Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Educated: A Memoir
Educated:
A Memoir
by Tara Westover
–Review by Teri Hyrkas
“On the highway below, the school bus rolls past without stopping…. I am only seven, but I understand that it is this fact, more than any other, that makes my family different: we don’t go to school.” Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
It is hard to imagine that a child in the US today might go uneducated by a her parents’ choice. It is even more difficult to imagine that this child, who had neither been educated at home nor stepped foot in public school, could successfully educate herself adequately to take the ACT test and pass it with a score that would allow her to enter Brigham Young University at sixteen years old. Yet Tara Westover, author of Educated: A Memoir (Penguin Random House, 2018), not only achieved this coup, she went on to crown her formal education with a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. read more…
Easter 4
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”
Mark 16:4-6
Christ is Risen! (You say … )
This week’s playlist includes a number of brass arrangements of Easter music. The key work on the list is the concert overture tone poem by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908). Rimsky-Korsakov uses melodies and themes from the Russian Orthodox liturgy, the “Obikhod,” a collection of multi-voiced liturgical chants. read more…
10 Greek Words Every Christian Should Know
10 Greek Words Every Christian Should Know Lectionary 29 April 2018 5th Sunday of Easter Acts 8:26-40 Psalm 22:25-31 1 John 4:7-21 John 15:1-8 Text to Life Anyone here this morning who is multi-lingual? Anyone tri-lingual? Anyone speak more than three languages? That’s so amazing . .. [celebrate the gift…
Seeing with Eyes Closed
Seeing with Eyes Closed Story Lectionary 29 April 2018 Jesus’ Post Resurrection Appearances The Genesis of the Light (Genesis 1) God Makes a Covenant with Abram with Light (Genesis 15) Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3) Moses Receives the Ten Commandments and Reappears with Radiant Face (Exodus 34) Elisha…
Necessary Endings
Necessary Endings – The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward
By Dr. Henry Cloud
ISBN: 978-0-06-177712-7
Published 2011
–Review by Douglas Balzer
Hopefully, the name of Dr. Henry Cloud is a familiar name to you. He is a clinical psychologist who has been contributed significant works such as Integrity, Boundaries, and Nine Things You Must Do (these are my favorite titles). So, due to my familiarity with Cloud, it was a natural fit for me to examine this book. It is especially timely as I am presently making some “necessary endings” in my life. Maybe this is what attracted me to read this book at this time. Clouds approach to writing for me is engaging, and it is hard to put the book down once I start. read more…
Primal Metaphors –Preaching Tip for 29 April 2018
The metaphor of Light is a primal metaphor. It comes from the very genesis of the scriptures and appears everywhere in scripture in a multitude of forms. It is the most primal metaphor (in addition to voice) used to describe the revealed presence of God, the creative presence of God,…
Pastor’s Prayer for 29 April 2018
Almighty God,
Who through the death of Thy Son hast destroyed sin and death,
And through His resurrection hast restored innocence and eternal life
That we, being delivered from the power of the devil,
May live in Thy kingdom,
Grant that we may believe this with our whole heart
And steadfast in this faith, ever praise and thank Thee,
Through Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grant, dear Lord God,
That the blessed Day of Thy holy advent may come soon,
So that we may be redeemed
From this bad, wicked world
(The devil’s dominion)
And freed from the terrible plague that we must suffer
From without and within
(From wicked people and our own conscience.)
Do Thou dispatch this old maggot sack
That we may finally get a different body,
Which is not full of sin,
Inclined to unchasteness and to everything evil
(As this present one is)
But one that is redeemed from all bodily and spiritual misery
And made like unto Thy glorious body, dear Lord Jesus Christ,
That we may at last come to our glorious redemption.
Amen.
–Martin Luther
Holy Goat!
Holy Goat! Story Lectionary 22 April 2018 Jesus’ Post Resurrection Appearances Rebekah Tricks Isaac into Blessing Jacob Instead of Esau By Touching Goat Skin (Genesis 27) Massah and Meribah (Exodus 17:1-7 and Numbers 20) The Goat of Atonement (Leviticus 16:20-22) The Story of Gideon’s Conversations with God and the Sign…
B3 Love
B³ Love Lectionary 22 April 2018 4th Sunday of Easter Acts 4:5-12 Psalm 23 1 John 3:16-24 John 10:11-18 Text to Life In the mid-1950’s, movie director Cecil B. DeMille was frantically promoting his latest larger than life production of “The Ten Commandments.” The Hollywood mogul struck a brilliant public…
Easter 3
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself
stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Luke 24:36b
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!!
This is our third week of celebration. Are you still speaking the words of resurrection to each other on Sunday morning? Sharing in the call and response of Easter joy? As we walk through the Easter Season, the call grows in energy and confidence as we hear the stories of Christ. In this week’s gospel lesson, Jesus eats with his disciples, accepting their offering of fish, and in return, he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. read more…