Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Moving In
Moving In Lectionary 15 November 2015 25th Sunday After Pentecost 1 Samuel 1:4-20 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25 Mark 13:1-8 Text to Life For some, it would seem, the gospel is “good news” about increasing your living standards, not your loving standards. The gospel as “good news” is…
Revised and Revisioned
Revised and Revisioned Story Lectionary 15 November 2015 Genesis 1,2: Creation By the Hand of God From Dirt and Water and Breath of the Holy Spirit Moses and the Tent of Meeting during the Exodus (33) The Hallel Psalms: 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 Psalm 40: From out of…
Pastor’s Prayer –a Humorous Prayer for 11-15-15
even though they’re usually not my fault.
–A Humor Prayer taken from Belief.net in honor of Anita Renfroe
The Jesus Cow
The Jesus Cow
A Novel
by Michael Perry
Slip on your barn boots and get ready for a farmland tale that poses heartfelt questions about faith, love, and filial duty. The Jesus Cow (2015) published by HarperCollins, is a comical mash-up of life styles, pitting the laid back pace of by-gone agricultural days against the break-neck social media whirlwind of today. The hero of The Jesus Cow is Harley Jackson, a Swivel, Wisconsin beef farmer whose old cattle barn is the location of a Christmas Eve miracle — of sorts. Thanks to the no-brakes, no-boundaries nature of the internet, news of the miracle instantly flies to all corners of the earth, and life on Harley’s quiet farm is altered forever.
Michael Perry, the Wisconsin native who penned The Jesus Cow, is a bestselling author and in the pattern of Garrison Keillor, also hosts a nationally syndicated musical radio show called Tent Show Radio. Perry has written several non-fiction books and has a website called www.sneezingcow.com. read more…
Connections Are Important –Preaching Tip for 11-15-15
Connections are all important. “You can’t lead someone on a journey of faith to meet Jesus if you don’t first take their hand,” says comedienne Anita Renfroe. If you want people to listen to you, you need to first connect with them, so they trust you enough to take your…
God Gives the Pharisees the Finger!
God Gives the Pharisees the Finger! Story Lectionary 8 November 2015 The Potter’s Hand (Genesis 2) God’s Hand/Finger Strikes Egypt (Exodus 6-8) The Sotah Jealousy Ritual Given to the Israelites by God (Bitter Waters) (Exodus 32) The Ritual of the Sotah and the Law of Jealousy (The Test of Bitter…
Nobodies and Nothings
Nobodies and Nothings Lectionary 8 November 2015 24th Sunday After Pentecost Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 Psalm 127 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44 Text to Life Ever wonder where we got the expression “my 2 cents” or its longer version “put my two cents in?” You read it this morning in Mark’s gospel,…
Just Pray –Preaching Tip for 8 November 2015
Always pray. Before your sermon, always pray that the voice of God might be heard. Prayer not only puts your sermon into the hands of God, and allows God to use it, change it, empower it, but prayer also puts you into a place of humility. Prayer instills confidence. It…
Pastor’s Prayer for November 8, 2015
Grant, Almighty God, that as we were from our beginning lost, when thou wert pleased to extend to us thy hand, and to restore us to salvation for the sake of thy Son; and that as we continue even daily to run headlong to our own ruin, — O grant that we may not, by sinning so often, so provoke at length thy displeasure as to cause thee to take away from us the mercy which thou hast hitherto exercised towards us, and through which thou hast adopted us: but by thy Spirit destroy the wickedness of our heart, and restore us to a sound mind, that we may ever cleave to thee with a true and sincere heart, that being fortified by thy defence, we may continue safe even amidst all kinds of danger, until at length thou gatherest us into that blessed rest, which has been prepared for us in heaven by our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
–John Calvin, “Prayer From the Book of Hosea”
Requiem
Halloween celebrations were a big thing at the place where I work. Teams huddled to discuss their “theme” and how they would capture the coveted prizes that are awarded for these events. Although there were suggestions such as “Disney Princesses” (yes, there are men on my team), “Where’s Waldo” (my personal favourite, since our team leader is a shoe-in for Waldo), and “A Crate of Apples” (??!!!??), the theme that won the vote was “The Walking Dead.”
Zombies are apparently a big thing. People trying to escape from zombies (real or imagined) is a serious preoccupation. read more…