Sermon: The Book of Esther—Messy People, Faithful God

This is the audio (14:59, 20.5 MB) of a sermon preached at LCC's International Christian Fellowship entitled, “The Book of Esther,” at our Sunday evening communion service on February 9. We read the entire book of Esther in a traditional way, with lots of cheering, booing, groggers, and stomping. Continue reading →

This is the audio (14:59, 20.5 MB) of a sermon preached at LCC’s International Christian Fellowship entitled, “The Book of Esther,” at our Sunday evening communion service on February 9. We read the entire book of Esther in a traditional way, with lots of cheering, booing, groggers, and stomping.

Here is an excerpt of the sermon:

God is faithful to his people, even when we are…not-so-faithful! (Or even faithless!) In Isaiah 31:4, we have this marvelous image of YHWH guarding his people like a lion growls over his prey—not necessarily a positive image for us as the prey! YHWH himself can punish his people by sending them into exile in the East—but don’t anyone else dare mess with them! They are his people to deal with. And in fact, as we see in ancient Israel, and in the New Testament, and in our own lives—God uses times of danger and suffering to draw us to himself, to force us to call on him. Sometimes danger and suffering is brought on us by our own sins; sometimes, it comes from outside us. But whatever the source, God can use it.

Audio and text: ©2020 by Benjamin D. Giffone. Reproduction and distribution are permitted, providing that the author is properly credited and that no fee is charged.