Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Don’t Be Afraid of Sadness –preaching tip for 21 February 2016
Don’t be afraid of sadness. Often, we as parishioners (and pastors too) love to celebrate the happy times in the body of Christ but edge away from the times of mourning, sadness, and heartbreak. But no one can possibly understand the impact of Easter and the resurrection without first experiencing…
Pergamon
Pergamon is famous for being one of the seven churches of Asia cited in the Book of Revelation. Among the ruins of Pergamon is the temple of Aesclepius. Aesclepius was the god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. There were many temples of Aesclepius (“hospital” is a corruption…
Jesus Outside the Lines
Jesus Outside The Lines:
A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides
by Scott Sauls
Have you offended any one lately? I ask this because it is an election year in the United States and politics is everywhere. If you have participated in political discussions it is likely you have taken sides on an issue and offended somebody – maybe even a family member or close friend. As followers of Jesus Christ, how do we relate to people who hold opinions that differ from our own, especially when the subjects of interest are emotionally charged? Scott Sauls, senior Pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides (Tyndale 2015) offers thoughtful guidance on how to keep our eyes on Jesus as we engage others in discussions about deeply felt and potentially polarizing matters. read more…
Have a Heart
Have a Heart Lectionary 14 February 2016 First Sunday in Lent Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Romans 10:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13 Text to Life There is a brand of breakfast cereal that called “Smart Start.” It is specifically branded and bandied about as “heart smart” cereal. It has lots of anti-oxidants,…
The Great Dinner
The Great Dinner Story Lectionary 14 February 2016 First Sunday in the Lenten Journey (Jesus Last Months) Moses Officiates the Covenant Between God and Israel (Exodus 24) Ezekiel’s Story of Jerusalem the Lord’s Adulterous Wife (Ezekiel 16 and 23) Jeremiah’s Story of Israel’s Unfaithfulness to God (Jeremiah 3) Hosea’s Story…
Thoughts for Ash Wednesday –Preaching Tip for 14 February 2016
Whenever you “preach” Ash Wednesday, the ashes take precedent. Sometimes, it isn’t so much what we say, as what people “do” to embody their faith. The use of a liturgy or sacred time of ashes can be supplemented by an elaboration of the scriptures and the ritual with thoughts and prayers, or…
Pastor’s Prayer for Lent –for 14 February 2016
Adoro Te Devote
O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee,
Who truly art within the forms before me;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.
Jesu, eternal Shepherd! hear our cry;
Increase the faith of all whose souls on Thee rely.
Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived;
The ear alone most safely is believed:
I believe all the Son of God has spoken,
Than truth’s own word there is no truer token.
Ave Jesu, Pastor Fidélium;
Adáuge fidem ómnium in te credéntium.
God only on the cross lay hid from view;
But here lies hid at once the manhood too;
And I, in both professing my belief,
Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.
Ave Jesu, Pastor Fidélium;
Adáuge fidem ómnium in te credéntium.
Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be;
Make me believe Thee evermore and more;
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.
Ave Jesu, Pastor Fidélium;
Adáuge fidem ómnium in te credéntium.
O Thou memorial of our Lord’s own dying!
O living bread, to mortals life supplying!
Make Thou my soul henceforth on Thee to live,
Ever a taste of heavenly sweetness give.
Ave Jesu, Pastor Fidélium;
Adáuge fidem ómnium in te credéntium.
O loving Pelican! O Jesus Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood!
Of which a single drop, for sinners split,
Can purge the entire world from all its guilt.
Ave Jesu, Pastor Fidélium;
Adáuge fidem ómnium in te credéntium.
Jesus, whom, for the present, veil’d I see,
What I so thirst for, oh! vouchsafe to me;
That I may see Thy contenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding.
Ave Jesu, Pastor Fidélium;
Adáuge fidem ómnium in te credéntium.
–St. Thomas Aquinas
How to Like Paul Again
How to Like Paul Again
The Apostle You Never Knew
by Conrad Gempf
What is your opinion of the Apostle Paul? When you read his letters to the newly formed Christian churches in the Roman Empire do you find him a bit abrasive? Stern? Rigid? It was interesting to note that when telling folks that I was reading a book called How To Like Paul Again by Conrad Gempf my friends immediately understood that I was referring to the Apostle Paul, and a few asked if Gempf’s book was effective in changing my mind about the Apostle. I wasn’t brave enough to admit that I already like Paul – quite a bit, actually. Still, my friends’ questions, and my reluctance to identify myself as a fan, provided clear evidence that Paul’s popularity ratings are not exactly stellar. Maybe that’s because, as the second half of the title of Gempf’s book suggests, we really don’t know the Apostle Paul. I think if you read this fast-moving, quick-witted and lovingly researched book you might experience your own Damascus moment in regard to Paul. read more…
Variations in Voice
When we listen to music, as with all listening, we are hearing a number of layered elements that come together.
When we hear a person’s story, we primarily listen to their words. But, implicit in the telling, is their body language, their tone of voice, and their emotional response to us and to their own words. Music is a combination of instruments, voices, sound production (for recorded music), and the acoustics of the performance venue. But behind (or under, or before) the performance of music, is the composer’s creative use of voice. The instrument used to carry the melody is a fundamental compositional choice.
The creative process of taking music from one’s imagination to the written page is a combination of voicing, counter point, and orchestration. Each of these individual elements plays a significant role in how the work sounds when it is performed. Whether a composer voices the primary melody with a soprano singer, or a flute, or an electric guitar, the melody is the same, but the effect is entirely different. Sometimes, musicians love a particular work so much, that they want to make it available to play on their own instrument. When a work is changed in this way, it is called a transcription. Today there are many transcriptions of Bach’s works. Not only did Bach transcribe his own compositions for different contexts, but his pieces were used to teach counterpoint and orchestration in studios and conservatories across Europe. Mozart, Liszt, Elgar, Rachmaninoff, Stokowski, Stravinski, and even the Swingle Singers have all created transcriptions of Bach’s music: changing the voicings, but not the melodies. read more…
For Adult Children
“My touchstone image of God comes by way of my friend and spiritual director, Bill Cain, S.J. Years ago he took a break from his own ministry to care for his father as he died of cancer. His father had become a frail man, dependent on Bill to do everything…