RoboPreacher

it's still a surprise A sermon on the time Jesus turned a tough night into a new day Well, I hate to say it, but while all of you were freezing your tuchuses off in the polar vortex, I was sporting short sleeves in sunny California. But I don’t bring this up to brag . I mention it because I wasn’t just in sunny California. No, I was in the land of affluence .   Southern California is a place of conspicuous consumption. Before I even made it to the hotel room, I saw a Porsche . And you know what? Sports cars like that were a regular sight out there.   Now, I was in there for work . I was there as a facilitator for the Iowa Preachers Project. And one of my jobs was to shuttle the participants from location to location. But the car we rented was a large SUV.   I have to admit, when I found myself idling behind one of those sports cars, I was sorely tempted . As a good boy from the Midwest , I felt it was my job to poke my finger in that kind of opulence. And I knew al...

transform my tragedy A sermon on Jesus' inexplicable baptism Today is the Baptism of Our Lord . It marks the completion of the season that began in Advent. If Lent is 40 days leading to Easter , Advent and Christmas are roughly the same thing leading up to today , the Baptism of Our Lord . Nevertheless, or perhaps because of this, we are unsure of what to do with this day. The strange thing, though, is the biblical witness is unequivocal . Jesus was baptized by John . This is something all four Gospels report. And I know that may seem obvious. But when you set each Gospel side by side, you realize it’s an anomaly when something turns up in all four Gospels, not just two or three of them.   However , when you compare how Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John report Jesus’ baptism, you begin to suspect they, too , are a little uneasy with Jesus ’ baptism. In today’s Gospel, for instance, you get the distinct impression Luke is trying to rush you along. Luke, who has a penchant for st...