RoboPreacher

it never took me anywhere A sermon on the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount ( Matthew 5:1-20 ): One of my favorite movies, and I've talked about it before, is "Little Miss Sunshine." This movie, for me, coincided with lutheran theology. And so it occupies a place right alongside "Lutheranism 101." That said, this movie is not PG, so if you rent it and are offended, don't say I didn't try to warn you... The movie follows a more or less nuclear family. And like many families these days, every member struggles to put up with one another. For various reasons, they all grate on each-other’s nerves.   One of the funniest points of friction in the movie, is the father with, well, basically everyone … The father aspires to be a self-help guru. In fact, the movie opens on him giving one of his seminars. …The class, though, is comprised of a small handful of students, in a dimly -lit and depressing little classroom.   Despite ...

if we meant it / if we tried A sermon from Jesus' temptation; Matthew 4:1-17 There’s so much to say about the temptations, but to begin I want to talk about superhero movies… My problem with most superhero movies is that the stakes are so darn high , I CAN’T relate. I mean, I have no idea what it’s like to carry the fate of the world! … I can barely carry the weight of my own fate! So I’ve got to confess, after witnessing Jesus’ tete-a-tete with the devil; I feel a little similar to the way I do after leaving an Avengers movie… Yes, like the rest of you, I am no stranger to the devil’s wiles. But, not on as large of a scale! My temptations are smaller , and so are the stakes … I mean, movies have been made about Jesus’ temptations! Has that happened to anyone here? …Yeah, me neither . So as we watch Jesus and the devil face-off, there seems to be this great chasm between us and the action… It’s worth nothing, though, that our scripture begins ...

i'm gonna set you free A sermon on Jesus' baptism : They say a little time on social media can cheer you up. Getting updates on old acquaintances. Checking in with friends. And if you’re Amanda, getting your daily-dose of dog pics; those are all things that can brighten you day… Like many things, though, too much of a good thing tends to have the opposite effect. At a certain point, instead of cheering you up, spending time on social media will start to bum you out. Until the whole thing goes upside-down; and you log off UNhappier than when you started! Now surely there’s plenty of reasons for this, but one must be our perennial tendency to measure ourselves against others.   After looking at yet another picture of some friends vacationing, your life starts to look a little shabbier . Scrolling through curated pic after curated pic of others living their best life, tends to cast a shadow over your own… It used to be that after high ...

grown a little colder A sermon on Jesus' genealogy : One of the movies Amanda and I have to watch every Christmas is, Christmas Vacation. You know the one, Clark Griswold, uncle Eddie, the house with all the Christmas lights.   Yes , we have to watch this movie because it’s a Christmas one, and because it’s funny. But I’ve come to realize what’s really so great about this movie is how well it gets, the thing that’s the best part of the holidays is also what’s the worst about them; family . Uncle Eddie’s unexpected visit. The in-laws little remarks. The kids’ constant complaining. And the stress Clark put on himself trying to make everyone happy! The movie captures it all so brilliantly! To be able to laugh about it, has a way of making it more bearable. And that’s why we love to watch Christmas Vacation. Because it is true, isn’t it? For as wonderful as family can be; it’s also what makes the holidays such a headache . I know I’m not the only o...