Sermon Theme for Sunday, August 16

The Lord Preserves

Wherever faith clings to the promises of God, doubt is always lingering in the back of our mind, constantly asking the serpent’s garden question: “Did God really say?” How striking to think that we must have faith in God before we can doubt him.

Sunday’s readings feature believers who had faith in God and his abilities to save them, but doubted when his plans failed to match theirs. In each case, it is adversity that fights against faith and allows doubt to rear its ugly head. And in each case, the true answer to doubt is not found in the great miracle that removes adversity, but in the still, small voice of our Savior-God whispering in his Word. Today we hear our Savior God ask us, “Why did you doubt?” And we see that the Christian answers doubt with faith, so the church prays for God’s preservation and sings our comfort in the face of danger: be still, and to know that I am God.