Message summary: Don't allow AI or stones to take your place in praising the Lord!

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"When He [Christ] came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!' Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples!' 'I tell you,' He replied, 'if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out'" (Luke 19:37-40).

When I travel I periodically ask "Siri", the AI assistant on my phone, questions such as "What's the weather report?". It's a handy hands-free way of getting information. You can also ask "her" to tell you a joke which has thus far been relatively funny and non-offensive. For instance "A couple of years ago two snails went for a walk in the park. They're having a great time".

After dropping off Martha, the last Amish teacher at her school last Thursday morning, I began my drive home. Having no one else to talk to I said, "Siri, read me John chapter 3 verse 16 from the Bible".* I then heard that wonderful verse most of us have memorized, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life".

After hearing the verse read I responded aloud, "Praise the Lord!".

Then, surprising to me, Siri affirmed that she heard me by responding and said, "Amen, Hallelujah" spoken with the proper enunciation and expression I'd expect to hear from a fellow believer. It actually sounded very earnest.

I was blessed to hear her response but then I considered the validity of Artificial Intelligence praising the Lord. It's like the fake AI singers we wrote about several weeks ago in a message titled, "The Peril Of Deception".

But then I considered another Bible teaching in this regard. Today's Scripture text is from a portion of the Bible dealing with the Triumphal Entry. "When He [Christ] came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'" For followers of Christ it's a beautiful sound to hear such praises to the Lord!

But some of the Pharisees, the angry and jealous ones, demanded that they be silenced and rebuked, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

But Jesus made a powerful observation, "I tell you," He replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

We are created to praise the Lord. Many years ago Steve Moore, a musician who would periodically visit our church in northern Pennsylvania, taught us a song I think he had written. The recurring line was, "Ain't no rock gonna cry out in my place!" based on the daily Scripture verse.

God's Word makes it abundantly clear that He desires His people to praise Him no matter the circumstance: in battle or in victory!

Hebrews 13:15 states, "Through Him [Jesus] then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name".

The call to praise includes:

That's you and me today. Don't let any rock take your place in praising the Lord!

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen and Brooksyne Weber