RoboPreacher

any other, any other way Sermon on the Creation Story in Genesis 1 This is so nerdy, but it’s a true story… During my senior year of college I did an independent study on justification and the way other theologians deal with this surprising thing God has done in Jesus Christ. I was trying to get my mind around Reinhold Niebuhr. But to keep justification front and center, I was also reading Gerhard Forde’s book, “Justification by Faith; a Matter of Death and Life.”   The semester was getting on, and I was in the library late, reading Forde’s section dealing with the battle of the wills between human freedom and God’s election.   And he made the point; if we’re so darn free, how come no matter what our knee jerk reaction is that we’re the free ones.   And he went on, adding; for our so called freedom, we always windup doing what we can to maintain our own control rather than the real freedom God has given us in Jesus Christ.   And reading t...

standing in the breach We’re about to begin another trip through the Bible. This is our second year with the Narrative Lectionary; and I’ve really enjoyed it.   I love that we start at the beginning and work our way through. That the passages are longer. That there is only one passage to focus on. That we get to spend time with some great parts of the Bible that are often overlooked or given short shrift. But one of my favorite things is, the way working from beginning to end helps us draw connections. How you can see the way the stories in the Old Testament continue and build on one another.   How you can see what it means to say Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises. Because Jesus didn’t just come out of nowhere. Jesus came from the story that began in Genesis and ends in Revelation. And Jesus is the one who completes these stories. Sadly, I think that’s hard for us to connect with these days.   Because we live with a lot of broken promises, ...

still i will love your shadow Third sermon in our Revelation sermon-series, from Revelation 5 : Today’s scripture from Revelation begins during one of those times.  And you know them. We’ve all had them… Those times after the joy of worship. When you go home, and suddenly the comfort you felt in the sanctuary is gone . Or those times after Bible study. How all the answers that came together during the discussion, start to unravel afterward. And that, that’s what happened to John of Patmos here in the fifth chapter of Revelation.  The joyful worship at the throne of God has simmered. The service is over. As John is catching his breath, taking it all in, he notices something. A scroll . The scroll that God holds. A scroll containing God’s will. As the praise at the foot of God’s throne winds down, John sees that scroll. The scroll that will make sense of why . Why John, after working so hard among the seven churches had his call revoked with ...

& how am i supposed to do that A sermon from Luke as the momentum to Jerusalem builds : Jericho is the last stop before Jerusalem . And Jerusalem is ground zero . Everyone knows it, too. In fact, as Jesus heads to the capital, a crowd gathers. Everyone wants to be there for the big confrontation.  Everyone can feel their heart welling up in their chests as the crowd swells. This is the moment they’ve all  been waiting for. Finally, someone has arisen to come and take back their nation. Someone who will lead them to triumph . Jericho, and then Jerusalem itself. And then all that will be left are the spoils of victory. Before they can even march into Jericho though, a blind beggar is making a scene! Not cheering the crowd on, but crying out for mercy .  And if there ever was a time for mercy, it’s not now. Now is the time for vengeance.  Some in the crowd let the beggar know as much, too. “Quiet,” they hiss. “Don’t you know? Jesus is on h...

for auld lang syne "Another New Year, and the one who makes all things new " Happy New Year’s! And for us, it is a happy occasion. It exemplifies all we hold most dear; Cherishing our past and hopefully looking ahead to what’s next . New Year’s; the celebration of last year and the promise of all the next one. It’s a holiday that embodies are highest aspirations… And sure, there may be room for improvement , but that’s what New Year’s resolutions are for. A new year, a new you. Time to turn over a new leaf… Although by now I’ve turned over enough new leaves to fill a forrest … And if we had to admit it, that’d be the rub of New Year’s. Wouldn’t it? Our past is just a little more sordid than the glitter that falls as the ball drops. Our future is not as full of the promise as innocent “baby new year.” …In 1985, after years of declining sales, Coke-Cola decided to catch up and catch on. Pepsi, loaded with sugar and artificial sweeteners, ...

but they threw me out of sunday school when i was nine The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew the 22nd Chapter ! “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” At hearing this, Jesus’ interrogators left him, amazed … The truth is, we’re tempted to join these pharisees and herodians. We hear these words of Jesus and know something amazing has been said. The problem, though, is we’re not exactly sure what he meant, or how we can give the emperor what belongs to the emperor and give God the things that belong to God. We, too, are tempted to walk away from these words, albeit amazed… This pithy saying of Jesus sums up the whole tension of living a life of faith. We go about our days while the many and various demands are placed upon us; and we do what we can .  Honestly, though, we can’t do it all. We try to evaluate. We try to spend our resources on our priorities. In fact, if we’re being honest, m...