RoboPreacher

then why do i keep counting A sermon on that time God's prophet was swallowed by a whale : This is one of those big passages. Isn’t it? And the thing about passages like this is that they sort of appear to be larger than life. Yes, we like them. The snag , though, is they don’t really seem to have much to say to us .   I get it, too. I do. God hasn’t told you or me to go to some foreign country and deliver a dispatch of doom . Most of us, unless we were in the Navy , know absolutely nothing about being caught in a storm at sea. And, for that matter, I can rest assured none of us have ever been swallowed by a whale ! Can’t I?On the whole, this passage is a lot of fun. However , it has little to do with our daily lives. Or does it? Truthfully, this passage is relatable. Why, I’d go so far as to say that it’s more than just relatable. No, this passage is about you . It’s about me. It’s about today . And if you don’t believe me, I’d simply remind you that the nave of our sanctua...

how come i end up where i went wrong A sermon from the conclusion to the book of Jonah : Well, we’re in the throes of a season dedicated to one of our favorite activities; counting .   And this isn’t limited to elections, either. The Super Bowl is basically a national holiday, and so is Black Friday. There are also TV ratings and streaming numbers . And we’ve practically made a national pastime out of counting likes, retweets, mentions, and the like. Haven’t we? But it’s not the counting we’re really interested in. Is it? It’s the meaning we divine from these numbers. The judgments we impose upon them. Like the debate whether Jordan or LeBron is the GOAT.   And when it comes to sports, I suppose our little parlor game is harmless enough. Although the havoc it has wrecked on Baseball and the pure joylessness of Mr. Holzhauer’s 2019 Jeopardy run, it’s enough to make you think otherwise …   Counting has its place. But when it matters , it’s the last thing you want to do...

or am i breathing underwater A Sermon on the book of Jonah : A a life-long Cubs fan, it’s great the club no longer lives under “the curse.” Truth be told, though, I never stayed up to watch the games. Not an inning, not even a pitch.  Perhaps it’s because being called to live in the church has given me something more interesting to do. Honestly, though, it’s because watching the chagrin of the Cardinal’s fans was even better .  Deep down, I love a little “ schadenfreude .” You know, that sweet joy of witnessing someone else get theirs.  As someone who constantly has little heathens like you throwing my words back in my face, I relish the chance to watch others wince as something they said comes back to bite them. Which why I just love this book of the prophet Jonah… Jonah. All we remember, though, is the whale, the big fish.  In confirmation every now and then, an inquisitive student will ask if it really happened, if Jonah was actuall...