History Main / SuspiciouslySpecificSermon

* A French priest uses scripture to declare that liberation is coming in TheLongestDay, despite the fact that German soldiers are in his audience.
* In ''{{Dogma}}'', the revamp of Catholicism centers on renewed forgiveness at one church, which is exactly what two fallen angels need to get back into heaven. [[spoiler: This was invoked on both parts by a third party seeking to have them thus disprove God and erase all existence.]]

* On 22 June 1438 Richard Duke of York listened to a public sermon by the popular preacher and monk Ralph Shaa (brother of the mayor of London) on the Biblical text "bastard sons shall not take root". It explained that since Edward IV's sons were illegitimate[[note]]By medieval church law they were the issue of a bigamous marriage as Edward had not bothered to dissolve his engagement to another woman when he married their mother Elizabeth Woodville.[[/note]] the Duke was the legitimate heir and should become Richard III.

* [[http://www.buzzfeed.com/gregorydjohnsen/60-words-and-a-war-without-end-the-untold-story-of-the-most Rep. Barbara Lee got one of these]] when she was deciding how to vote on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Terrorists Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists]] on September 12, 2001. Her instinct was to vote against it as a "blank check", but she was concerned this might be seen as disunity in a crucial moment. Both houses of Congress were to attend a prayer service at the National Cathedral: the Senate had rushed their vote (for), so they could be there. Lee wasn't planning on going, but changed her mind and caught the last bus. Rev. Nathan Baxter spoke on [[http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/31-15.htm Jeremiah 31:15]], and then prayed for the wisdom "that as we act, we not ''become the evil that we deplore''." Lee voted against the Authorization. She was the only Congressperson to do so.

* ''{{Fans}}'': Rikk and his two wives come to church to discover their favorite pastor has been booted out while they were elsewhere; the new preacher's sermon is on the evils of bigamy and the trio realize their identities have been leaked.

* In {{ComicBook/All Fall Down}}, Father Hector delivers a sermon on remaining strong in the face of adversity, intercut with a {{flashback}} to the Pantheon duking it out with the Order of Despots on the moon.

* In the first ''ThiefOfBagdad'', the thief in his early antics overhears an iman preaching about the need to earn happines. He breaks in to loudly deny it. But later, having realized he is unworthy of the princess he loves, he comes back to the mosque, and the iman repeats the message to send him off on his quest to become worthy.

Compare CoincidentalBroadcast, where a TV broadcast just happens to be related to the plot, and ChekhovsClassroom, where key information is framed in an academic lesson rather than a spiritual one. Could be a literal form of DeusExMachina. See also EasyEvangelism, a common result of this trope (especially when there's a WriterOnBoard). Compare and contrast PreApprovedSermon, where the sermon's relevance is controlled by another character's influence.

Compare CoincidentalBroadcast, where a TV broadcast just happens to be related to the plot, and ChekhovsClassroom, where key information is framed in an academic lesson rather than a spiritual one. Could be a literal form of DeusExMachina. See also EasyEvangelism, a common result of this trope (especially when there's a WriterOnBoard).

* [[http://www.buzzfeed.com/gregorydjohnsen/60-words-and-a-war-without-end-the-untold-story-of-the-most Rep. Barbara Lee got one of these]] when she was deciding how to vote on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Terrorists Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists]] on September 12, 2001. Her instinct was to vote against it as a "blank check", but she was concerned this might be seen as disunity in a crucial moment. Both houses of Congress were to attend a prayer service at the National Cathedral: the Senate had rushed their vote (for), so they could be there. Lee wasn't planning on going, but changed her mind and caught the last bus. Rev. Nathan Baxter spoke on [[http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/31-15.htm Jeremiah 31:15]], and then prayed for the wisdom "that as we act, we not ''become the evil that we deplore''." Lee voted against the Authorization. She was the only Congressperson to do so.

* Early on in ''Comicbook/KingdomCome,'' Norman [=McKay=] is delivering a sermon about the prophecies of the cataclysms of End Times, and stops when he realizes how dark it all sounds just following the destruction of Kansas. Then, when he's alone, he receives a visit from the Specter, who lets him know that those prophecies are being played out right now.

* Early on in ''Comicbook/KingdomCome,'' Norman [=McKay=] is delivering a sermon about the prophecies of the cataclysms of End Times, and stops when he realizes how dark it all sounds just following the destruction of Kansas. He feels guilty for having delivered the sermon, as if he's betrayed his parishioners who came to him for a ray of hope. Then, when he's alone, he receives a visit from the Specter, who lets him know that those prophecies are being played out right now.

* Early on in ''Comicbook/KingdomCome,'' Norman McKay is delivering a sermon about the prophecies of the cataclysms of End Times, and stops when he realizes how dark it all sounds just following the destruction of Kansas. He feels guilty for having delivered the sermon, as if he's betrayed his parishioners who came to him for a ray of hope. Then, when he's alone, he receives a visit from the Specter, who lets him know that those prophecies are being played out right now.

* Rep. Barbara Lee got one of these when she was deciding how to vote on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Terrorists Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists]] on September 12, 2001. Her instinct was to vote against it as a "blank check", but she was concerned this might be seen as disunity in a crucial moment. She hadn't intended to attend the service at the National Cathedral, but changed her mind and caught the last bus. After a startlingly aggressive rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," Rev. Nathan Baxter spoke on [[http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/31-15.htm Jeremiah 31:15]], and then prayed for the wisdom "that as we act, we not ''become the evil that we deplore''." Lee voted against the Authorization. She was the only Congressperson to do so.

* ''TheWitchesOfEastwick''. As Daryl van Horn is being blown toward the church by a gale-force wind, the sermon being spoken inside is as follows:

* There were a couple of occasions where priests saying mass for King Richard the Lionheart would take as their topic "The sin of Sodom", to the point of almost being a laser-guided sermon directed at the King.[[note]]Richard I had rumors swirling around him of being bisexual -- we know he has at least one illegitimate child, but historians are divided on whether or not he also had Philip Augustus, king of France, as a lover.[[/note]]

* Because of the setup of the show, this is to be expected about the show ''MoralOrel''. It also helps that the preacher is one of the few characters who's head ''isn't'' up his ass, and thus he can make the connection transparent (though the others still won't see it). However, this isn't intentional in every episode. Orel's belief that it is is what establishes the plot in some episodes.

** Not part of the ''sermon'', but the mass we see Bethany attend early on includes a mention of the church's support of John Doe Jersey, which becomes [[ChekhovsGun important later on]].

* The engineered variety occurs in ''Rocket Boys''[[hottip:*:the novel that ''Film/OctoberSky'' was based on]] after Sonny and his gang start causing problems from rockets gone awry. The official company minister lectures on the importance of sons obeying fathers (Sonny's dad just so happens to be the foreman). And then the minister turns it back around by delivering a followup sermon about how fathers should be more supportive of their sons.

* ''MisterRoberts''. On VE Day, Mr Roberts is listening to the radio and hears someone giving a speech on the need to destroy tyranny. "You must tear up its roots like a poisoned tree, and cast it from the earth!" Roberts obediently salutes the radio, then throws the palm tree of his tyrannical captain overboard.