Jump Start # 3316

2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardships, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

It was a question for our times. The old reformers and restorers never had to deal with such a question. The early disciples never thought about this question. No one ever asked Jesus about this. But I was asked. It was by one of our sharp young college students. He wanted to know if using AI to write sermons was ok. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. It’s been in the news a lot. To be honest, I haven’t paid much attention to it. I’m more interested in keeping up with Divine intelligence than AI.

As we stood there talking about it, one of our school teachers said that teachers use it all the time to make their lessons plans. I confessed that I wouldn’t even know how to access it. While we standing there, this young college student on his phone accessed an AI app and asked it to produce a five minute sermon on Jesus. Just like that, there it was. It lacked passages, but it even had a simple introduction as if one could stand before a crowd and just read that from the phone.

I suppose that there will be preachers turning to AI to write their sermons. Now here are my thoughts about that:

First, is having AI write a sermon much different than taking an outline from a sermon book and preaching that? We all get ideas, read things, do research and borrow from one another, but to have someone else do all the work for you sounds a bit lazy to me. Just who is behind the AI info that is going out seems to be fuzzy. No one seems to know.

There is a passion in writing sermons that transfers over to the delivery of the sermon. Borrowing ideas is one thing, but by the time one modifies it, adds things to it, changes things, it becomes his own sermon. But to take something someone else has written and read it without putting your self into it doesn’t seem right. Our verse tells us to do the work. Preaching is work.

Second, AI may produce a fine sermons, but you are the one that people will ask questions and seek advice from. You must be able to defend what you have said. AI can’t talk to a person and comfort them as Titus did to Paul. AI can’t fellowship. AI can’t build faith. AI is information driven, but can not take the place of knowing Scriptures and being an example for others to follow.

Third, the info AI produces must be examined by the Scriptures. Good Bible students understand this. Many thoughts in books using verses have not used those verses accurately, nor in context. Just because AI says it doesn’t make it right. Only God’s word is right. There can be a real danger if someone using AI to make sermons doesn’t have the sense nor the insight to discern truth from error, a lot of damage can be caused.

Is it wrong to use AI? No. But use that as just one of many steps in building your sermon. Nothing beats your own study, observations and knowledge of God’s word. Those looking for short cuts and the quick and easy way of doing things would be better off doing something else. The ole’ expression, ‘if you can’t find anything else to do, you can always preach’ shames the hard working servants of God and discredits the great value that preaching has to God.

Where do sermons come from? From life. From reading. From talking to others. From personal study. From what is needed.

AI in time will become a tool of Satan to do harm.

Roger