Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Raptured
Raptured Lectionary 12 November 2017 23rd Sunday After Pentecost Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Psalm 78:1-7 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 Text to Life Last weekend we officially “fell back,” pushing our clocks back one hour, and forcing all of us to re-set our biological clocks. We “fell back,” though, in more…
F Major
This week’s Signature Series key is F major: The Perfect Companion.
Today in worship we remembered saints, both gone and in our midst. We spoke of companionship and camaraderie, mutuality and mentorship, sorrow and joy. We lit candles and listened as the bell tolled. Most importantly, we prayed. read more…
Pastor’s Prayer for 12 November 2017
“O God, I see that I pass on to my body the health and unhealth of my mind and soul. I want, then, to be healthy in soul and in mind. Therefore, I would take into my very being the health of Your mind. Let me be saturated with Your ways and Your thoughts that I may live in radiant health through and through. Amen.”
–E. Stanley Jones
Beauty Will Save the World
Beauty Will Save The World:
Recovering the Human in an Ideological Age
Gregory Wolfe
–Review by Teri Hyrkas
It was the title of this book, Beauty Will Save the World (ISI Books, 2011), that caught my attention. Such a marvelous – and outlandish – statement! What did author Gregory Wolfe, editor of the respected Image Journal magazine, mean by it? As a Christian, the idea of saving the world has always been the exclusive domain of Jesus the Christ. Where on earth was Wolfe headed with his book on “saving the world?” And what did beauty have to do with it? read more…
Bringing in the Sheaves
Bringing in the Sheaves Story Lectionary 5 November 2017 The Honoring of the Saints (All Saints Sunday) The Story of Tamar: Loyalty is Not As It May Appear (Genesis 38) A Raining Down of Manna (Exodus 16 and Numbers 11) Elijah’s Healing/Raising of a Phoenician Woman’s Son and a Gift…
F Minor
This is Reformation Sunday; the 500th anniversary of the reformation! And this week’s signature series is F minor – The Fighter.
Martin Luther was determined and persistent, a fighter in the best sense of the word. Luther did not see the long-term implications of his courageousness at the beginning, but he took a step that he was compelled to take. And then the next, and then the next. His understanding developed, his resolve increased, and his courage was fortified.
F minor is music for the determined and persistent. It’s music that inspires courage, calls forth the best, and embodies the energy to create change. read more…
Deep and Wide –Preaching Tip for 5 November 2017
When you think about metaphors in scripture, think deep, and think wide. Mining metaphors for meaning opens up a plethora of layers. The deeper you go, the more you’ll uncover. Likewise, look for the other places in scripture where that metaphor appears. Go wide. Chances are, that metaphor has appeared…
Pastor’s Prayer for 5 November 2017
“O God, my Father, I see that in my inmost being I am made for confidence and trust, and not for worry and anxiety. You have fashioned me for faith and not for fear. Help me then to surrender to what I am made for—faith. Let me this day walk forth in confidence faith, afraid of nothing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
–E. Stanley Jones
Beyond Culture
Beyond Culture
by Edward T. Hall
ISBN – 0-385-12474-0
–Review by Doug Balzer
Understanding the mosaic of humanity is one of life’s quests, at least for me. Who doesn’t desire to know why, who, what and how we are human beings? As a minister, professor, and semiotician I find that anthropology is at the center of everything I do. Therefore, anthropology is an additional area of my studies. Edward Twitchell Hall, Jr is, in my opinion, one of the greatest persons to delve into the study of anthropology and cross-cultural research. If you are not familiar with him, it is my pleasure to introduce him and his work to you through this book review.
Recently, I found the need to reach into the past for help to propel my thinking forward into the future. Hall came to mind as I recalled his work. Hall’s work may be crucial in helping us deal with the issues of cultural change we see all around us. read more…
Free, Home, and Oh So Thankful
Free, Home, and Oh So Thankful –Guest Sermon by Judge Jesse Caldwell Lectionary 5 November 2017 22nd Sunday After Pentecost All Saints Day Joshua 3:7-17 Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 Matthew 23:1-12 Text to Life Two weeks ago, when David Letterman was presented with the Mark Twain Prize…