

"The Nativity of Christ" by Vladimir Borovikowsky Click here to listen to this sermon. “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! At first hearing, it seems as though Mary must have gotten it all wrong. I mean, isn’t Christmas a time for celebration? And here, Luke tells us that “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” The contrast is striking. While every year the Christmas retail season starts earlier and earlier and the hype gets more and more intense, the first Christmas was not an intense affair at all. If anything, it seems to be quite calm and quiet in comparison to today’s festivities. Now, of course, you can’t blame people for trying to make a dollar. And we have probably all fed the beast of the commercialization of Christmas to one extent or another. But we’ve not come here to fight the “war against Christmas” or the b...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15). Dear family and friends of Dorothy. Sometimes people will say about someone who has died, “She had a good life.” There’s a problem with that. The world’s understanding of a good life is at best inadequate, compared to God’s understanding of what constitutes a good life. Now there could be several similarities. A person who has a good, God-pleasing life might be blessed with a loving and caring spouse, loving and respectful children, a job or vocation that brought meaning and fulfillment to her life, enjoyable hobbies and interests, and more than adequate material blessings. By those definitions, I think you could say that Dorothy had a good life. Married to Elmo on June 14, 1946, the couple enjoyed over 60 years together in a union which has been further blessed with four children, twelve grandchildren, and twenty great-grandchildren. A farmer’s wife, who took on...

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Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Last week, we heard how John the Baptist told people to get ready for Christ’s coming—through repentance and Baptism. We are to live a life of daily repentance. In our Epistle for today, St. Paul gives us further instructions to be ready, that we may be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it ( 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24). St. Paul tells us how to be found blameless at the coming of our Lord. In rapid fire, n...