Sermons and ChatGPT

[GB]

I asked ChatGPT: write a sermon for Rev Kendall Down to give

The answer:



Dear brothers and sisters,

Today, I want to talk to you about the power of forgiveness. Forgiveness
is one of the most difficult things that we can do as human beings, yet
it is one of the most important.

As we look around us, we see so much anger, bitterness, and resentment.
We see people holding grudges, seeking revenge, and harboring hatred in
their hearts. But what good does this do? Does it make our lives better?
Does it make the world a better place?

The answer, of course, is no. Holding onto anger and resentment only
causes us more pain and suffering. It does not solve our problems or
make us happier. It only leads to more bitterness, more anger, and more
hatred.

But what if we were to forgive? What if we were to let go of our anger
and bitterness and choose to forgive those who have wronged us? What if
we were to extend grace and mercy to those who have hurt us?

This is not an easy thing to do. It requires a lot of courage, humility,
and strength. But when we forgive, we release ourselves from the chains
of anger and bitterness. We free ourselves from the burden of hatred and
resentment. We allow ourselves to move on and live a happier, more
fulfilling life.

But forgiveness is not just about us. It is also about the other person.
When we forgive, we extend love and grace to those who have hurt us. We
show them that we are willing to let go of the past and move forward. We
give them the opportunity to make things right and to reconcile.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, I urge you to choose forgiveness. Let
go of your anger and bitterness. Choose to forgive those who have
wronged you. Extend grace and mercy to them, just as God has extended
grace and mercy to us.

Remember the words of Jesus, who said, "For if you forgive other people
when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not
forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

May God give us the strength to forgive, and may we find peace and joy
in doing so. Amen.

[Kendall K. Down]

On 26/03/2023 21:26, GB wrote:

> I asked ChatGPT:  write a sermon for Rev Kendall Down to give

Very clever - er, would the response have been any different if you'd
asked it to compose the same sermon for - say - Justin Welby?

The sermon is entirely correct in all its statements, but it is so
exceedingly bland - sort of spiritual pabulum - that you'd never catch
me preaching it.

According to an article in the latest New Scientist, ChatGBT is simply
an advanced predictive text machine. It works by statistically analysing
what word is likely to come next in exactly the same way as the
predictive text feature on your mobile phone. The clever bit is in
analysing the input - the question - and then weighting the stats so
that the predicted text bears some relationship to the question.

The New Scientist article mentions lightly the chap who went public
claiming that the company was producing an intelligent computer. I think
he resigned or was fired over it and certainly I think he was being
alarmist. As your example shows, I don't think that preachers need worry
that they are likely to be replaced any time soon - provided, that is,
that they actually think about what they are saying and attempt to be
creative in getting God's message across.

God bless,
Kendall K. Down

(And just for comparison, here is one of my sermons on forgiveness.)

