Stephen M. Miller

Jesus: “Don’t worry”

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by Stephen M. Miller

purple flowers
KING SOLOMON NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD. "Why do you worry about clothes? Look at all the wildflowers in the field...King Solomon decked out in his best royal robes didn’t look nearly as good as a flower. People, if God dresses the grass of the field with flowers as beautiful as this...won’t he put clothes on you, too?" —Jesus (Matthew 6:28-30 Casual English Bible) Photo by Pixabay.

I WONDER HOW PEOPLE WILL REACT to the “don’t worry” message of Jesus in the video I just released, given what’s going on in the world right now.

Some might find his words reassuring and inspiring. I’m afraid some others might find them naive or insulting.

I’m thinking of people who have recently lost their businesses, their jobs, or their homes.

People who had to say goodbye over WhatsApp to dying family members.

People who are terrified by this COVID virus, this president, and the resulting perfect storm of chaos that will headline the story of this generation.

This video is the second in a series of three.

These are videos of me simply reading the Sermon on the Mount from the Casual English Bible, and with videos and art to help illustrate the points Jesus was trying to make.

These are video versions of my illustrated books, except all I did was paraphrase the ancient words into casual English. And it’s free.

After I created the video reading of Matthew 5, which is the first part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, I decided to go the rest of the way. This sermon is too good to pass up.

The Gospel of Matthew spreads the sermon over three chapters. So there will be three videos when I’m finished. There are two so far.

Pardon the style of music, paring a ukulele with Jesus, but I love the simplifying effect it has on his words.

painting of Jesus in Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5 reading, featuring the Beatitudes.

Link to reading of Matthew 6 from the Sermon on the Mount, by Jesus

Matthew 6 reading, featuring the Lord’s Prayer and advice for worried souls.

Matthew 7 has been taped. Post-production will begin as soon as I catch a break. Daylight is for writing. Videos generally come to life on weekends or when the sun goes down on weekdays and the moon begins to slide.

If you watch any of the videos and like what you see, please give it a thumbs up. My mother counts them. Yes she does.

My wife critiques them. Most commonly she says the music is too loud.

But I love scoring the videos with my software that lets me pick the instruments and the music style and the blending of the sounds. After doing that, it’s hard to turn the music so low that you can’t hear it. But it’s nice that my wife and others want to hear my voice, too.

I like that. But the ukulele is sweet.

Casual English Bible
Bible Gateway

Comments

  1. Steven Grisetti says

    These readings are much more effective than I expected them to be, Steve. You’ve given me a whole new way to hear The Sermon, with new takes on phrasing I’d heard so many times I’d almost lost the meaning.

    I love the illustrations too. Whether historically accurate or not, they really help supplement the words.

    Thanks, Steve. God bless.

    • Stephen M. Miller says

      It surprised me, too. That’s why I continue to create them. The number of viewers aren’t as high as most other videos I create, but I think the message is strong. It is, after all, the Bible, paraphrased. Peace to you up in the Northland.