Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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The Maranatha Church
The Maranatha Church Lectionary 25 November 2018 Christ the King / Reign of Christ Sunday Student Day 2 Samuel 23:1-7 Psalm 132:1-12 Revelation 1:4b-8 John 18:33-37 Text to Life You are a time traveler? Don’t believe me? Unless you have never journeyed beyond a couple hundred miles east or west…
Rooting and Trailblazing –Preaching Tip for 25 November 2018
When you are wanting a fresh take on a metaphor, you need to follow its trails back to its backstories in various contexts. For example, if you are doing a Thanksgiving sermon using Psalm 126, you may want to choose to preach on the “streams.” In the psalm, the original…
Pastor’s Prayer for 25 November 2018
O My God, Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, for sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;
for the body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;
for thy royal bounty providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness, for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others, for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.
I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures. Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.
–Puritan Prayer (The Valley of Vision)
Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody starring Rami Malek; rated PG-13
–Review by Ashley Davis
Bohemian Rhapsody beautifully tells the story of Freddie Mercury and Queen, and is a perfect example of EPIC (experiential, participatory, image-rich, connected). I saw it in the theater a few days ago—I cried several times and loved watching the people sitting in front of me dance and sing along through parts of the movie.
Keep in mind this biopic wasn’t a documentary. I haven’t done all the research to know what was “fact or fiction” and there have been a lot of mixed reviews on that point, so I’m going to keep my comments to the movie itself here. read more…
Shepherd Dreams
Shepherd Dreams Story Lectionary 18 November 2018 The Role of the Priests and the Prophet Among You (Deuteronomy 18) David Son of Jesse, A Herder of Sheep, is Chosen to be King by God Through the Prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16) The Unpopular Prophet Who Speaks God’s Word, Micaiah (1…
Bytes for the Season
The Office Desk Phone read more…
Unpolished Praise
Unpolished Praise Lectionary 18 November 2018 26th 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 As the holidays creep ever closer, the catalogs clog up our mail boxes and post offices. I thought shopping now gets done online these days.…
Changing a Metaphor –Preaching Tip for 18 November 2018
Metaphors are powerful. They inform our identity and the way we see the world. If you change someone’s metaphor, you can change deeply held beliefs about themselves and others, about the world and its meaning. Metaphors can both heal and cause damage. A bad metaphor can plague someone for life…
Pastor’s Prayer for 18 November 2018
O Lord, may nothing dwell in my soul
But your pure love alone.
Till my every thought, word, and act be love.
Yes Lord, may your love posses me whole;
You’re my joy, my treasure, my crown!
(“A Plain Account of Christian Perfection” by John Wesley.
Paraphrased by Bill Gaultiere.)
Soul Keeping
Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You
John Ortberg
–Review by Landrum P. Leavell III, ThD.
“Sometimes the soul gets sifted and shaped in places you could never imagine and ways you could never expect. For me it was in Box Canyon.” (17) Box Canyon is a rocky hideaway tucked between Simi Valley and the San Fernando Valley west of Los Angeles. Two more-or-less famous residents were a cult leader and mass murderer named Charles Manson and a writer and intellectual named Dallas Willard.
John Ortberg read a book by Dallas that moved him more than anything he had ever read. (Makes me think of someone Sweet in my own experience…) As a young pastor in the area of Box Canyon, Ortberg wrote him, was invited to visit and over the years learned that he was a healer of souls. Ortberg had a twenty-plus year relationship with Dallas Willard, a retired professor of philosophy at USC. When they met, all John knew was that Dallas taught philosophy and wrote about subjects such as spiritual disciplines. [His small house “was mostly furnished with books.” YES] Willard had a primary library in his home, a secondary library in another home next door, a tertiary library at USC, his quaternary library in a garage near his home. read more…