Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Madrona Disciples
The True Story Wins
The True Story Wins Story Lectionary Psalms 77, 91, 111 The Song of Moses (Exodus 15) Job 33 (Elihu’s Sermon to Job) Hebrews 4 1 Samuel 28 (The Ghost of Samuel) John 11 (The Raising of Lazarus) Revelation 18 The Gospel According to Matthew on the Story Circulated by…
Simply Good News
Simply Good News
Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good
By N.T. Wright
This latest book by N. T. Wright, Simply Good News, presents a compelling observation of the Western church — that we have developed a debilitating case of amnesia about the meaning of the word “gospel.”Wright believes that we have forgotten that the gospel is, first and foremost, news. And that it is not boring, stale, or irrelevant, but that it is supremely good news. read more…
Mysterious Mountain
This week I offer you an extended musical work, partly in resonance with the celebration of Earth Day.
American composer Alan Hovhannes grew up in affluent Boston and found musical champions in the burgeoning orchestral world of Boston and New York. His second symphony, titled ‘Mysterious Mountain’ was commissioned by Leopold Stokowski. Composed in 1955, the piece was labeled “accessible” by the critics, a virtual death-knell for composers in the 21st century, but the work’s lush harmonies were a stark contrast to 12-tone and avant garde music of the 1950s and critics seemed relieved to experience music that welcomed them instead of making them work for their pay…and the audiences did too. This symphony has become Hovhannes’ most recorded work. read more…
The Divine Vine
The Divine Vine 03 May 2015 Fifth Sunday of Easter Lectionary: Acts 8:26-40 Psalm 22:25-31 1 John 4:7-21 John 15:1-8 Sermon: The Divine Vine Lifeblood. When you hear that word, what do you think? Perhaps our first thought when we hear that term is the blood that circulates throughout…
Embodied Faith –5/3/15
Whenever you preach a story sermon, it helps to use props. These can be anything to either look at or handle. The best props are ones that people can hold in their hands, use to participate along with you in the course of the sermon. Whenever you allow people to…
10 Commandments Makeover
10 Commandments Makeover In an article entitled “Preaching to the Modern Pagans,” Bryan Appleyard, a British journalist and novelist (e.g. Bedford Park) tells how he interviewed a person who kept quoting the Decalogue. Inspired to revisit these ancient words for the first time since childhood, he was struck by their…
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman who was sent on a diplomatic mission to Budapest in June 1944, but who ended up saving tens of thousands of Jews from deportation to Nazi camps. How did it happen? On the banks of the Danube, at night, Jews were shot, often tied…
My Prayer For You – 5/3/15
Take hold of me Lord.
Accept this offering of freedom, of memory, of mind, of will.
These I cling and count as my own.
All are your gifts, Lord; now I am returning them.
They are yours. Do as you will.
Give me only your free gift of love.
In this you give all; in this you give all.
–Ignatius’ “Prayer for Generosity”
Henry Folger’s 3 Rules
Henry Folger, patron of Folger Shakespeare Library, lived by 3 rules: “Never tell what you’ve done, what you are doing, or what you are going to do.” A de-storied life is not the life of a disciple. A disciple always tells what Jesus has done, what Jesus is doing, and…