After Charlie and Jenny were married, they were blessed with two children. But several months into Jenny’s third pregnancy, she suffered a miscarriage. Charlie and Jenny were devastated.
It took them a long time to recover and feel passionate towards each other again. Finally, God blessed them with another child. But there were complications during the pregnancy and their son was born with serious health and mental disabilities.
For the sake of a wager, God allowed Satan to have his way with his servant Job. Satan could do anything to him short of killing him. So, he did.
Job’s children were enjoying each other’s company. The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing. The shepherds were herding the sheep. The camels were doing whatever camels do. The servants were taking care of business.
Just over 3 months ago, it was reported that a woman from southern India had given birth to her first children: twin girls. They will almost certainly be her only children since her age was also reported: she is 74 years old. She had become pregnant through in vitro fertilization. When the twins were born, her husband said: “We are the happiest couple on Earth today. We have our own children.” That’s quite a remarkable, isn’t it?! A woman 74 years old gave birth to twins! The USA Today headline reporting this read: “A 74 year old woman reportedly gave birth to twins, may be the oldest to ever give birth.”
King Nebuchadnezzar is living the Babylonian dream. He has become the man, the myth, the legend. He has everything anyone might desire. He is a gifted and ambitious ruler. He is at the peak of his greatness with his empire extending to present-day Turkey to the east, present-day Syria to the north and even controlling Egypt to the south. He looks out from his palace terrace to see the Hanging Gardens of Babylon – considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Nebuchadnezzar is a rock star, business CEO, international celebrity, military general and popular royalty all rolled into one.
The story of Rahab is a story of judgment.
Rahab knew judgment was coming. All the citizens of Jericho knew, too. They heard what the God of the Israelites had done to the Egyptians with the plagues and drowned the Egyptian Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. They heard how the Israelites, newly escaped from Egypt, overwhelmed the nomadic Amalekites with Joshua and Aaron holding up Moses’ arms during the battle (Exodus 17:8-16). They heard how the Israelites had defeated the Midianites with one thousand soldiers from each of Israel’s ten tribes (Numbers 31:1-8). They heard about the Israelites defeating the Amorite kings Sihon and Og (Deuteronomy 2-3).
George woke up to a racket on the roof of his up-north cottage. In his Batman pajamas, he staggered into the back yard to find a woodpecker on the TV antenna. The bird was relentlessly banging his little brains out on the metal pole.
George was irritated with the woodpecker for waking him up so early in the morning. He took a good size rock and threw it. He missed the bird. … But the rock sailed over the house and struck his car, breaking the windshield.
On December 7, 1972, the astronauts of Apollo 17 turned a camera homeward and, from a distance of 18,000 miles, photographed their home planet. That image of earth— with its swirling colors of blue, green, and white— hanging in the vast darkness of space has been called "the blue marble." Although few people have seen the earth from that vantage point, even the photograph may be enough to leave a person feeling rather small and insignificant.
In the 8th century B.C., the nation of Judah enjoyed a time of prosperity and relative peace under the leadership of King Uzziah. Uzziah wasn’t a perfect king, but he was a good enough king to keep Judah’s enemies at bay for 52 years. Then Uzziah died.
The king was dead, and the prophet Isaiah had good reason to be concerned. What would happen to Judah? Were the good times at an end? Would Judah’s enemies invade? What would happen to the people of Judah now that Uzziah was gone?
Last Sunday I announced that Pastor Kraus is dying of bladder cancer. Pastor Kraus served so many of you faithfully over the years with Word and Sacrament ministry, with baptisms, confirmations, weddings, funerals and much more. When I told the congregation why we would be praying for Pastor Kraus, there was an audible gasp from the people. After the service, many asked me for his address so they could send hi cars. A few people were in tears.
Perhaps you have felt the same sorrow over a friend, sibling, child, parent or grandparent. Dying and death can make you profoundly sad. It breaks your heart to see your loved one struggling to breath or too weak to move.