Life in the Wilderness
Living in a [spiritually] barren land
We are living in a wilderness. It doesn’t matter if your home is in the suburbs surrounded by convenience or a remote cabin in the woods – it’s all a spiritual wasteland as we read in today’s lesson from Isaiah.
Living in this wilderness leaves us craving more. Our inclination is to find fulfillment in ourselves — through careers, accumulation of wealth, or misguided self-improvement — never realizing that it is a spiritual gap. We will never satisfy a spiritual gap with material things.
What is missing in this spiritual wilderness? Fellowship with the Living God. Instead, our natural state is to be in rebellion against Him. Therefore, we prefer to rely on ourselves, and turn to the world around us to fill that need; because we are corrupted by sin.
But there is an oasis – Jesus! He is rich with water, food and shelter for our souls. He is our Bread of Life, our Living Water, our perfect, eternal, spiritual nourishment.
Thanks be to God for his gift of redemption and eternal life!
Today’s sermon is based on these passages from Isaiah 43:
16 Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings forth chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 “Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
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Announcements
Palm Sunday is next week! Please join us for a Divine Service at 11 am. We will have Vespers Monday – Friday of Holy Week but at 7pm. While our Midweek Lenten is still meeting at 6:15; traffic congestion is making it difficult to arrive on time.
Lent: Please join us during this season for Vespers at 6:15 pm on Wednesday nights. If you would like to worship via Zoom, please email Andrew Berg and he will send you a link.
Bible Study: Our midweek Bible study is on hiatus during Lent and will resume after Easter. Our Sunday morning class meets at 9:45 and is currently discussing the papacy.
Donations: Even during the pandemic and with a decline in attendance, the expenses still go on. If you wish to make a donation please mail them to the St. James post office box as that is a secure location. You may also donate online.
Prayer requests. Bring your prayer requests to Pastor Jenson, Deacon Poe, or Loyd Harris (bulletin typist). They will be printed in the bulletin and prayed in the Sunday service. The deadline is Tuesday. Remember to obtain permission if you are bringing a prayer request on behalf of another person.