No Chicken Soup for the Soul

Today it seems that most sermons begin with a cute story or maybe a joke.  The reason is that the speaker feels that he must get the attention of his audience.  But it is more than that, too many sermons just make us feel good.  They are nothing more than Chicken soup for the soul.   Therefore it would be wrong to talk about sin and repentance.  How does repentance make us feel good?  What we need is someone to tell us that we are okay.
That was not John the Baptist.  His cute little chicken soup for the soul was to call his hearers a brood of snakes.  He didn't say that he was glad they came to hear him but he challenged them on why they came.  Why are you seeking repentance and forgiveness?  Maybe we need a few more sermons like John's.
The following sermon is worth listening to.  It takes about 50 minutes but it is worth it.

Here comes the Queen.

A number of years ago Queen Elizabeth II visited the city we were living in at that time.  She was given the royal tour and one event on that tour was a visit to the Amethyst Mine.  This mine was near the lake where my in-laws had a cottage.  In preparation for her visit to the mine the road was upgraded.  It was no longer a gravel road but new surface was put down so the road was a smooth road.
Isaiah says in Isaiah 40:3 - 5, A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Luke quotes this prophecy and shows that it is fulfilled in John the Baptist.  What is the highway?  It is repentance.  When the Queen was coming they prepared the roads, we are told to mend our hearts.  We must repent to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.