Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Surely, Surely
Surely, Surely Story Lectionary 28 November 2016 First Sunday in Advent Handmaiden Hagar and Ishmael Her Son, Sent Into the Wilderness, Encounter God (Genesis 21) Handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah Bear Sons Who Will Become Lost Tribes of Israel (Genesis 30) Psalm 34: I Will Glory in the Lord Psalm 63:…
Make it Real –preaching tip for 28 November 2016
People remember through experience more than only in listening. They remember through touch, through sound and music, through color and art, through shape, and through taste. This advent season, make your sermons experiential, tangible, touchable, so that people take away with them the glory and beauty of Christ the Lord.
Pastor’s Prayer –for the first Sunday in Advent 28 November 2016
MORNING PRAYER
Christmas, 1943
God, to you I call early in the morning. Help me pray and gather my thoughts to yourself. I cannot do it alone. In me it is dark, but with you is the light; I am lonely, but you forsake me not; I am faint-hearted, but with you is help; I am restless, but with you is peace; In me is bitterness, but with you is patience; I do not understand my way, but You know the way for me.
Father in Heaven, praise and thanks be yours for the night’s rest. Praise and thanks be your for the new day. Praise and thanks be yours for all your kindness and faithfulness in my past life. You have shown me much good. Let me now receive from your hand what is hard. You will not lay upon me more than I can bear. For your children you let all things serve for the best.
Lord Jesus Christ, you were poor and miserable, captive and forsaken as I am. You know every need of humans. You remain with me when no man stands by me. You forget me not and seek me. You will that I recognize you and turn to you. Lord, I hear your call and follow. Help me!
Holy Spirit, give me the faith that rescues me from despair, addictions, and vice. Give me the love for God and humans, that destroys all hate and bitterness, give me the hope that frees me from fear and despondency.
Holy, merciful God, My Creator and my Savior, My Judge and my Deliverer, You know me and everything I do. You hate and punish evil in this world and in the next with no respect of persons; You forgive sins for the one who asks sincerely; You love good and reward it on this earth with a good conscience and in the world to come with the crown of righteousness.
Before you I think of all my loved ones, and of my fellow prisoners, and of all those who do their hard service in this house. Lord, have mercy! Grant me freedom again, and let me so live in the present that I can live responsibly before humans. Lord, whatever else this day brings—may your name be praised! Amen.
–Dietrich Bonhoeffer
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hung April 9, 1945, in Flossenberg concentration camp. He was 39.)
Ragamuffin –Film Review by Ashley Linne
“He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love,” I remember singing, practically shouting, along with the congregation as we sang “Awesome God.” It was our anthem on Sunday mornings, at Vacation Bible School, and at Wednesday night youth group. I don’t recall ever getting to see Rich Mullins live in concert, but his music is part of the soundtrack of my life. I will never forget the shock I felt on that morning in September 1997 when our local Christian radio station announced Rich had tragically died.
Over the years following, I experienced tragedies of my own and found myself turning to Rich’s music. I learned that his “Ragamuffin Band” name came from Brennan Manning’s book Ragamuffin Gospel, which I promptly read and loved. I remember wondering what Rich Mullin’s life had been like and what led him to be such a great songwriter theologian. read more…
Let There Be Light –Introducing Derek White
‘Supermoon’ Science: NASA Explains the Closest Full Moon Until 2034
Summary:
To help explain the science behind supermoons, and what makes the November supermoon particularly special, Space.com spoke with NASA’s Noah Petro, deputy scientist of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.
http://www.space.com/34714-supermoon-science-nasa-explains-closest-full-moon.html
Ready for Halleluiah!
Last week we listened to an American Alleluia. This week, the echo of Canadian Leonard Cohen’s Halleluiah is still reverberating, many days after the announcement of his death. I attended one of Cohen’s performances in 2013. At 79, Cohen was full of joy, dancing onto the stage, delighting in the interaction with his musical partners, and engaging us with his stories and remarkable musicianship. The one thing that sticks out from that night is the level of respect, honor and, yes, even love, that was shared between musicians. There was no hurry, no tension, no counting the clock. Cohen was there for, and with, his musical partners until all of the songs had been sung, until the evening had been played to its conclusion, until the final notes were carried out of Copps Colliseum in our hearts. read more…
The Itch
A woman complained to her psychiatrist that she as constantly itching. Curiously, the itching seemed to be especially bothersome when she was in church. “Why do I itch all the time?” she asked. IN due course, the psychiatrist became aware of the woman’s deep-rooted hatred of her sister. She was…
Translucent Grace
Translucent Grace Story Lectionary 20 November 2016 Jesus’ Transfiguration Jacob Anoints the Altar at El Bethel (Genesis 35) Tablets of Stone from the Mountain of the Lord (Exodus 24) The Construction of the Stone Foundation for Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 5) Balaam and Barak (Numbers 22-24) The Stones of Gilgal…
Bottoms Up!
Bottoms Up! Lectionary 20 November 2016 Christ the King Sunday Jeremiah 23:1-6 Luke 1:68-79 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43 Thanksgiving Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm 100 Philippians 4:4-9 John 6:25-35 Text to Life Whose got the power? For the past year and a half that has been the quest of the 2016 election…
Pastor’s Prayer for 20 November 2016
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, the truth;
Where there is doubt, the faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
–St. Francis of Assisi