Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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The Stone is My Witness
The Stone is My Witness Story Lectionary 16 April 2017 Resurrection Sunday The Time of Jubilee (Leviticus 25) The Celebration of First Fruits (Deuteronomy 26) David’s Song of Thanksgiving (2 Samuel 22-24 and 1 Chronicles 16) Psalm 95: Psalm of Joy Psalm 98: Our Eyes Have Seen the Salvation of…
“Go to Church!”
“Go to Church!” Lectionary 16 April 2017 Easter Sunday Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:1-18 Text to Life If you watch “The Voice,” that’s what you heard from the mouth of coach DJ Khaled, the rapper and radio producer Alicia Keys brought it to help coach her…
Feel the Joy –Preaching Tip for 16 April 2017 Easter
Easter is a joyous occasion. Your preaching should be joyous as well. Think of incorporating worship and sermon time that allows people to celebrate with you –to sing, to dance, to shout, to wave. Make ways that people can show their joy, not just listen to you tell them to…
Pastor’s Prayer –16 April 2017 Easter
EASTER-WINGS.
LORD, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poor :
With thee
O let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories :
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
My tender age in sorrow did beginne :
And still with sicknesses and shame
Thou didst so punish sinne,
That I became
Most thinne.
With thee
Let me combine,
And feel this day thy victorie,
For, if I imp my wing on thine,
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.
–George Herbert
Mother Tongue
Mother Tongue: How Our Heritage Shapes Our Story
By Leonard Sweet
–Review by Paula Jones
In Leonard Sweet’s latest offering, he offers his readers the best he has to offer––his mother. And because mothers usually have the greatest influence of anyone on our lives, and because in Sweet’s own words, “Mothers cast long, long shadows,” his mother’s story is in many ways his own story.
The Christ-inebriated life of Mabel Boggs Sweet can best be summed up by 1 Corinthians 2:2- For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Obsessively in love with Jesus, and committed to be faithful to his calling, she chose a life of continual crucifixion with Christ. Consequently, her life was filled with the trouble of a determined disciple. She was rejected by her church; her home was shunned by family members; and the institutional church attempted to prevent her from pursuing the call to preach by recalling her credentials. Nevertheless she persisted as an epitome of faithfulness, sustained both by the present grace of Jesus and the future hope of his realized Kingdom. Her faith gleamed. read more…
Vital Signs, a Good Friday Sermon
Good Friday 14 April 2017 Sermon by Rev. Jim Mueller John 19 The most famous sign in America might be the 350 foot HOLLYWOOD sign in Los Angeles. The land was originally a farm when H.H. Wilcox purchased it in 1886. She christened her farm “Holywood” because she was a…
A Handful of Feet, a Maundy Thursday Sermon
A Handful of Feet 13 April 2017 Sermon by Rev. Meghan L. Good John 13:1-38 The evening meal is in full swing. The cooling air buzzes with cross-conversations and laughter. Thaddeus calls for more wine. Spirits are high. Their Lord and Teacher has been welcomed to the city like a…
Health and Encouragement
The rise of “Generation Health”
Summary: “After rising for a decade, life expectancy in America has begun leveling off and has even declined for some groups.”
Read and watch at: https://goo.gl/RrHwAZ
Digitally mined from: www.techcrunch.com
Silicon Valley Would Rather Cure Death Than Make Life Worth Living
Summary: “After disrupting the way we love, communicate, travel, work, and even eat, technologists believe they can solve the ultimate problem. Perennially youthful Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced last year a $3 billion initiative to obliterate human disease. Among his many crusades, Paypal co-founder and Trump advisor Peter Thiel aims to end mortality. (“Basically, I’m against it,” he has said.) Alphabet has a whole company devoted to curing this most intractable of inconveniences.”
read more…
The Conductor
Even the best ensembles, when they get to a certain size, need the help of a conductor. Quartets and Quintets are small enough that the musicians have the essential ability to see each other’s faces. They can look directly at each other, hear each other’s breathing, and read each other’s body language. But when the group gets beyond 6 or 8 musicians, they start to sit in rows, and no longer have the same capacity to receive these critical cues from one another. read more…
You Can Trust Your Donkey
You Can Trust Your Donkey Lectionary 9 April 2017 Palm Sunday / Passion Sunday Matthew 21:1-11 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 Philippians 2:5-11 Matthew 26:14-27:66 (27:11-54) Text to Life Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1-11) How many of you here this morning have a tattoo? NO!! Yes?? DON’T show…