Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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What Are You Reading for Advent?
Advent has been taken over by consumerism
Summary: A few years back, I purchased a Star Wars themed Advent calendar due to my tremendous love of the movies and the subculture surrounding it. However, I realized it was very difficult to use this calendar to tell the Jesus Story and, in many ways, hindered it. (A Yoda Saint Nick just doesn’t translate well no matter how good a semiotician you might be.) So, this year I thought I’d share with you an article on the topic. read more…
Christ the King Sunday
“I Believe.”
These two small words make all the difference. On Christ the King Sunday, as we speak together the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed, we affirm our allegiance to the Holy King. Not to the rulers of this world, not to the idols that so insidiously call for our attention, but to the one who has redeemed and restored us. read more…
The Promise of Prayer
The Promise of Prayer: Heard by God Story Lectionary 3 December 2017 The First Sunday of the Advent of Our Lord The Lord Gives Moses the Words to Speak (Exodus 4) King David Divides the Priests into Sects, Including the Eighth –Abijah, Descendants of Aaron (1 Chronicles 24) The Priestly…
The Beauty of Silence –Preaching Tip for 3 December 2017
Advent is a time in which silence and waiting can be emphasized. The theme of silence has many metaphors in scripture. Muteness (as in Zechariah) is one of them. In preaching, as well as in worship, think about how you can create moments of silence, pauses, Selah times in which…
Pastor’s Prayer for 3 December 2017 First Sunday in Advent
Lord God, You have appointed me as a Bishop and Pastor in Your Church, but
you see how unsuited I am to meet so great and difficult a task. If I had
lacked Your help, I would have ruined everything long ago. Therefore, I
call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to you; I shall
teach the people. I myself will learn and ponder diligently upon You Word.
Use me as Your instrument — but do not forsake me, for if ever I should
be on my own, I would easily wreck it all.
–Martin Luther, the Sacristy Prayer, trans. J. Kellerman
All In
“All In” Story Lectionary 26 November 2017 Jesus’ Transfiguration [Christ the King Sunday] Let There Be Light (Genesis 1) *Moses and the Burning Bush on God’s Mountain (Exodus 3) Witnesses to Moses on Sinai and the First Covenant (Exodus 24) Moses in the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 33) God Promises…
E Flat Major
As we wind our way toward the end of the liturgical year, and the end of our tour of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s 2013 Signature Series broadcasts, we have come to the key of E flat major.
E flat major is the key of heroes. Inspiring, courageous, gritty, and gallant, the music of E flat major calls us to action. It lifts our spirits, acknowledging the struggle, but never abandoning the adventure. It includes some of the best-loved melodies in classical music, from the expansive, breath-taking melodic line in Nimrod to the frenetic, rhythmic brass of the Jupiter movement of The Planets. It is definitely a key of perseverance and rising to the challenge. read more…
The King –Preaching Tip for 26 November 2017
In our time and culture, we don’t really understand, most of us, what it means to pledge loyalty to a King. In order for us to understand the concept of Christ the King, we need to explore the metaphor of “King”… and all of its sub metaphor –crown, scepter, ring,…
Prayer of Thanks –Pastor’s Prayer for 26 November 2017
Our God, God of all men
God of heaven and earth, seas and rivers,
God of sun and moon, of all the stars,
God of high mountain and lowly valley,
God over heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven.
He has a dwelling in heaven and earth and sea
and in all things that are in them.
He inspires all things, he quickens all things.
He is over all things, he supports all things.
He makes the light of the sun to shine,
He surrounds the moon and the stars,
He has made wells in the arid earth,
Placed dry islands in the sea.
He has a Son co-eternal with himself…
And the Holy Spirit breathes in them;
Not separate are the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
(Patrick c389-461)
Connection and Pastoral Identity
Friends: Connection is the newold content. Life (and ministry) is all about four connections—our connection to God, to ourselves, to each other, and to creation. Recently, one of my doctoral students (who shall go by the name of “Paul”) asked one of my most esteemed connections about recent…