Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Making Things New –Preaching Tip for 17 December 2017
Many times when we read the same scriptures over and over, we wonder how to make them new. You can not only focus on the metaphors but the characters of scripture in advent. What is Mary’s story? Joseph’s story? The Shepherd’s story? What are the various perspectives on the nativity?…
Pastor’s Prayer for 17 December 2017
The feast day of your birth resembles You, Lord
Because it brings joy to all humanity.
Old people and infants alike enjoy your day.
Your day is celebrated
from generation to generation.
Kings and emperors may pass away,
And the festivals to commemorate them soon lapse.
But your festival
will be remembered until the end of time.
Your day is a means and a pledge of peace.
At Your birth heaven and earth were reconciled,
Since you came from heaven to earth on that day
You forgave our sins and wiped away our guilt.
You gave us so many gifts on the day of your birth:
A treasure chest of spiritual medicines for the sick;
Spiritual light for the blind;
The cup of salvation for the thirsty;
The bread of life for the hungry.
In the winter when trees are bare,
You give us the most succulent spiritual fruit.
In the frost when the earth is barren,
You bring new hope to our souls.
In December when seeds are hidden in the soil,
The staff of life springs forth from the virgin womb
–St. Ephraim the Syrian
Inverted Christmas Tree
Inverted Christmas Tree Lectionary 10 December 2017 Second Sunday in Advent Isaiah 40:1-11 Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 2 Peter 3:8-15a Mark 1:1-8 Text to Life (Inverted Christmas Tree or alternate title: God’s Layaway Plan of Love) Trends come and go. Everything old is eventually “new” again. Like “lay away.” Before the…
Aint’a that Good News?
Every fall, the publishers promote a new batch of Advent devotionals. Even though I have a few books that I come back to each year, I look forward to these new offerings. One that recently caught my eye is called Rise Up Shepherd!: Advent Reflections on the Spirituals, by Luke A. Powery. The Rev. Dr. Powery is the dean of Duke University Chapel and associate professor of homiletics at Duke Divinity School. His book leads us through a separate spiritual for each of the days of Advent. read more…
Song of Promise
Song of Promise: The Sound of Faith Story Lectionary 10 December 2017 Second Week of the Advent of Our Lord Adam is Hiding (Genesis 3) Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22) Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3) Songs of Moses and Miriam (Exodus 15) Prayer Song (Habakkuk 3) The Song…
Metaphors Can Help! –Preaching Tips for 10 December 2017
Many pastors lament over doing the same scriptures each year for advent and Christmas. What to do? Here’s where your metaphors can help! Look at the metaphors in the scriptures. Exegete those images to find that they link to many other scripture stories in the Hebrew testament. Metaphors open up…
Pastor’s Prayer for 10 December 2017
Lord…
Whom all the angels worship,
Lies hid in human nature;
Incarnate see
The deity,
The infinite Creator!
See the stupendous blessing
Which God to us hath given!
A child of man,
In length a span,
Who fills both earth and heaven.
Amen.
–Charles Wesley (Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord #6)
God’s Country
God’s Country:
Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church
by Brad Roth
–Review by Teri Hyrkas
What comes to mind when you hear the term “rural church?” Do you picture bucolic church settings with small, well established, multigenerational congregations? Or perhaps you imagine carefree country churches that are able to shrug off the pressures of changing demographics and economic downturns? These notions of the rural church may have held true at one time, says Mennonite pastor Brad Roth, but typecasting the rural church into former roles does not help it grow into the altered and extended role it has in the world today.
Roth, a graduate of both Harvard Divinity School and ministry studies at the Mennonite seminary in Indiana, takes a heartfelt look the rural church in God’s Country: Faith, Hope and the Future of the Rural Church (Herald Press, 2017). Roth explains, “This book is about reclaiming God’s kingdom vision for the rural church. It’s about learning to praise, abide, watch, pray, grow, work the edges, die, befriend and dream. Each of these disciplines is rooted in the biblical narrative and Christ’s enduring commitment to the rural church.” read more…
The Disciples’ Love Language
The Disciples’’ Love Language Lectionary 3 December 2017 1st Sunday of Advent Isaiah 64:1-9 Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37 Text to Life The latest Dunkin’ Donuts ad has pre-school age children describing their parents’ early morning, pre-coffee demeanor. The kids imitate zombies, walk into walls, stumble around,…
Quiet
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking (2013)
ISBN 978-0-307-35215-6
by Susan Cain
–Review by Doug Balzer
Introvert or extrovert personality types and the space in between the extremes are a fascinating experience, as well as a study. How can we measure or define another person’s personality? The most common way is to figure out where a person is positioned on the introvert to extrovert spectrum. As a Pastor and Professor, the conversation about this broad spectrum is important to my personal understanding of the people I minister to and or teach every day. Understanding others is a necessity, especially in the current cultural environment we presently abide within. It is the reason why I recommend Susan Cain’s book Quiet to you. It was recommended by a friend who understands that sometimes my extroverted personality can come across stronger than I imagine, really only at times. So, here we go with a review of Quiet. read more…