Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Making Advent New –Preaching Tip for 9 December 2018
One of the hardest things for preachers each year is to make the holidays “fresh”. Sometimes this may involve looking for a new metaphor. For this, look to your context and culture. Often, you can find a fresh metaphor that can connect you to the scriptures, and connect people to…
Pastor’s Prayer for 9 December 2018
1.
O Mercy Divine,
How couldst Thou incline,
My God, to become such an infant as mine?
2.
What a wonder of grace,
The Ancient of Days
Is found in the likeness of Adam’s frail race!
3
He comes from on high,
Who fashion’d the sky,
And meekly vouchsafes in a manger to lie.
4.
Our God, ever blest,
With oxen doth rest,
Is nursed by His creature, and hangs at the breast.
5.
So heavenly mild
His innocence smiled,
No wonder the mother should worship the Child.
6.
The angels she knew
Had worshipp’d Him too,
And still they confess adoration His due.
7.
On Jesus’s face
With eager amaze,
And pleasures ecstatic, the cherubim gaze.
8.
Their newly born King
Transported they sing,
And heaven and earth with the triumph doth ring.
9.
The shepherds behold
Him promised of old
By angels attended, by prophets foretold.
10.
The wise men adore,
And bring Him their store,
The rich are permitted to follow the poor.
11.
To the inn they repair,
To see the young Heir;
The inn is a palace, for Jesus is there.
12.
Who now would be great,
And not rather wait
On Jesus, their Lord, in His humble estate?
13.
Like Him would I be,
My Master I see
In a stable; a stable shall satisfy me.
14.
With Him I reside;
The manger shall hide
Mine honour, the manger shall bury my pride.
15.
And here will I lie,
Till raised up on high,
With Him on the cross, I recover the sky.
–Charles Wesley (Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord, 1745)
Not a Silent Night
Not A Silent Night:
Mary Looks Back to Bethlehem
by Adam Hamilton
–Review by Teri Hyrkas
December has arrived and with it comes the season of Advent. Each week, the excitement, elation, and joyful preparations increase for Christmas — and apprehensions, disappointments, and fatigue related to the holiday increase as well. Are you feeling as if you have already failed to plan enough quiet time to prepare spiritually for the approaching holy day? Take a deep breath and relax. Give yourself some grace. Adam Hamilton in his book, Not A Silent Night: Mary Looks Back to Bethlehem, suggests that even though the beloved carol tells us that Christmas was a “Silent Night,” even Mary, the mother of Jesus, didn’t have much peace and quiet at the time of the Nativity. read more…
The Book of Why
The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
By Judea Pearl and Dana MacKenzie
Published 2018
ISBN: 978-0-465-09760-9
–Review by Douglas Balzer
The title of this book is brilliant. The Book of Why. Why? A single word question that brings with it profound implications and deep frustration. Still, it is a question we are innately drawn to even from childhood. Coming from a three-year-old, who has discovered the sheer joy of annoying people with the word, we are all at some point have fundamental questions about how things came to be the way they are, or how they should be. read more…
Advent I: Let the Waiting Begin
Advent 1 – Let the Waiting Begin
Are you willing to wait? Are we willing to call our congregations to waiting?
Waiting is not unengaged, or disinterested; it is a seldom-practiced kind of engagement. One that is patient and persistent. read more…
God Encounter
God Encounter Story Lectionary 2 December 2018 The First of the Advent of Our Lord’s Birth Handmaiden Hagar and Ishmael, Her Son, Sent Into the Wilderness, Encounter God (Genesis 16:1-14) Handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah Bear Sons Who Will Become Lost Tribes of Israel (Genesis 30) Psalm 34: I Will Glory…
Revelatory Metaphors –Preaching Tip for 2 December 2018
Many metaphors in scripture portray God appearances, either of visage or voice. Mountains, deserts, fog, clouds, wilderness, burning bush…. looking at the descriptions of these metaphors can help people understand the attributes of God.
Pastor’s Prayer for 2 December 2018
Come, Sun and Savior, to embrace Our gloomy world,
its weary race,
As groom to bride, as bride to groom:
The wedding chamber, Mary’s womb.
At your great Name, O Jesus, now
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow;
All things on earth with one accord,
Like those in heaven, shall call you Lord.
Come in your holy might, we pray,
Redeem us for eternal day;
Defend us while we dwell below,
From all assaults of our dread foe.
Advent Hymn from 8th Century
Advent Sermon Series: The Animals of Advent — Part I: The Roar of the Lion and the Bleat of the Lamb
Advent Sermon Series: The Animals of Advent Part I: The Roar of the Lion and the Bleat of the Lamb Lectionary 2 December 2018 First Sunday in Advent Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 25:1-10 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 Luke 21:25-36 Text to Life I bet you’ve noticed how many children’s stories feature animals…
House of Stone
House of Stone Story Lectionary 25 November 2018 Jesus’ Transfiguration Jacob Anoints the Altar at El Bethel (Genesis 35) Tablets of Stone from the Mountain of the Lord (Exodus 24) The Construction of the Stone Foundation for Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 5) Balaam and Barak (Numbers 22-24) The Stones of…