Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Faith and Passion –Preaching Tip for 24 September 2017
When you preach, let your faith shine through, and let your passion (and God’s passionate love) flow out. When you speak in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, your preaching will not only be meaningful, but also passionate. And people will feel the power of the Spirit from you and…
Pastor’s Prayer for 24 September 2017
Bless the Lord, All you His Angels, You who are Mighty in strength And do His Will.
Intercede for me At the throne of God, And by your unceasing watchfulness Protect me in every danger Of soul and body. Bless the Lord, All you His Angels, You who are Mighty in strength And do His Will.
Intercede for me At the throne of God, And by your unceasing watchfulness Protect me in every danger Of soul and body.
Obtain for me The grace of final perseverance, So that after this life I may be admitted To your glorious company And may sing with you The praises of God For all eternity.
O all you holy Angels And Archangels, Thrones and Dominations, Principalities and Powers And Virtues of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim And especially you, My dear Guardian Angel, Intercede for me And obtain for me The special favor I now ask
(State your intention here…).
Say “Our Father…”
–Prayer to the Holy Angels (Catholic Prayer)
Sriracha
Sriracha, short documentary directed by Griffin Hammond
–Review by Ashley Linne
Who knew a condiment had a cult following and its own movie? Sriracha is a 33-minute documentary about—you guessed it—Sriracha hot sauce.
The film documents a condiment love like no other, and reveals the backstory of the delicious “rooster sauce.” In the United States, Sriracha is ubiquitous in Asian and other restaurants, chef’s kitchens, and college cafeterias. In this film, we learn that the company, Huy Fong Foods, makes only hot sauce; that they have virtually no online or official social media presence; and that they have never advertised their product.
The soundtrack of the documentary contains songs various artists have written as odes to Sriracha. The interviewees have a deep appreciation for the sauce and one even compares collecting hot sauces to collecting cigars. Some carry it with them or keep a bottle at their desk at work. People put the sauce on and in everything from scrambled eggs to soup to candy. People get Sriracha tattoos. Fans have created a Sriracha festival. For many people, Sriracha adds the flavor of life—to the tune of 20 million bottles sold a year. read more…
The Power of Metaphor
In my lecture yesterday on the future of preaching, I briefly touched on how narraphoric preaching differs from the narrative preaching of the 70s and 80s associated with Fred Craddock, Eugene Lowry, Charles Rice and others. I noted the priority of metaphor, and of always looking for the root metaphor.…
Where’s the Grace?
To one degree or another, in six weeks you will need to celebrate or at least acknowledge the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. We will have some resources for you to use as we approach the date. But here is a Martin Luther story that sets the stage for…
Here Be Dragons
Those “Here I Am” Moments / Here Be Dragons Story Lectionary 17 September 2017 The Call of Moses (Exodus 4) Psalm 1: The Chaff of Sin Psalm 35: Chaff Before the Wind Psalm 91: God’s Protection Psalm 140: God’s Protection Psalm 121: God’s Protection The Call of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1)…
Where’s the Grace?
Where’s the Grace? Lectionary 17 September 2017 15th Sunday After Pentecost Exodus 14:19-31 Psalm v114 Romans 14:1-12 Matthew 18:21-35 Text to Life “What must I DO to inherit eternal life?” (Lk18:18). Notice the “DO.” Not “What must I BE to inherit eternal life?” but “What must I DO?” Why do…
The Beauty of Metaphor –Preaching Tip for 17 September 2017
Metaphors give the scriptures their depth and beauty. They also deepen our understanding of God by allowing descriptors with many levels of meaning to soak into our minds and hearts and create visions, sounds, and sensory experience about our personal encounters with God. Metaphors have the power to reveal Jesus…
Pastor’s Prayer for 17 September 2017
We ask you, Master, be our helper and defender. Rescue those of our number in distress; raise up the fallen; assist the needy; heal the sick; turn back those of your people who stray; feed the hungry; release our captives; revive the weak; encourage those who lose heart. Let all the nations realize that you are the only God, that Jesus Christ is your Child, and that we are your people and the sheep of your pasture. Amen.
–Clement (96)
Killers of the Flower Moon
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
By David Grann
—Review by Paula Jones
As a high school senior, after reading William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying,” I was left enraged by the overwhelmingly selfish motivations of Anse Bundren, incredulous that any person could act with such flagrant disregard for others. I well remember that first time I learned how powerfully disturbing a book could be––how it could take hold of you, how it could unsettle you, how it could unnerve your days and haunt your nights..
I’m there again, except this time the book is not a work of fiction, and that makes it all the more bitter. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is an exceptionally well-researched piece of investigative reporting by David Grann, staff writer for The New Yorker, and it is a heartbreaker. It first caught my attention because I am a lover of good mysteries, and none other than John Grisham had recommended it on a morning talk show. read more…