Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Snap that Photo! –Preaching Tip for 24 April 2016
Snap that photo! Today we live in an age of electronic media. People share what is most meaningful to them. Although you don’t want constant “snapping” in the midst of your holy times, still, using cameras in the midst of worship at times can portray the beauty and wonder of…
Pastor’s Prayer for 24 April 2016
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast once adopted us, and continues to confirm this thy favour by calling us unceasingly to thyself, and dost not only severely chastise us, but also gently and paternally invite us to thyself, and exhort us at the same time to repentance, — O grant that we may not be so hardened as to resist thy goodness, nor abuse this thine incredible forbearance, but submit ourselves in obedience to thee; that whenever thou mayest severely chastise us, we may bear thy corrections with genuine submission of faith, and not continue untameable and obstinate to the last, but return to thee the only fountain of life and salvation, that as thou has once begun in us a good work, so thou mayest perfect it to the day of our Lord. Amen.
Prayer by John Calvin
Two Books for Eastertide
Two Books for Eastertide
It is Eastertide, the fifty-day season in the Church that has as its theme the Resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of awe, elation and beauty; a time for sharing the joy of salvation and new life. This Eastertide two books have helped to add to the jubilation for me: Thumbprint in the Clay: Divine Marks of Beauty, Order and Grace by Luci Shaw and Easter Stories: Classic Tales for the Holy Season, published by Plough Publishing House.
Thumbprint in the Clay (InterVarsity Press, 2016) is the latest book by writer and poet Luci Shaw. In the Acknowledgement she writes, “I have been pursuing the torturous conception and growth of this baby [Thumbprint in the Clay] for many years, sometimes forgetting and almost aborting it by neglect. It first showed its embryonic self as an idea for a plenary address at the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing…Thereafter, like an unborn child, it somehow survived in the womb of an old laptop…Years passed. At another Glen Workshop in Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts, I rediscovered the text in my laptop, read it over and wondered, Is there something usable here? Might it still come to life?… It was then the unborn but tenacious thumbprint theme began again to take over.” read more…
No Simple Humans
“The Scriptures are filled with stories of people close to God, even as their own lives are often fraught with mess, confusion, frustration, betrayal, infidelity and sin. There are no simple human beings, immune to the psychological, sexual and relational complexities that beset us all.” Ronald Rolheiser
An Apple a Day
We need to make introductions more fun and revealing. Here is something I have used in the past on friends and family when introducing them to an audience: Some people have an interesting slant on life and on literature. When { ] first heard his/her teacher say “An apple a…
No Simple Humans
“The Scriptures are filled with stories of people close to God, even as their own lives are often fraught with mess, confusion, frustration, betrayal, infidelity and sin. There are no simple human beings, immune to the psychological, sexual and relational complexities that beset us all.” Ronald Rolheiser
Missing
A story told by the late Anthony de Mello SJ: There was once a devout woman who was filled with love for God. Each morning as she would go to church, children would call out to her and beggars would plead with her, but so immersed was she in her…
A Child’s Grief
Some of the most important preaching we will ever do is at funerals. I will be sharing a lot more in the future of what is in my overflowing files, but let this start the flow, which can be used not just for funerals. It comes from Bob Dixon’s essay…
St. Leo
St. Leo the Great (d.461) wrote in one of his sermons (Sermon 71:2) that Jesus rose as early as possible on the third day, not only to fulfil the Scriptures, but also so that “the disturbed minds of the disciples might not be racked by prolonged grief.” We need the…
Listening for New Life
Spring is in full swing in the Pacific Northwest. Rhododendrons and lilacs are blooming, hostas are stretching their shoots up like sentinels, and the trees are shedding enough pollen to cover sidewalks with a gentle yellow glow. But the most striking change over the past few weeks has been the return of the birds! As the various species return to mate and nest, their joyful sounds fill what, only a few weeks ago, were mornings of silence. Their songs are a striking addition to the more visual, horticultural, signs of new life and resurrection.
As we have journeyed through the past year of music and meditations, I trust that our listening skills have deepened and expanded. We have explored a variety of music genres and styles, and have listened for different elements of orchestral scores. We have heard choral music, solo instruments and full orchestras. You have probably have moments of relaxation and refreshment, as well as moments of surprise and wonder. read more…