RoboPreacher

who are you to be afraid  “I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” -Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring It used to be that churches did mission by going it alone , starting another congregation. These days, the opposite is true. With fewer resources, congregations are having to learn how to work together . To share assets. To combine what we have, so other things are freed up (ideally for mission ). This is a BIG change. It does not come easily.  It’s deeply embedded in our DNA to want to do our own thing, to be autonomous. Plus, many of us remember the days when each congregation was filled to the gills, when there was no need for collaboration… Well, those days are past. That’s a pretty blunt statement, isn’t it? I believe it is true...

hours 'til the dawn A sermon about Jacob's 12 sons : You know, it’s more true than we like to admit, “ the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree .” The old and faithful Abraham finally had the child he was promised back in Genesis 21. And Isaac, meaning laughter, has two children, twins of his own. Esau the eldest, and Jacob the huckster. Jacob who has a con going from the start, born holding his elder brother’s heel - trying to steal the birthright. Finally, in Genesis 27 he does steal the birthright from his older brother, Esau.  And it is from there that Jacob drags the reputation of God’s family through the mud… Jacob has twelve children himself. And in the scripture passage we just heard, you have to admit; the apple has not fallen far from the tree, has it? Every single one of the characters in this story has a con going! Why they make “ Keeping Up with the Kardashians ” look like “Little House on the Prairie” by comparison!  So much for good,...

 that you made me A sermon about a promise and a God who would do such a thing : You heard the scripture. The only thing you can say after hearing something like that is, what are we going to do with a God like this ? This God who won’t be practical. This God who seems to think promises are more important than power. This God who won’t play by our rules. This God we’re, frankly, not sure what to do with… In fact, before God is finished with Abram, the poor guy will have to change his name. So different does he become. Apparently, Abram wouldn’t recognize the man on the other side of it all. After God’s has had God’s way with him, Abram won’t do anymore. God’s work has changed him completely, from then on out he will be Abraham.  This is a God we’re not so sure about.  See, the problem for folks like us is, we have more in common with Abram, than we do with Abraham… In the scripture for today Abram is going about the business of everyday l...

sunsets, new babbling man A sermon on The Fall : It may have been the first time , but it certainly wasn't the last . And you know what I mean… We start here, at “The Fall.” And where else? After all, this is as far back as we can go. Our eyes have been opened, we can’t see how things were before… This account of God carefully creating everything, zooms onto this day. We watch as the first article of the creed, happens . God, the caring Father creates heaven, earth and all that’s in-between.  The verdant creation. All the animals of the field and birds of the air. God’s search for a suitable companion for the Adam. Finally forming another human. The barely contained joy over all that God has done; “This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh,” cried Adam.  But of course we all know what happens.  And not because we’re biblical scholars. No. We know this story because it’s our story.  The fall is tragic . But not only ...