RoboPreacher

can you say what you want To Be A Sermon on  Jeremiah's Call and Temple Sermon Well, you’ve made it through another Thanksgiving. How was it? These days Thanksgiving is something of a mixed bag, isn’t it? Like so many of our other big holidays, Thanksgiving is chock full of EXPECTATIONS . Everything had better be just right ; the turkey come out of the oven at time, the kids well-behaved, the family healthy and close-knit to boot.   They seem simple enough, but all these expectations are colossal ! We crush ourselves with them! Like in my family; this year, as usual, we all received the call about what we could and could not be bring up at the big meal.   On the big day, over turkey and mashed potatoes, we all followed the rules. For a few hours, long enough to get through the meal, we pulled it off too. We kept kept-up the illusion that everything was just fine. That there is no tension in our family. No dark corners in our history. I sus

we grew up in spite of it Okay, before we get started, let me give you a little context. The first thing to know is, this is a dark point in Israel’s history…   Israel itself , after years of internal conflict, had split into two factions. A kingdom divided . And as Jesus himself would put it, about 700 years later , a kingdom divided against itself can not stand. And sure enough, a divided Israel wasn’t able to stand for long… So after years of fighting amongst themselves the Assyrian kingdom came knocking.  First, Assyria sacked the northern part of the kingdom.   And now , the king of Assyria and his armies show up at  Jerusalem . Jerusalem, the capitol of Israel. Jerusalem, where the great house of God, the temple, resides. Jerusalem… * READ ISAIAH 36:1-3, 13-20; 37:1-7; and then 2:1-4 * Yes, this is a dark point in Israel’s history. It’s surprising this moment in their history is even told. Because, you see, the ancients had a way of

i hope we both die A sermon on Namaan & his healing There are no heroes here. There are no heroes in the church. If this were Hollywood, an action movie; Namaan would be the hero . He’s the natural born leader, with all the victories under his belt. He’s the one comfortable with a sword; and not too hard on the eyes, either… Namaan is the goal. He was then, and he still is today.   The hero . Strong and victorious .   Only, a pall had been cast over Namaan’s once bright future. And anyone could see the writing on the wall, too. In fact, it was written all over Namaan’s face.   You see, Namaan had leprosy . A disease with no known cure. A disease you couldn’t hide.   When the disease showed itself on Namaan’s skin; suddenly this man who had once inspired awe, became the subject of the people’s sympathy .   “Did you see Namaan today,” they would ask. “I think it’s spread even more…” Namaan was quickly becoming someone whose better days we