Should pastors use AI to write their sermons?

aChristian2 · Sunday at 11:15 PM

I came across several articles, and a few videos on this topic, yet did not find any up for discussion. Wow! that this is even happening.

First let me say that I heard a question posed to the AI on YouTube, goes something like this "if you were the devil what would you do to make war with Christians"?. I was profoundly surprised at the answer, it (AI) in my humble opinion had a profound understanding of the BIBLE & the war that would be, and is being waged against Christians.

some common statements were to distract us, keep us busy, infighting, (yet this was more elegantly stated and more in dept)

What really blew me away was the AI said it would make us avoid faith & love the very new Covenant ,, yes I said that, faith which worketh by love... wow! In my understanding most Christians seem to miss this, or at least the extreme profound depth that penetrates and fills our hearts...

that said, in this modern age of AI producing sermons, leaves a heavy, heavy burden on my heart... I mean how many preachers on the pulpit, that indeed have a platform, truly are not called by GOD ALMIGHTY IN HIS ONE and ONLY SON JESUS to the pulpit..

this using AI is such a sign that although the AI may give you sermons with insight that may even be very informative for Christian study...

how can this pastor truly be in Education in JESUS? would one say, I never heard from GOD, so I ask chatgpt?

it is a sign of the times that these leaders do not have a calling or a true Relationship with JESUS....and again I say WOW.. what a lost time, can the modern church even truly recognize the world, and war we live in, and are engaged in?

yet I digress, what say thee?

bewildered brother

GaryA · Monday at 1:05 AM

Replace the Holy Spirit with artificial intelligence? Absolutely not.

Any pastor/preacher that does that is looking to the wrong source...

Gideon300 · Monday at 3:11 AM

aChristian2 said:

I've never used AI myself. However, I've been surprised at some of the search results that AI generates. For a start, the English is excellent, grammatically correct and often well structured. It is also often more comprehensible than human produced content. I've found it to be well laid out and clearly stated. Since that seems to be an art lost to English speakers, that makes it obvious that it's AI.

If I was doing research for a message, I'd consider ask AI to find Bible references and maybe commentary quotes on the subject. However, allowing AI to generate a sermon is a step too far in my opinion. If I was writing something, I'd consider asking AI to rewrite it to be grammatically correct. It's little different from asking an editor to look over the work. My sister is a professional writer and creative writing teacher. I've asked her advice from time to time.

If I preach, I do not use notes. I have a good idea of what I want to say on any given subject. I usually have Bible references handy.

AI could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Every believer should know Jesus and know what is of Him and what is not. Many times my spirit rejected what a pastor was teaching, but I did not have a basis to argue against it. That forced me to search God's word myself. We need to go from "that doesn't seem right" to "Hey, that's not what the Bible teaches". Unfortunately, too many believers assume that if the pastor says it, it must be true.

Edify · Monday at 8:37 AM

Sounds as if a new god is arising, and their dependency will be totally be on him. Might be a precursor to the image of the Beast.

homwardbound · Monday at 9:30 AM

Edify said:

Edified, thanks could be, something evil this way comes
I see this and am learning this
Luke 21:14-15, Matthew 10:16-20, hard part to remain humble, harmless as a dove, Jesus assuredly is, was and is risen for us to be new in love and mercy to all too. yet evil uses that to get away with evil and look good in front of others under their thumb, and God allows it, for the reason I see his Son is being preached. God uses evil, for our good to learn from and does not orchestrate any evil. people, flesh and evil spirits do that,
Discernment in truth I see only comes from God personally first, before seeing how to remove specks in others sight. God took care of the board in us each, by Son for us all first.
I see read the entire Bible as a whole Gigantic love letter from God to us all
For God simply just loves us all. Otherwise Son would not have gone willingly to that cross without any flesh fight back at all, you think?
Son is risen, where those that got him killed saw him as risen as is reported in Col 1, 2 to me at least. Amazing and he still did not berate them over it, or go on any killing spree either. Carrying out. to this very present second, Forgive them Father, they know not what they do. This floors me daily thank you

Webers.Home · Monday at 9:38 AM

.
According to Rom 12:5-8, 1Cor 12:4-10, and Eph 4:11-12, preaching is one
of the many spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit bestows upon certain
individuals of His own choosing; and they have always been people rather
than machines because the gifts are distributed within and among Christ's
body.
_

JohnDB · Monday at 9:40 AM

Sermon outlines have been being sold for decades.

I'm not exactly sure what a pastor would use an AI for.

