RoboPreacher

like it's easier than land A sermon Paul's epistle from prison : Well, the summer is finally here. And one of the hallmarks of this blessed season is the summer blockbuster . You know, those big movies. The ones with the beautiful stars, the stunning action scenes, and the hard-won BUT always assured happily ever after. But I’ve got a little confession. Those movies never do it for me. I’ve always been a little ambivalent about the superhero movies. And I didn’t see the new Top Gun, either.   Out of curiosity, who here saw Top Gun? Ok. And who here saw the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie? …Just as I thought! And I don’t believe this is because many of us are getting to that age where we go out to movies less and less often, either. No, I think many of us are just losing interest in those larger -than-life stories jam -packed with characters who are just a little too perfect! The truth is, our world just isn’t like that . Is it? Our lives are comprised of small th...

with the pain & anger The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel Proverbs 8 : “Does not wisdom call , and does not understanding raise her voice?” The answer, of course, is yes . Proverbs today depicts wisdom as a woman . Tireless . Devoted . Standing out there, along the highways and byways. Ceaselessly calling out . Raising her voice, offering a life that is full. The kind of life only she can offer. … But , and I barely need to say this; it isn’t all that easy. Is it? Sure, Wisdom raises her voice. But so do so many others . We live in a world bombarded with noise. Filled with sales pitches. And chapter 7 depicts one of those other voice. The voice of “Dame Folly” as she is called.   Woman Wisdom isn’t out there calling, raising her voice for any ‘ol reason. She’s doing it because she has to… So often we talk about faith as as something we do. Which is bonkers. Especially if you consider all God has done.   W...

especially when they look like they're too far gone A sermon from the first chapter of 1 John : On Wednesday a few of us went to the documentary, “Saving Brinton,” that I talked about last weekend.   It was unfailingly charming . The guy who saved the original films was as delightfully eccentric as he was endearing. And the love the filmmakers for Iowa was perfectly clear in how they depicted Iowa and her residents.   There were even finer points of theology offered up!   At many points Mike’s faith is displayed. But the depth of it is shown as he’s giving a mini-lesson on the meaning and history of the word “cemetery.” A dormitory for the sleeping. He notes how the word cemetery came into fashion around the same time people stopped “dying,” because we started saying people “went on to their reward,” “passed away.” Stuff like that.   And I thought how Mike had learned to do what Martin Luther said theologians of the cross must, ca...