SLIDE 1
The Deep Deep Love
:
SLIDE 2
{
50 years ago I married Shirley in a beautiful ceremony at Newbold
College. She pledged her life to me and I graciously accepted her and
called her mine.
}
:
SLIDE 3
{
And we had only been married a few days when she burned my toast! I told
her to get out and that our marriage was at an end, but she begged me
with tears to relent, so I graciously forgave her and allowed her to
stay with me.
}
:
SLIDE 4
{
And that has been the story of my life ever since. Even on our 40th
wedding anniversary, she got water on the lens and I had to threaten her
with divorce. Fortunately she repented, with tears, so we are still
together, but there's always the danger that one day she's going to try
my patience too far and that will be it!
}
:
SLIDE 5
Isn't she lucky
to be married to
someone as kind
as me?
{
Ladies, wouldn't you say that Shirley was lucky to be married to someone
as kind and gracious as me?
}
:
SLIDE 6
Yet that is the
picture many
people have
of God!
{
I have heard some Christians say that if we sin, we are lost until we
repent, and then God receives us again. I have heard people speculate
about what happens if we sin and die before we have a chance to repent.
}
:
SLIDE 7
God is Better than Us
If you, then, though you are evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in
heaven give good gifts to those who
ask Him!
Matthew 7:11
{
If you were horrified by my story of how I treat my wife, do you think
God is better than us or worse than us? Do you think God switches His
love on and off a dozen times a day?
}
:
SLIDE 8
God’s Love
The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love
to your wife again, though she is loved by
another man and is an adulteress. Love
her as the Lord loves the Israelites,
though they turn to other gods.”
Hosea 3:1
{
Fortunately we have the answer in the story of Hosea, whose love was
told to be "as the Lord loves the Israelites".
}
:
SLIDE 9
Go, marry a promiscuous
woman and have children
with her.
{
Most of us probably know the story of Hosea, how he was told to marry a
most unsuitable girl. Mind you, he probably thought all his birthdays
had come at once, being given permission to marry the best-looking girl
in town!
}
:
SLIDE 10
Go, marry a promiscuous
woman and have children
with her.
Jezreel
{
Then the children started coming. The first one he called Jezreel, a
nice name meaning "God sows" - or was it that he doubted that he was the
father?
}
:
SLIDE 11
Go, marry a promiscuous
woman and have children
with her.
Jezreel
Lo-Ruhamah
{
But the marriage started to go sour and Hosea called the daughter, "No
mercy", perhaps a warning to his wife whom he suspected.
}
:
SLIDE 12
Go, marry a promiscuous
woman and have children
with her.
Jezreel
Lo-Ruhamah
Lo-Ammi
{
Two or three years later the little boy was given the name "Not mine" -
in other words, "bastard".
}
:
SLIDE 13
{
I know a Kenyan girl here in Britain called Rahima - mercy. It's a
beautiful name, but the names Hosea gave to his children were horrible
names. Imagine poor Gomer standing in the doorway and calling, "Hey, Not
mine, time for dinner!" Perhaps it wasn't entirely Gomer's fault that
she ran away and left Hosea!
}
:
SLIDE 14
Vengeance
I will take away my corn when it ripens,
and my new wine when it is ready. I
will take back my wool and my linen.
Hosea 2:9
{
At first, like any jealous husband, Hosea threatens to cut Gomer off
without a penny, to make her life a misery.
}
:
SLIDE 15
Allure Her
Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness and
speak tenderly to her.
Hosea 2:14
{
But then he thinks, "Is that any way to win a girl?" Instead he decides
to court her, woo her, allure her! And where do you go when you are
talking with your girl-friend? Out into the crowded market place or
somewhere quiet and private?
}
:
SLIDE 16
My Man!
In that day, declares the Lord,
you will call Me “my husband”;
you will no longer call Me “my master”.
Hosea 2:16
{
In those days wives properly respected their husbands, but Hosea - and
God - longs for a return to the intimacy of the honeymoon, when Gomer
called him "my man", instead of the formal "my lord".
}
:
SLIDE 17
Changed Names
The earth will respond to the grain, the
new wine and the olive oil, and they will
respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for
Myself in the land; I will show My mercy
to the one I called “No Mercy”; I will say
to those called “Not my people”, “You are
My people” and they will say, “You are my
God”.
Hosea 2:22, 23
{
And then God promises to change the names of Gomer's children. The past
cannot be undone, but God will overlook it and "Not mine" becomes "Mine".
}
:
SLIDE 18
God’s Love
The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love
to your wife again, though she is loved by
another man and is an adulteress. Love her
as the Lord loves the Israelites, though
they turn to other gods.”
Hosea 3:1
{
That is how God loves the Israelites - and notice, that isn't love given
to a repentant woman or nation, it is love given to a woman still
committing adultery, a nation still following other gods! (Perhaps it
was the shock of discovering that the man she was with was prepared to
sell her that brought Gomer to her senses.)
}
:
SLIDE 19
I am going to allure her
and speak tenderly to
her.
Jezreel
Ruhamah
Ammi
{
What a beautiful picture: the purchased wife being courted, the children
renamed - God sown, Mercy and Mine!
}
:
SLIDE 20
{
It isn't just in parables that we see God's continuing love. Let's see
what God actually does. We all know the story about Peter's denial of
Jesus (picture by Gerrit van Honthorst). You don't get sins much worse
than that. He not only denied Jesus, he did it twice or even thrice, and
he swore to support his denial!
}
:
SLIDE 21
Denial Foretold
Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are
You going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you can-
not follow now, but you will follow later.”
Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you
now? I will lay down my life for you.”
John 13:36, 37
{
But notice the conversation Jesus had with Peter on the subject.
}
:
SLIDE 22
Don’t Let it Bother You
Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay
down your life for Me? Truly I tell you,
before the cock crows, you will disown