Most pastors have a file cabinet of sermons they have preached numerous times before over the decades which they personally developed.

And where sermons are "the big show"they have so little to do with church attendance and size of a congregation.

Because by Friday if you asked what the pastor spoke on last Sunday nobody could tell you....because they don't remember. However....they could tell you what they had for snacks and those they talked to.

homwardbound · Monday at 10:13 AM

I see God wants relationships, not prisoners or slaves, thanks
And love proven to me is free choice to choose, thank you

Aaron56 · Monday at 10:24 AM

The purpose Driven Life was made popular by supplying (for a fee) canned sermons for every Sunday of the year and then some (in case there were Wednesday meetings, too).
In its heyday, if someone examined the church from the outside looking in, they might have concluded that God was releasing knowledge to the church about living a life of purpose.
Nope.
It was just crafty marketing from Rick Warren and his team and (the most important part) laziness from people who called themselves shepherds.

So, we should absolutely expect AI to become a major source of sermons in many churches.

lrs68 · Monday at 11:12 AM

Nothing shocks me any more.
When I was a child my Grandfather was a Pastor, Shepherd, Evangelist, Teacher of the Torah\Tanakh and English Bible.

I remember at 2 am a phone call coming in from a member of the Church or just someone who looked up Churches\Preachers in the phone book and someone was sick or dying and my Grandfather without hesitation got up, dressed, took my Dad and myself and away we went to go pray.

A couple weeks ago I called my Mother's Pastor and still haven't heard back as if he ignores the issue long enough it will just magically go away.

The way the younger Preachers are today doesn't shock me especially if their sermons are coming from AI. I don't want to speak bad or bash today's young preacher but I wished God would intervene and teach them respect because they have none for no one.

GWH · Monday at 11:27 AM

aChristian2 said:

I came across several articles, and a few videos on this topic, yet did not find any up for discussion. Wow! that this is even happening.

First let me say that I heard a question posed to the AI on YouTube, goes something like this "if you were the devil what would you do to make war with Christians"?. I was profoundly surprised at the answer, it (AI) in my humble opinion had a profound understanding of the BIBLE & the war that would be, and is being waged against Christians.

some common statements were to distract us, keep us busy, infighting, (yet this was more elegantly stated and more in dept)

What really blew me away was the AI said it would make us avoid faith & love the very new Covenant ,, yes I said that, faith which worketh by love... wow! In my understanding most Christians seem to miss this, or at least the extreme profound depth that penetrates and fills our hearts...

that said, in this modern age of AI producing sermons, leaves a heavy, heavy burden on my heart... I mean how many preachers on the pulpit, that indeed have a platform, truly are not called by GOD ALMIGHTY IN HIS ONE and ONLY SON JESUS to the pulpit..

this using AI is such a sign that although the AI may give you sermons with insight that may even be very informative for Christian study...

how can this pastor truly be in Education in JESUS? would one say, I never heard from GOD, so I ask chatgpt?

it is a sign of the times that these leaders do not have a calling or a true Relationship with JESUS....and again I say WOW.. what a lost time, can the modern church even truly recognize the world, and war we live in, and are engaged in?

yet I digress, what say thee?

bewildered brother

If AI can produce sermons on par with their own then they need to seek a better understanding of Scripture and take their sermons up at least one notch!

Aaron56 · Monday at 11:36 AM

lrs68 said:

Then he's not her pastor.

Hakawaka · Monday at 12:33 PM

Of course not. No Holy Spirit involved. Its just google, or in worse case, something demonic, writing the sermons.

aChristian2 · Monday at 12:43 PM

homwardbound said:

one thing that struck me was a jealous for GOD ALMIGHTY ( not that I claim this on a regular basis, )

to think HIS children might say in another area of life, we got this, we can preach the gospel without YOU... wow, as I read the comments about pre programmed sermons, also strikes me as a little off..

I might think that GOD has different timing for different teachings, and preparing our hearts close to the moment (although HE certainly can time one off the self,,haha)

I hope I learn from this conversation the importance of spending time with JESUS, and not looking for short cuts or artificial substitutes, even pre-programmed sermons, and to hopefully avoid artificial influence.

I enjoyed reading the comments so far, and look forward to reading more on this vital subject, I hope this jealous drives me to want to spend more time with GOD, and to promote HIS children to do likewise. in good faith

GWH · Monday at 1:09 PM

GWH said:

Maybe Philippians 1:18 is applicable to AI sermons:

"But that doesn't matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine,
the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice."

