Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Pastor’s Prayer for 24 March 2019
Lord Jesus,
You are my righteousness,
I am your sin.
You took on you what was mine;
yet set on me what was yours.
You became what you were not,
that I might become what I was not.
– Martin Luther
The Rise
The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery
by Sarah Lewis (2015)
ISBN:978-1-4516-2923-1
–Review by Douglas Balzer
Three words, yes, three words resonated with me in the title of this book and drew me to it. Creativity, failure, and mastery are the words that drew me in. I am well acquainted with all three, and I suspect you are too, especially failure, Ugh! In The Rise, Sarah Lewis explains the integral roles of creativity, failure, and mastery play as necessary parts of our journey in life. If you received the same coaching, I have throughout my life since early childhood you were encouraged to look at failure as a part of the learning process. Failure is not something we go our looking for in our journey, but it is ubiquitous in the experiences of all human beings. One statement I learn to say to myself is “failure is never the end.” And it is not the end of our stories.
The outstanding quote from Sarah Lewis in The Rise is “I still remember the shudder when I sensed a knowing as sure as a fact – that I might only truly become my fullest self if I explored and stayed open to moving through daunting terrain.” read more…
The Thorny Price of Perfidy
The Thorny Price of Perfidy Story Lectionary 24 March 2019 The Third Sunday in Jesus’ Lenten Journey to Jerusalem Thorns Out of Paradise (Genesis 3) Joseph is Betrayed By His Brothers for 20 Shekels of Silver (Genesis 37) The Three-Score and 10 Pieces of Silver for Abimelech’s Murders and Jotham’s…
Walking in Jesus Shoes
Walking in Jesus Shoes Lectionary 17 March 2019 Second Sunday in Lent Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 Text to Life One of the most notable fixtures of big cities is the presence on the streets of vendors selling “discounted” designer goods. Handbags, scarves, shoes, sunglasses, clothing,…
The Alabaster Jar
The Alabaster Jar Story Lectionary 17 March 2019 The Second Sunday in Jesus’ Lenten Journey Jacob’s Strange Prophecies for the Stubborn 12 Tribes of Israel (Genesis 49) Celebrate the Passover, Clean or Unclean (Numbers 9) Hezekiah Celebrates Passover and Prays for All of the People, Clean and Unclean (2 Chronicles…
Preach Faith –Preaching Tip for 17 March 2019
In a time of turmoil for the UMC, it’s time to preach faith. Preach Jesus. Bottom line. Jesus saves. We don’t. Sometimes, we need to get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit move. If we truly believe that Jesus is alive and powerful in the world, then…
Pastor’s Prayer for 17 March 2019
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen.
–St. Ephraim
Letters to the Chuch
Letters to the Church
Francis Chan, 2018
–Review by Landrum P. Leavell III, ThD.
Backstory: I have a dear friend who has been on staff at two mega-churches, one in Seattle and one in Texas. He is currently between churches, evaluating his past experiences, and looking at the future church-wise. He read this book, and he told me I needed to read it. Therefore, I had to read it. We are going to talk about it soon.
Most people in the evangelical eco-system know about Francis Chan and some of his experience. He planted Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California in 1994 at the age of twenty-six (and as a newlywed). It grew to be a mega-church. At some point, most pastors have asked themselves, “Is this what God had in mind?” For Chan, questions like this led to his eventual resignation in 2010. He subsequently took his large family overseas, living in India, Thailand, and China, prior to returning to the San Francisco area to start a house church planting network called We Are Church. This book is the rest of the story to date. read more…
Lent 1
It’s that season again. Like clockwork.
You know this chapter of the story. It calls to you. It draws you.
The Story echoes into our own stories and shatters our complacency. We are shaken from the rhythms of ordinary time and swept into the tempos of Lent.
A slower pace; not plodding, but not spritely either. Attentive and aware that the scenery has changed and that we will, in time – if we choose to – be changed, too. The landscape I inhabit in these days will be different from yours. But the unfolding story invites each of us along the Lenten path. Jungle or desert, mountain or valley, ocean or ice pack, all lead to the cross. Whichever path is yours in this season, Jesus is your companion. Let his story be yours.
There are two very different journeying songs in this first playlist for Lent: Sound Theology #180 – Lent 1
Your Life is a Steinway
Your Life is a Steinway Lectionary 10 March 2019 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 Music lessons fall into two categories. Either they enter our lives as a gift from God, or they enter our lives as the wrath of…