Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
Here, you can comment on any post to participate in the discussion.
Pastor’s Prayer for 28 October 2018
May the Father of Life pour out all grace on you; may you feel God’s hand in everything you do and be strengthened by the things God brings you through: this is my prayer for you.
May the Son of God be Lord in all your ways; may He shepherd you the length of all your days, and in your heart may He receive the praise: this is my prayer for you.
And despite how simple it may sound, I pray that Jesus’ grace will abound and motivate everything you do; and may the fullness of His love be shared through you.
May His Spirit comfort you, and make you strong, may God discipline you gently when you’re wrong, and in your heart may God give you a song: this is my prayer for you.
May Jesus be Lord in all your ways, may He shepherd you the length of all your days, and in your heart may He receive the praise: this is my prayer for you, my prayer for you.
–Prayer from the Northumbrian Commuinity
What is Your Golden Calf?
What is Your Golden Calf? Story Lectionary 28 October 2018 The Making of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32) David Takes What is Not His and Is Confronted by Nathan on God’s Behalf (2 Samuel 12) Gehazi’s Greed (2 Kings 5) King Hezekiah’s Offer of Monetary Retribution to the King of…
Uncloaked
Uncloaked Lectionary 28 October 2018 23rd Sunday After Pentecost Reformation Sunday Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22) Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:46-52 Text to Life See if you’ve noticed this too. When wondering about a Halloween rig, people don’t usually ask, “What costume are you going to wear?” No, instead we…
A Star is Born
A Star is Born (2018)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517451/
–Review by Guest Reviewer Vern Hyndman
A Star is Born is a semiotic feast prepared on a mirrored table.
Declining star Jack (Bradley Cooper) meets uber-talented struggling artist Ally (Lady Gaga) by chance; she’s the first real person he’s met in a long time. A moment on his shared stage launches Ally’s rise to stardom, and the tensions within the film tell the Creation Story in a new and culturally resonant way.
For those of us who bought the short arc of the creation story, Eve is tempted and invites Adam into sin. Adam and Eve migrate from an interdependent relationship with God as a reflection of the Trinity, to “the knowledge of good and evil” dependence on knowledge. But there is a longer arc to the story of Adam and Eve that changes the roles significantly. Adam’s responsibility was to care for and create in the garden, and the presence of evil in the garden signified Adam’s failure. Before Eve was fashioned from the bones of Adam, Adam had failed. The trajectory of Adam’s failure is underscored by his blame-shifting “the woman you gave me.” Eve is still standing in the truth, albeit broken, when she correctly states “The serpent deceived me.” From the beginning, Eve has called Adam back to his humanity, and grounded Adam in all that matters in life. read more…
Enhancing Your Metaphors –Preaching Tip for 28 October 2018
You can enhance the metaphors you use in your sermons by using props, visuals, or using music to create more in-depth experiences. Think about ways especially to use music. For example, if you are speaking about creation, consider using music and visuals to create the experience. If you are talking…
Pastor’s Prayer for 28 October 2018
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon,
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.
–St Francis of Assisi
Deadpool 2 by Guest Reviewer Dan Payne
Deadpool 2
Movie Review
–Review by Guest Reviewer Dan Payne
Would you travel back in time to kill a teenage Jeffery Dahmer in order to stop him from becoming a serial killer? That is one of the many themes of Marvel Comics Movie Deadpool 2.
On the surface, Deadpool 2 is a violent, rude, vulgar, and irreverent superhero movie. It is the kind of movie where the weak stomached and easily offended need not watch.
However, if you look past all of the seemingly obligatory gunplay, profanity, and special effects, you find a movie that asks “would you die for a future serial killer”? Would you give up being immortal in hopes that a person might not become evil? read more…
All the Pretty Horses
All the Pretty Horses Story Lectionary 21 October 2018 Abraham and God Discuss Sodom and Gomorrah’s Lack of Loyal People (Genesis 18) Stay Loyal and True to the Lord Your God (Deuteronomy 8) King Solomon and Love’s Justice (1 Kings 3:16-28) Psalm 24: Receive the Blessings of the Lord Psalm…
Fire Proof
Fire Proof Lectionary 21 October 2018 22nd Sunday After Pentecost Laity Sunday Job 38:1-7, (34-41) Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 Text to Life How many times in your life have you, well and truly, “stepped in it”? You know exactly what we’re talking about. Those “cringe and…
Non-Biblical Metaphors –Preaching Tip for 21 October 2018
Don’t discount non-Biblical metaphors from your basket of possibilities. I’m not saying, Unbiblical. I’m saying Non-biblical, meaning metaphors that speak to the truth of Jesus, even though they don’t specifically or overtly appear as such in scripture. For example, bells. Bells entered the Christian tradition earlier than the Middle Ages…