Me three times! Do not let your heart be
troubled. You believe in God; believe
also in Me.”
John 13:48-14:1
{
Jesus foretells that Peter will deny Him, but in the very next breath
says, "Let not your heart be troubled"! In other words, Peter's
"deliberate" sin did not alter his relationship with Jesus.
}
:
SLIDE 23
The Price
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver
and about a homer and a lethek of barley.
Hosea 3:2
{
But this happy ending was not achieved without cost. Hosea had to pay
the pimp to get back what was his! Sometimes you hear it said that Gomer
was old and ugly and Hosea got her for a bargain price, but that is not so.
}
:
SLIDE 24
The Price
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver
and about a homer and a lethek of barley.
Hosea 3:2
15 shekels of silver: 170g
Homer of barley: 195kg
{
None of you know how much a shekel is, or how heavy a homer is, so here
are these weights and measures in modern terms.
}
:
SLIDE 25
The Price
15 shekels of silver: 170g
Homer of barley: 195kg
Silver: $28 oz
Barley: $225 ton
{
These are modern prices on the world markets: in purchasing power, both
silver and grain were likely to be much more valuable than the products
of modern mining and industrialised farming.
}
:
SLIDE 26
The Price
15 shekels of silver: $252
Homer of barley: $45
Silver: $28 oz
Barley: $225 ton
{
But even so, Gomer came out at $297, not a lot, but not exactly small
change either.
}
:
SLIDE 27
The Price
15 shekels of silver: £163
Homer of barley: £29
Price of prostitute: 0.5g silver
37p
{
It is interesting to compare the price charged by prostitutes around
this time - 37p! In other words, Hosea was purchasing a woman with
plenty of mileage left in her, who would have been still in demand by
her customers!
}
:
SLIDE 28
{
God had to pay for us - a far higher price than Hosea paid for Gomer -
and the point is that when you pay for something, you value it.
}
:
SLIDE 29
{
When someone gives you a leaflet on the street, you glance at it and
throw it away, but if you buy something, you take it home, you read it,
you value it - and the more you pay for it, the more you value it!
}
:
SLIDE 30
A Tight Grip
I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; no one will snatch them
out of My hand. My Father, who has
given them to Me, is greater than all;
no one can snatch them out of My
Father's hand.
John 10:28, 29
{
The promise is that no one can snatch us out of God's hand and no one
will snatch us out of Jesus' hand.
}
:
SLIDE 31
{
How tightly can God hold onto you? How tightly do you think I held my
son's hand when we came to cross a busy road?
}
:
SLIDE 32
{
Do you think I relied on him holding my hand - or did I hold his hand?
Tightly? How do you think God holds you? Does He graciously permit you
to grasp His finger with your puny strength or does He hold you tight?
}
:
SLIDE 33
Losing Our Grip
And let us consider how we may spur one
another on towards love and good deeds,
not giving up meeting together, as some
are in the habit of doing, but encouraging
one another - and all the more as you see
the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24, 25
{
It is true that the Bible does talk about the dire fate of those that
sin after they have come to know God, but we need to look at the
context. The condemnation is given to someone who has stopped coming to
church, not someone who has committed an unintended mistake.
}
:
SLIDE 34
Losing Our Grip
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we
have received the knowledge of the truth,
no sacrifice for sins is left.
Hebrews 10:26
{
The Greek makes it plain that this is not one single act, it is a
continuous process, deliberately chosen.
}
:
SLIDE 35
Losing Our Grip
How much more severely do you think
someone deserves to be punished who
has trampled the Son of God under-
foot, who has treated as an unholy thing
the blood of the covenant that sanctified
them, and who has insulted the Spirit of
grace?
Hebrews 10:29
{
The person who is condemned is someone who has deliberately set out to
disobey and defy God.
}
:
SLIDE 36
Faultless
Now unto Him that is able to keep you
from falling and to present you faultless
before the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy, to the only wise God our
Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion
and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Jude 24, 25
{
God's promise is that He can keep you from falling - if only you will
let Him!
}
:
SLIDE 37
Picture of child dangling from ski-lift
{
I don't know how this kid came to slip out of the ski lift, but his
father is holding on to him. How tightly do you think the father is
gripping him?
}
:
SLIDE 38
Now unto Him that is able
to keep you from falling.
{
A human father may lose his grip and let his son fall to his death, but
God will never let you go. It doesn't matter how precarious is your hold
on God; what matters is God's hold on you.
}
:
SLIDE 39
{
Not only is this what true love is, but it is an excellent parable of
what Jesus did for us - He died to keep us safe!
}
:
SLIDE 40
To Sum Up
{
So let's summarise what I have been saying:
}
:
SLIDE 41
To Sum Up
God's love is not on-again, off-again
{
God loves you - and He doesn't stop loving you or withdraw from you when
you sin. Of course you feel bad, your conscience prods you, but God does
not abandon you or forsake you.
}
:
SLIDE 42
To Sum Up
God's love is not on-again, off-again
We can deliberately reject God
{
Note that I am not teaching "once saved always saved". If you are
determined, you can get away from God, you can be lost, but it's not
going to be easy. And beware, because when you make that deliberate,
determined effort, it will be very hard, if not impossible, to come back
again.
}
:
SLIDE 43
To Sum Up
God's love is not on-again, off-again
We can deliberately reject God
Otherwise, we are kept from falling!
{
But if we do not deliberately reject God, if we determine every morning
to serve Him and every evening ask His forgiveness for what we have done
wrong, then God will keep us from falling.
}
:
SLIDE 44
{
And in case you are worried, no, I didn't treat my wife like that when
we were first married and I don't treat her like that now.
}
:
SLIDE 45
{
And God doesn't treat us like that either!
}
:

