RoboPreacher

when they got you in that condition A sermon on Moses' sermon on the edge of the Promise land Seeing as today’s Scripture is the Ten Commandments, I think it’s only fitting to begin with a confession . And so, without further ado, here you go: I have a conflicted relationship with rules…   You know, you could act a little more surprised!   Alright. I know that’s not the most revealing confession. But it is a bewildering one, at least for me it is! For instance, as an eldest and a midwesterner to boot, I’m a natural -born rule- follower . HOWEVER, there also exists within me this deep -seated aversion to rules. And given how knee- jerk and visceral my reaction can be, there might be something pathological to my complicated relationship. If I had to play armchair psychologist, I’d speculate that my messy history with rules stems from growing up in an alcoholic home. In an alcoholic home, everything depends on the alcoholic’s mood. If they’re having a good day, it’ll b...

they thin my heart with little things & my life with change A sermon on Jesus' trial before Pilate We’ve all heard that the church and state are a deadly mix. I’m enlightening no one by saying politics and religion are a combustible combination. However , in today’s passage, we see these two forces are plenty fatal all on their own . Although not fatal in any active way. No, what’s really so lethal about these two implements is their ineffectiveness . Their ineffectiveness. The violence is set in motion with a religious concern. The church leaders can’t bring their accusations against Jesus to Pilate. The problem is, if they were to set foot in Pilate’s profane headquarters, they would be defiled . And if that were to happen, these clergy wouldn’t be able to preside at the upcoming high-holy day. In a moment, we’ll discuss how that’s addressed. But for now, it’s enough just to notice the irony of it all. These religious teachers are desperately trying to do in Jesus, the...

& watch the sun sink like a stone A sermon on God's reply to Job : At last, God speaks up! After 36  tortured chapters of Job pleading for a hearing from God, his petition is finally granted. And God’s rejoinder here is rightly considered the climax of the book. God’s fiery speech is as compelling as it is captivating. Like Job, it leaves us rapt . The trouble , though, is once the spell of God’s speech wears off , you find yourself in as much of, if not more of, a bind than before God spoke up! God’s speech covers literally everything under the sun and more, too! Everything that is, except Job and his claim. God’s retort never once addresses Job’s complaint or even the cause of his suffering! As far as God is interested, it would appear, Job’s concerns about law and order are totally beside the point! In fact, God seems to takes a special kind of delight in all those things that elude Job’s grasp! The cumulative effect of this speech is to cow Job, as I suspect it does...