CS1 · Monday at 1:17 PM

AI for sermons is demonic and is idolatry. If you need AI to write a sermon, instead of searching your own heart and delivering it after much prayer and humility, drawing from the word of God and being in His presence as the Holy Spirit leads you. Quit.

ZNP · Monday at 2:16 PM

I had to give a church report yesterday, speaking for about 5 minutes. I wrote this myself, but then asked AI to summarize it in bullet points. It did a very serviceable job except it skipped the two biggest points that I wanted to make. I did not simply take what it gave me, but I used it as an outline and adjusted it.

Then I had two different paragraphs that I felt were awkward and I wanted them clearer, more concise and more direct. With one paragraph I only accepted one word change. With the other I accepted one or two sentences it wrote. Again, it seemed to me that although it did what I wanted is also eliminated the most significant points.

If you use AI as an editor that is making suggestions which you ultimately decide to use or not use, then it is a tool in your hand.

But I doubt that is how many will use it. There are many preachers who go online, find sermons on various verses and then use them. Many sermons are simply reheated canned sermons. Therefore I suspect that preachers that use canned sermons will go to town with AI. Suppose a pastor speaks 135 words per minute and his sermon is supposed to be 30 minutes long. He can ask AI to write a sermon on particular verses that is 4,000 words long and that he wants the AI to imitate his style (he can give it videos of his previous sermons which might be on the website or Facebook).

I also expect that part of the great delusion will be this AI mimicking pastors online with a perverted gospel.

Daisy2 · Monday at 2:19 PM

it's really inadvisable for sermons. Sturgeon used to fast and comb through the bible until just before his sermons he would be sure what God wanted him to preach on that Sunday. A person may walk into the church just for those words and that what it means to be lead by Christ. Ai doesn't have a brain it lacks to fully comprehend the true meaning behind verses and can't direct sermons to the individual needs like our Father can.

Perplexity ai (What don't you understand about the bible)

AI, as a technology, does not “understand” the Bible in the way a human being does. While I can analyze, summarize, and contextualize biblical texts based on extensive training data and patterns, I lack intrinsic spiritual discernment, faith, and the lived experience that shapes human theological reflection5 6 1. Here are the main limitations of AI regarding the Bible:

No Spiritual Discernment: AI cannot interpret Scripture with faith or spiritual maturity, nor can it apply biblical wisdom as a mature believer would5 6.
No Personal Conviction: AI does not have personal beliefs or convictions and cannot experience the transformative power of Scripture5 6.
Dependence on Training Data: My responses are shaped by the data I was trained on, which may include biases, errors, or incomplete perspectives1 5.
Contextual Limitations: AI may sometimes misinterpret context, misapply verses, or produce answers that lack nuance or theological depth5 6.
No Relationship with God or People: AI cannot form personal relationships, experience worship, or participate in the communal life of faith5 6.

In summary, while AI can be a useful tool for organizing, summarizing, and cross-referencing biblical content, it cannot truly “understand” the Bible in a spiritual or experiential sense

Blade · Monday at 4:39 PM

I like what Daisy said

but I wonder how many just have a idea then do a little searching then put it in to some sermon. There's no holy Spirit there's not seeking in prayer to hear from God "The lord wanted me to preach on....". AI is not alive and never will be. Satan cannot create.. life is well only one can do that. I have used it once in a post here I think and lol I said.. I am gonna try something and had AI take my words and .. I think the best word would be translate it into English..yes its first language haha.

I was really impressed and I could see how one would use this all the time. For me .. its not me talking not my word. What animal did God talk though once? Lol yeah no matter who we are or how educated we are He will use us for His glory .. if we allow Him.

So as for just creating some sermon... side note.. just wanna share the song playing.. God I'm still counting my blessing. Take a breath and think about that. So this is very unwise. Some think they can't sing and pray they had a different voice yet the God that made that song bird or oscine or Passeri well He also made the crow. Don't need AI

Dino246 · Monday at 6:52 PM

lrs68 said:

The problem here is that people expect preachers to be pastors. They are not the same gifting.

Further, instead of calling the elders when sick, people call the pastor. There’s no glory in how things were done badly in previous generations. While your grandfather clearly took his role seriously and honourably, he probably was like most “pastors” of previous generations: a one-man show… which was never God’s intention.

Christian leaders would do well to equip people for the work of ministry instead of “doing” it all themselves, which leads to dependence, idolatry, and Christians who can’t do life for themselves.

Should pastors use AI to write their sermons?

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