[Kendall K. Down]

On 26/03/2023 21:26, GB wrote:

> I asked ChatGPT:  write a sermon for Rev Kendall Down to give

A second point about this sermon is how short it is. Typical, I suppose,
of a Church of England homily which is supposed to last about five
minutes, but by no means adequate for a free church sermon where the
congregation feels cheated if they get less than 25 minutes. (And start
looking at their watches if they get more than 30 minutes.)

What I posted previously were merely my sermon notes, which are
sufficient to give deaf members an idea of what I am speaking about, but
by no means represent all that I say for each slide.

[GB]

On 27/03/2023 03:47, Kendall K. Down wrote:
> On 26/03/2023 21:26, GB wrote:
>
>> I asked ChatGPT:  write a sermon for Rev Kendall Down to give
>
> Very clever - er, would the response have been any different if you'd
> asked it to compose the same sermon for - say - Justin Welby?
>
> The sermon is entirely correct in all its statements, but it is so
> exceedingly bland - sort of spiritual pabulum - that you'd never catch
> me preaching it.
>

Yes, the sermon strikes me as rather dull. The Welby version is
remarkably similar:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today, I want to speak to you about the importance of forgiveness in our
lives. As Christians, we are called to forgive one another just as
Christ has forgiven us.

Forgiveness is not always easy, and it often requires us to let go of
our pride and our desire for vengeance. But when we choose to forgive,
we are opening ourselves up to a deeper sense of peace and healing.

In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus tells us, "For if you forgive other people

when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not

forgive your sins."

These words are a powerful reminder that forgiveness is not just a
suggestion, but a requirement for us as Christians. We cannot expect to
receive forgiveness from God if we are unwilling to extend that same
forgiveness to others.

Forgiveness does not mean that we forget what has been done to us or
that we excuse someone's harmful actions. Rather, forgiveness is a
choice to release the anger, bitterness, and resentment that can poison
our hearts and minds.

It is also important to remember that forgiveness is not a one-time
event, but a process that often requires us to work through our pain and
hurt. It may take time and effort, but with God's help, we can find the
strength and courage to forgive those who have wronged us.

In Colossians 3:13, we read, "Bear with each other and forgive one
another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the
Lord forgave you."

Brothers and sisters, let us heed these words and choose to forgive. Let
us be a community that embodies the grace and love of Christ, even in
the face of hurt and betrayal. And let us trust that as we forgive, we
will experience the freedom and peace that come from living a life of
true forgiveness.

May God bless you all.

[Stuart]

In article <tvr0qe$320t2$1...@dont-email.me>,

Kendall K. Down <kendal...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> A second point about this sermon is how short it is. Typical, I suppose,
> of a Church of England homily which is supposed to last about five
> minutes, but by no means adequate for a free church sermon where the
> congregation feels cheated if they get less than 25 minutes.

Perhaps you should have a listen to last night's sermon from my CofE
church.

