Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Pastor’s Prayer for 8-27-17
Praise to You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
Creator of the fruit of the vine.
Praise to You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe
who finding favor with us, sanctified us with mitzvot.
In love and favor, You made the holy Shabat our heritage
as a reminder of the work of Creation.
As first among our sacred days, it recalls the Exodus from Egypt.
You chose us and set us apart from the peoples.
In love and favor You have given us Your holy Shabbat as an inheritance.
Praise to You, Adonai, who sanctifies Shabbat.
–Jewish Evening Prayer (The Kiddush)
Day and Night
This week’s solar eclipse is causing a stir in many states, as people flock to the best viewing locations. The anticipated mayhem has been widely communicated, often overshadowing the wonderful mystery of the event! The tangible effects that will occur because of the lining up of the sun and the moon on the same side of the earth, at the same time, are amazing. Did you know that: ·
The gravitational pull causes the earth’s crust to bulge outward by about 40 millimeters, along the line of the center of the earth, moon, and sun ·
Coastal areas will see tides up to one foot higher than during regular Spring Tides ·
The temperature could drop by as much as 20-30 degrees F ·
Looking at the horizon, it is possible to see a 360 degree sunset ·
And, of course, you know that your eyes can be permanently damaged by the sun if you look directly at it during the eclipse! Get the instructions for making a boy-scout-approved light box HERE. read more…
A Man Called Ove
A Man Called Ove, featuring Rolf Lassgård, Bahar Pars, and Filip Berg
Rated PG-13
–Review by Ashley Linne
A Man Called Ove is a story about someone who appears to be the typical cantankerous “old man next door” until you get to know him. A moving and dark comedy from Sweden, it was nominated for two Academy Awards and won or was nominated for other awards throughout Europe and the United States.
When we first meet Ove, he isn’t likeable at all. He has taken it upon himself to daily enforce numerous neighborhood rules and guidelines, functioning as his own neighborhood watch. But what is he protecting? He seems to have total disregard for his neighbors and expects them to yield to his wishes. He doesn’t seem like the type of person to have had any sort of happiness in his life. read more…
Robert E. Lee’s Confession
Social media makes it easy for rhetorical displays of outrage. To be sure, bigotry and violence deserve our outrage, but require more than huffy-puffy outrage if we are to heal the disease and drain the poison. Our outrage must not just lead to outbursts but outcomes of holiness and healing.…
Mystic Coolness
Mystic Coolness Lectionary 20 August 2017 11th Sunday After Pentecost Genesis 45:1-15 Psalm 133 Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28 Text to Life Héctor Elizondo is one of my favorite actors. Most recently in “Last Man Standing,” he is a standard feature in romantic comedies like Princess Diaries and Runaway…
Summer Music Festivals IV
This week, let’s take a trip “across the pond” and have a look-see at what’s happening at the BBC Proms!
The Proms is one of my favourite summer festivals for the simple reason that it includes everything: from events for kids, to the most contemporary of contemporary classical music, from outdoor, sit on a blanket in the park singalongs, to the quintessential historical practice of standing in the “stalls” at Royal Albert Hall. read more…
Rain of Grace
Rain of Grace Story Lectionary 20 August 2017 The First Covenant Given to Moses (Exodus 34) The Story of the Bronze Serpent (Numbers 21) Psalm 41: God’s Grace Toward Those Who Sin Psalm 103: The Lord’s Compassion Psalm 116: The Lord is Gracious Psalm 147: The Lord Gathers the Outcasts…
Let Your Metaphors Speak –Preaching Tip for 20 August 2017
Some metaphors lend themselves only to visual experience. Others can be multi-sensory. If you have a metaphor like water or sand, use water or sand in your service or sermon in some way. Allow people to touch, smell, hear, see, feel the metaphor. The more they “embody” the metaphor, the…
Pastor’s Prayer for 20 August 2017
O Soverign and almighty Lord, bless all your people, and all
your flock. Give your peace, your help, your love to us your servants,
the sheep of your fold, that we may be united in the bond of peace
and love, one body and one spirit, in one hope of our calling, in your
divine and boundless love. Amen.
–Second Century Early Church Prayer for Unity
Evicted
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
By Matthew Desmond
–Review by Paula Jones
Around 380 BC Plato wrote, “Our current state of affairs reduces to poverty men born for better things.” This short sentence summarizes Harvard Sociologist Matthew Desmond’s recently published and gut-gripping Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. Using detailed research, statistical analysis, and heart-rending family narratives, he demonstrates the direct, two-way correlation between eviction and poverty, insisting that eviction is “a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.” read more…