Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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The Catch
The Catch Story Lectionary 30 April 2017 Jesus’ Seaside Post-Resurrection Appearance Moses Commissions Joshua to Succeed Him (Numbers 27:12-23) The Story of Samson (Judges 16) The Passing of the Mantle from Elijah to Elisha (1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 2) The Book of Jonah (Including the Song of Jonah)…
Beautiful
Beautiful Story Lectionary 23 April 2017 Jesus’ Post Resurrection Appearance in a Locked Room The Story of Noah and the Mourning of Methuselah (Genesis 5-7) The Sealing of the Garden (Genesis 3) Song of Moses (Exodus 15) The Psalm of Jonah Psalm 98: Sing a New Song Psalm 30: Lifted…
Dead Hope and Living Hope
Dead Hope and Living Hope Lectionary 23 April 2017 Second Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, 22-32 Psalm 16 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31 Text to Life Before there was “Doctors Without Borders” (established in 1971), there were “doctors without land.” In 1958 “Project Hope” was launched. “Project Hope:” was the…
It’s Not Over Yet –Preaching Tip for 23 April 2016
Many times, Easter goes by, and people fall into a kind of “lame time.” But Easter is only the beginning of a year-round celebration of Christ’s resurrection in our lives and hearts. This Easter….you might want to try a longer “Easter.” Spread out a series on Easter from Easter morning through…
Pastor’s Prayer for 23 April 2016
When everything was dark
and it seemed that the sun would never shine again,
your love broke through.
Your love was too strong,
too wide,
too deep
for death to hold.
The sparks cast by your love
dance and spread
and burst forth
with resurrection light.
Gracious God,
We praise you for the light of new life
made possible through Jesus.
We praise you for the light of new life
that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection.
We praise you for the light of new life
that continues to shine in our hearts today.
We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy,
will live in us each day;
and that we will be bearers of that light
into the lives of others.
Amen.
–Michaela Youngson, Ealing Trinity Circuit, the Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Zookeeper’s Wife
The Zookeeper’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Brühl
–Review by Ashley Linne
This film is rated PG-13.
The Zookeeper’s Wife is based on the lesser-known true story of the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, who saved hundreds of Jews during World War II. When the Germans occupied Poland, Antonina Żabiński and her husband, Dr. Jan Żabiński, found a way to covertly use their zoo to protect and transport Jews to safety. After the war ended, the Warsaw Zoo was rebuilt and remains open to this day.
Notably, this holocaust film is directed by a woman and features a strong female lead. As some reviewers have pointed out (see Jacob Soll’s review: https://newrepublic.com/article/141806/revelatory-horror-zookeepers-wife), the director took a slightly different take on the holocaust atrocities than most films in this genre, by highlighting brutality of women, children, and animals. We see crimes like these happening across the world at pretty much any point in time. If you removed the film from its context of WWII, parts of it could have been about any war or even a current events piece. read more…
Easter –The Resurrection of Our Lord
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-17, 22-24
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”
The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.
Seize the Moment! (Carpe Momentum!)
Time, Memory, Marriage, and What Makes Us Who We Are
Summary: ““Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire.”
Read and watch at: https://goo.gl/VPviWP
Digitally mined from: www.brainpickings.org
Why People Are So Bad At Thinking About the Future?
Summary: “Our future selves are strangers to us. This isn’t some poetic metaphor; it’s a neurological fact. FMRI studies suggest that when you imagine your future self, your brain does something weird: It stops acting as if you’re thinking about yourself. Instead, it starts acting as if you’re thinking about a completely different person.”
read more…
The Arts
Why Do So Many Musicians End Up Being One-Hit Wonders?
Summary: “So what is it about pop stardom that makes it so difficult to sustain? Actually, to call a one-hit wonder a “pop star” is highly denigrating to proper pop stars like David Bowie or Prince, who built long careers from consistently gauging the sonic desires of the masses. ”
Read and watch at: https://goo.gl/TQVjQs
Digitally mined from: www.highsnobiety.com
Urban Photography read more…
Holy Week
During the past six weeks of listening to ensembles and focusing on the characteristics of ensemble, I have also been mulling over the first chapter of Colossians, especially verse 17:
He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
This glorious hymn in Colossians (v.15-20) affirms, confirms, and then reaffirms the centrality of Christ before, in, and after … everything! The ensemble (togetherness) of eternity is Christ.
In the coming week, we will re-member the path of Jesus and the disciples from Bethany, through Jerusalem, to Calvary. The soundtrack that sets these stories to music includes compositions from the earliest chants through to modern expression, and could fill weeks and weeks of listening. There are over 30 published settings of the Seven Last Words of Christ, for example, from as early as the 1500s. read more…