RoboPreacher

& i get more than i deserve A sermon on St. Stephen and ministry : There’s a question we sometimes ask students in confirmation . And the reason we ask is to check if the students are paying attention . Obviously, of course, not this year’s students. They always pay attention. They’re perfect . As they are every year.   Nevertheless, it’s a nice little exercise. So, I thought we might try it. And here’s the question: What just happened? This isn’t a trick question, either. I just want to engage you. What just happened in today’s passage? That said, although this isn’t a trick question, it is the sort of question that has right and wrong answers. For instance, if you were to say that Stephen was just hired as the head pastor at First Lutheran in Jerusalem, that would be wrong . However, there were a few details in that example that would be considered correct . But I don’t want to do your work for you. So, I’m not going to tell you what they were.   Instead , let’s ...

in a manner of speaking i'm dead A sermon on Stephen's Martyrdom In the Gospel today Stephen, a server in an early Christian soup-kitchen, meets he fate… And we have to admit, he does so faithfully … One of the earliest depictions of Jesus comes from an ancient boarding school. It seems that one of the page boys there, Alexamenos, was a Christian. And for his faith, he suffered not a little teasing.  In one of the walls, someone scratched a man on a cross, except his head is that of  a donkey. Next to that they've drawn someone in a posture of prayer. Next to their depiction they wrote, “Alexamenos worship his God,” making it clear just what they thought of Alexamenos and his faith.  In the next room, though, scrawled in the hand of a boy, perhaps Alexamenos’ himself, it says “Alexamenos is faithful.” … …You know, we spend so much time thinking what we would do if faced with some moment like the one Stephen faces today. And while we imagine wh...