A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. [Jesus said:] “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So, there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:14-16). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! The image of Jesus as a shepherd captures the imagination of us Christians like no other. Even city-dwellers who have never met a living, breathing shepherd (much less a sheep) find themselves drawn to it. We hang pictures of Jesus with sheep in our Sunday School classrooms. We sing, “The King of love, my shepherd is,” and “I am Jesus’ little lamb,” with childlike faith. We memorize Psalm 23 and expect it to be read at our funeral. And every year, during the season of Easter, we spend an entire Sunday focusing on the idea that Jesus is the Good Shepherd...

  "Supper at Emmaus" by Caravaggio Click here to listen to this sermon. As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them. Then He said to them, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ...

"The Return of the Prodigal Son" by James Tissot Click here to listen to this sermon. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:1-7). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! As we met to plan for this service, you shared a few stories about Jim. B...

"The Disbelief of St. Thomas" by James Tissot  Click here to listen to this sermon. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His sid...

"Christ's Entry into Jerusalem" by Benjamin Robert Haydon Click here to listen to this sermon.  "The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!’ His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him” (John 12:12-16). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Palm Sunday processions come in many shapes and sizes. In some churches, they gather in the parking lot. Palms are distributed and blessed and then the crucifer leads then up the doors of the church. Th...

Click here to listen to this sermon. Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared” (Mark 10:38-40). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! On the road up to Jerusalem, Jesus walks ahead of His disciples, a shepherd leading His sheep in the valley of the shadow of death. The disciples are fearful, surprised that He is walking so openly in the stronghold of His enemies. For the third time, Jesus predicts His death and resurrection. This time, He offers more details: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief pr...