Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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The Shack
The Shack, starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and Tim McGraw read more…
The Jesus Watering Hole
The Jesus Watering Hole Lectionary 19 March 2017 3rd Sunday in Lent Exodus 17:1-7 Psalm 95 Romans 5:1-11 John 4:5-42 Text to Life Every local “watering hole” is both a refuge and a risk. Since every living creature needs water, gathering at a stream, a pond, a river, is essential…
Matching Vibrato
This week’s playlist highlights the string quartet – the ensemble arguably the crown jewel of the chamber music genre – two violins, viola and cello.
Joseph Haydn is often credited with developing and promoting the string quartet, in the mid-1700s. Haydn’s compositional techniques and format were expanded by the two other masters of the Classical Period: Mozart and Beethoven. Together, these three composers wrote over 100 works for string quartet! This massive output set the pace for those who came after, as virtually all of the major composers of the 18th through 21st century have composed works for these four instruments. read more…
Memory and Mentors
Sound waves boost older adults’ memory, deep sleep
Summary: “Pink noise synced to brain waves deepens sleep and triples memory scores in older adults.”
Read more a https://goo.gl/VyD9K7
Digitally mined from www.sciencedaily.com
The “ludic loop” of checking email, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all day
Summary: “Slot machines are designed to lock you into a “ludic loop” — doing something over and over again because every once in a while you get a reward. People check their emails and social networks repeatedly for the same reason.” read more…
The Bramble King
The Bramble King Story Lectionary 19 March 2017 Thorns Out of Paradise (Genesis 3) Joseph is Betrayed By His Brothers for 20 Shekels of Silver (Genesis 37) The Three-Score and 10 Pieces of Silver for Abimelech’s Murders and Jotham’s Parable of the Trees and Bramble (Judges 9:1-14 and 7-15) Samuel…
Lenten Services –Preaching Tip for 19 March 2017
Lenten services (typically held on Wednesdays….but can be any day or days of the week in addition to the regular weekly service) can be times of experimentation and creativity. Try 15 minute or half hour services that focus on one metaphor or on one brief story. Or center them around…
Pastor’s Prayer –19 March 2017
Celtic Prayer
Through the dark hours of this night
protect and surround us,
Father, Son and Spirit, Three.
Forgive the ill that we have done.
Forgive the pride that we have shown.
Forgive the words that have caused harm
that we might sleep peaceably,
and rise refreshed to do your will.
Through the dark hours of this night
protect and surround us,
Father, Son and Spirit, Three
The Market as God
The Market as God
by Harvey Cox
–Review by Paula Jones
Considering that I haven’t balanced a checkbook in 30 years, and that I would rather have a root canal than talk to a financial-planner about investment portfolios, it would be an understatement to say that I do not think ‘financially.’ Thanks to a partner who is financially savvy and a little common sense, I have managed to keep my cash flow positive and remain in a state of financial Zen. I tell you this because Harvey Cox’s
The Market as God deals with economics and the market in a way that totally fascinates even me. It is exceedingly accessible.
In it, Cox (Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard University) speaks prophetically to a humanity that has divinized the world of finance. His stated purpose is to “. . . demonstrate that the way the world economy operates today is not simply “natural” or “just the way things work,” but is shaped by a powerful and global system of values and symbols that can best be understood as an ersatz religion. The term The Market is used as shorthand for the “entire economic and cultural system which it pervades and in which it is the supremely powerful part.” read more…
Nothing Keeps
Nothing Keeps Lectionary 12 March 2017 2nd Sunday in Lent Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 121 Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17 Text to Life (This sermon is about change, and due to a request, we have deviated this week from the Lenten lectionary and have offered up a second sermon for Jesus’…
Diversity in Unity
In French, the word ensemble means “together, with one another, or combined.” This week’s music features examples of diversity together: ensemble.
In particular, a wind ensemble is a combination of difference unified. Wood and brass, single reeds, double reeds, metal mouthpieces, curved and straight shapes, all connected by individual breaths, to create ensemble. Other ensembles, like the brass groups in last week’s playlist, bring together different members of the same family of instruments. But the wind ensemble combines instruments from different families: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and french horn. These distinctions require a different kind of attention to playing together, and they define the sound of the ensemble. The players are not focused on their differences, however. Their energy goes into the music. Despite the diversity of their instruments, they create harmony, together. read more…