RoboPreacher

i'm handing you mine A sermon on Daniel in the Lion's Den; Daniel 6:6-27 : The typical way to hear today’s passage is as some finger-wagging exhortation to say your prayers. No matter what.   And make no mistake, this passage is about prayer. But it’s about true prayer. And how such prayer actually comes about. Which no amount of tut-tutting can make happen. Just ask Daniel … According to the well -meant but completely off base interpretation of this passage, Daniel is the model of commitment . He prays three times a day. And he’s so punctilious , he even makes sure to pray in the right direction !   But Daniel’s not the safe harbor for obligation you may think him to be.   Don’t forget, Daniel prays in direct violation of the king’s decree ! And he does so fully aware of his infraction !   If Daniel’s prayers were motivated by nothing more than rule-following, he’d at least have the discretion to close his windows. Instead , he just knelt down and offered...

look fine from here A sermon on passages from Jeremiah 36 & 31:31-34 : Falling as it does at the end of November , Christ the King is an interesting little festival to preach every four years. Having just wrapped up an election , the church has us celebrate a king !   To be a Christian, insists the church, is to follow someone else; Christ , our king. It’s a good sermon. One we all do well to hear. But I’ve come to realize a sermon like that would only leave you and me in the same old settlement. And today’s scripture is all about the new covenant! Which sounds pretty good right about now . Doesn’t it? New ? I don’t know about you, but all those not so helpful habits I’ve racked up since March are beginning to take their toll. And Lord knows after the gamut of a holiday season unlike any other we’re all about to face, new will be more welcome than ever come January. But, truly new is really hard. And the past never seems quite past . Does it? …A little while ago we heard a...

don't go dry A sermon on Isaiah's commissioning; Isaiah 6:1-8 : However you’re hearing this sermon, it isn’t in the way you’re used to, is it? And , however you’re hearing this sermon, you’re also hearing it amidst uncertainty and unrest . Aren’t you? Now, if you’re anything like me , it’s all a little unnerving .   … But , what if everything that has you unsettled is actually the best thing for your faith???   After all, it made a prophet out of Isaiah! … When we hear the word “ prophet ,” we tend to imagine the likes of John the Baptist, living out there, unkept in the wilderness .   Isaiah , though, was probably much more ordinary . He likely came from a good churchgoing family, with kin on the synagogue- charter , and a mother who served as Shabbat-school superintendent a time or two.   Isaiah was the type to have good attendance in confirmation. And to hang around afterward , too. Even becoming a regular in the church.   That’s why, in due time, h...

how come i end up where i went wrong A sermon from the conclusion to the book of Jonah : Well, we’re in the throes of a season dedicated to one of our favorite activities; counting .   And this isn’t limited to elections, either. The Super Bowl is basically a national holiday, and so is Black Friday. There are also TV ratings and streaming numbers . And we’ve practically made a national pastime out of counting likes, retweets, mentions, and the like. Haven’t we? But it’s not the counting we’re really interested in. Is it? It’s the meaning we divine from these numbers. The judgments we impose upon them. Like the debate whether Jordan or LeBron is the GOAT.   And when it comes to sports, I suppose our little parlor game is harmless enough. Although the havoc it has wrecked on Baseball and the pure joylessness of Mr. Holzhauer’s 2019 Jeopardy run, it’s enough to make you think otherwise …   Counting has its place. But when it matters , it’s the last thing you want to do...