RoboPreacher

you're on my side again A sermon on Elijah & the widow; 1 Kings 17:1-16 : On any given Sunday you leave the bills on the counter, the to-do list undone , get the family in the car and head off to church.  On any given Sunday, with more prayer requests than you can keep straight and all the predictions of destruction the radio blared on your way in, the pastor climbs up in the pulpit and tells you something like, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Really? Don’t be afraid? Here you are, doing everything you can just to tread water, and the pastor tries to tell you something like ‘don’t be afraid.’ All you can think is, “how can he dare to say something like that to me ?” As scripture says, there’s nothing new under the sun. In 1 Kings 17, the great prophet Elijah begins his career. The Bible doesn't have a lot to say about him. Just that the word of the Lord came to him instead of anyone else, and told him to go and pick a fight with a king that was as wick...

when the sky is big enough A sermon from  II Samuel 7:1-17 : Have you ever given someone a gift, only to have them take it the wrong way? Because that’s what happens in scripture today. They say it’s the ‘thought that counts,’ but sometimes it’s the thought -or lack thereof- that makes for trouble… Sitting on his throne, sheltered from the sun and wind, King David’s thoughts turn to God.  As they do … Here he is, put up quite nicely . But the ark of God, sits out in a tent ! Exposed to all the elements! Now King David just won’t accept that. It isn’t fitting. He hatches a plans to build a house for God. To put the big guy up in style… Instead of being thankful, though; the Lord is incensed !  That very night the word of the Lord comes to Nathan, putting the divine kibosh on King David’s plans. “Are you the one to build me a house,” God challenges. God puts it bluntly, “after all we’ve been through, have I ever asked for a house?” ...

toss it in the river & be free A sermon from Mt. Sinai : Most of the time it strikes us as decidedly good news to hear that in Jesus Christ we’ve been adopted into the holy family of Israel… Well, today is no such day. We hear about the behavior of these Hebrews, and are tempted to protest, they’re not my kin! The trouble, though, is the behavior we hear about hits closer to home than we care to admit. This stiff-necked people’s conduct betrays a family resemblance, whether we admit it or not… And that isn’t all that’s unsettling, either. There’s also God’s behavior. God’s behavior that isn’t familiar whatsoever… In the scripture we watch as these two forces collide .  The behavior of a people that’s more familiar than we care to admit, crashing into the behavior of God that’s completely unusual .  To really catch the force of this impact, we have to walk back: God chooses Abraham to be the father of a chosen people. God will give tha...