For some reason microphones never pick up the congregation singing, which
is a pity because there was quite a large congregation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX7P_NLdQdY

--
Stuart Winsor

Tools With A Mission
sending tools across the world
http://www.twam.co.uk/

[Kendall K. Down]

On 27/03/2023 14:43, GB wrote:

> Yes, the sermon strikes me as rather dull. The Welby version is
> remarkably similar:

In other words, as New Scientist claimed, ChatGPT is merely predicting
word associations, a process that is inflexible and certainly has no
creativity.

I think my role as preacher is safe for the time being.

[Kendall K. Down]

On 27/03/2023 14:18, Stuart wrote:

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX7P_NLdQdY

Thanks for the URL. Before the recent contretemps, Kidderminster
invested in a cheap 360 degree microphone which is remarkably sensitive
and picks up the congregation beautifully - singing, questions,
comments, etc.

[Steve Hague]

On 27/03/2023 14:18, Stuart wrote:

> In article <tvr0qe$320t2$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Kendall K. Down <kendal...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>> A second point about this sermon is how short it is. Typical, I suppose,
>> of a Church of England homily which is supposed to last about five
>> minutes, but by no means adequate for a free church sermon where the
>> congregation feels cheated if they get less than 25 minutes.
>
> Perhaps you should have a listen to last night's sermon from my CofE
> church.
>
> For some reason microphones never pick up the congregation singing, which
> is a pity because there was quite a large congregation.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX7P_NLdQdY
>

The type of microphone is important. The mic used by singers is usualy
based on the Shure SM58, although most use cordless versions these days.
They are designed to be deaf to any sound not coming from close up and
directly in front. We used boundary mics as well, which pick up sound
wherever it's coming from, which got the congregation heard. Of course
this doesn't help if the software filters out anything it doesn't
approve of.
Steve Hague

[GB]

Yes, it doesn't really invent sermons. Rather, it has a vast databank of
sermons trawled off the internet, and it cuts and pastes bit of those
together. Essentially, it plagiarises, but does it very well.

"If You Steal From One Author, It’s Plagiarism; If You Steal From Many,
It’s Research", and of course the bot steals from many, so it's okay.

Incidentally, there's this:
If we steal thoughts from the moderns, it will be cried down as
plagiarism; if from the ancients, it will be cried up as erudition.

[Stuart]

In article <k8fh65...@mid.individual.net>,

Steve Hague <steveh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The type of microphone is important. The mic used by singers is usualy
> based on the Shure SM58, although most use cordless versions these days.
> They are designed to be deaf to any sound not coming from close up and
> directly in front. We used boundary mics as well, which pick up sound
> wherever it's coming from, which got the congregation heard.

I think the real issue is probably persuading the people involved that
they ought to have microphones directed towards the congregation and make
sure they are live during the congregational singing. At the moment, there
is one microphone for the speaker, another for the reader and as many as
are needed for the singers leading, in this service, usually one.

Yes, they are SM58s and far from ideal but although I was involved with
the specification and installation of the first sound reinforcement system
we installed in the church, other "experts" have been involved in
replacing it about three times since, so I keep my mouth shut. We had a
very nice AKG boundary effect microphone on the communion table, it was
white and almost invisible. It worked very well and, of course, was
unobtrusive, long gone I'm afraid.

I could say a lot more about what I think of our present set-up but enough
is enough.

[Kendall K. Down]

On 28/03/2023 09:32, GB wrote:

> Yes, it doesn't really invent sermons. Rather, it has a vast databank of
> sermons trawled off the internet, and it cuts and pastes bit of those
> together. Essentially, it plagiarises, but does it very well.

Opinions may vary.

> "If You Steal From One Author, It’s Plagiarism; If You Steal From Many,
> It’s Research", and of course the bot steals from many, so it's okay.

Quite.

> Incidentally, there's this:
> If we steal thoughts from the moderns, it will be cried down as
> plagiarism; if from the ancients, it will be cried up as erudition.

Mind you, if you presented a paper which was nothing but quotes from
ancient authors, I don't think it would win you may plaudits. To avoid
the charge of plagiarism you must add a goodly dollop of your own thoughts.

[Kendall K. Down]

On 26/03/2023 21:26, GB wrote:

> I asked ChatGPT:  write a sermon for Rev Kendall Down to give

There is an interesting article in today's Daily Mail comparing Bard
with ChatGPT. On the whole, Bard seems to come out ahead.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11916085/Battle-bots-MailOnline-pits-ChatGPT-against-Googles-Bard-7-questions.html