Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Tell the stories! Preaching tip for 10 April 2016
Tell the stories of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. These are witnesses that created Christianity as we know it. Without the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity doesn’t grow in the first century. How can you re-create that experience for your people? How can you bring home the power and shock of the resurrection…
Pastor’s Prayer –10 April 2016
Almighty God, who through your only‑begotten Son Jesus
Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of
everlasting life:
Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the
day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death
of sin by your life‑giving Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
–Book of Common Prayer, 1979, Episcopal Church USA
The Dusty Ones
The Dusty Ones: Why Wandering Deepens Your Faith
by A. J. Swoboda
Wandering down the road less traveled seems to be a harmless pastime in most settings, but when it comes to living the Christian life, the idea of wandering away has a worrisome connotation, one that brings to mind the lost sheep or the lost son from the parables of Jesus. Those stories are cautionary tales, even though they have happy endings. In The Dusty Ones: Why Wandering Deepens You Faith (Baker Books, 2016), A. J. Swoboda asks readers to suspend their preconceived notions of wandering and consider the many pathways, and the many wanderers, presented in the Bible. In the Preface to The Dusty Ones, Swoboda writes: “This (book) is for the quester, the seeker, the sojourner, and the wanderer; basically, anyone still doing the er — those along the way. You are just the wanderer God has always had in mind.” read more…
Respectworthy, Loveworthy, Trustworthy
Respectworthy, Loveworthy, Trustworthy Lectionary 10 April 2016 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 9:1-6 (7-20) Psalm 30 Revelation 5:11-14 John 21:1-19 Revelation 5:11-14 Then I looked, and I heard the sound of many angels surrounding the throne, the living creatures, and the elders. They numbered in the millions –thousands upon…
Look Alive! –Preaching Tip for 3 April 2016
When you are preaching, look alive! Even if you’ve had a terrible week, even if you’ve been up all night, even if you feel terrible, if you are not alive in Jesus when you preach to others, you cannot possibly convey His resurrection joy!
The Gardener
The Gardener Story Lectionary 3 April 2016 Jesus’ Appearance in the Garden to Mary God Creates a Garden (Genesis 2-3) The Story of Balak and Balaam’s Blessings on Israel (Numbers 22-24) Psalm 36: The Lord is the Fountain of Life Psalm 46: God’s Dwelling Place Psalm 92: The Righteous of…
The God Who Is, Who Was, Who Is To Come
The God Who Is, Who Was, Who Is To Come Lectionary 3 April 2016 2nd Sunday of Easter Acts 5:27-32 Psalm 150 Revelation 1:4-8 John 20:19-31 Text to Life Grace to you and peace, sisters and brothers, from the One who is, the One who was, and the One who…
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
As we journeyed through Holy Week and into the mystery of Easter, we surrounded ourselves with music … and silence … and reflection. This week we begin the longest season of the Christian Year – 50 days of rejoicing! The greatest celebration of the greatest story, unfolds with lifting our voices, together, in song. Join in the singing as you enjoy some of these favorites.
Easter Service from King’s College Cambridge, April 4, 2015
The Mission and How Great Thou Art – The Piano Guys
Simon Preston and Diane Bish – dynamic duo of organs
Variations on an Easter Theme by John Rutter
My Redeemer Lives – Hillsong Church
Because He Lives – Gaither Band
Pastor’s Prayer for 3 April 2016
Lord, may your kingship be established in the earth that is me. May your will be done in my life. I am no angel Lord dwelling in the heavenly realm. I am me, a self living on Earth in an earth body. I am earth living on Earth. I am made of earth. Yet I long for your kingdom and your will to be done in my life. My kingdom has not worked out so well. May yours be established in this oh-so-earthen vessel. Doing my will has brought me nothing but frustration and failure. Now, O Lord, let yours be done. Amen.
–Dr. Mark Rutland
Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious
Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious
by David Dark
Before reading Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious (2016, Intervarsity Press), take some time to sweep your gaze across the cultural landscape, then get ready to launch into a rip-roaring conversation about Christian life.
David Dark has a mesmerizing way with words. That is not to say that he treats his subject, what it means to be religious, lightly; he does not. But Dark’s narrative style has a way of being open, animated and in full-color. The artist’s palette that he takes from is what he calls his Attention Collection of life experiences: books, actors, mishaps, music, movies, slip-ups, students and pilgrims of the Christian faith, etc. Dark is a member of a Presbyterian congregation in Nashville, Tennessee, and says, “I am pleased to be there as one more pilgrim struggling with the mix of resources that makes up my heritage — that would be my weird religious background — and the blessing and burden of consciousness and conscience it imposes on me…I can’t imagine leaving [the Presbyterian fellowship] behind but hope instead to consciously confront it, to occasionally define myself against it and to dwell faithfully within it.” read more…