Sermons
Weekly professional powerhouse sermons by Leonard Sweet.
At Home in the Everlasting Arms
At Home in the Everlasting Arms Lectionary 3 January 2016 The Epiphany of Our Lord The New Year Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 147:12-20 Ephesians 1:3-14 John 1:1-18 Text to Life How many of us “came home” for Christmas? Can I see hands Let me try again. If you were the “home-zone,”…
The Ponder Box
The Ponder Box Lectionary 27 December 2015 First Sunday After Christmas 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 Psalm 148 Colossians 3:12-17 Luke 2:41-52 Text to Life Comparison shopping. It is something we are all encouraged to do. Clip an ad, bring it into a competitor, show them you could get a lower…
The Christmas Story and Why I Love It
The Christmas Story and Why I Love It Lectionary 20 December 2015 Fourth Sunday in Advent Micah 5:2-5a Luke 1:47-55 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45 Text to Life [There are a bunch of sermons here. You can, of course, preach the whole thing, which is dynamite. Or can you divvy up…
Power Shift
Power Shift Lectionary 13 December 2015 Third Sunday in Advent Zephaniah 3:14-20 Isaiah 12:2-6 Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:7-18 Text to Life There are (as always) two types of people. There are power outage people and there are power surge people. Power-outage people spend time and treasure preparing for power outages.…
Jesus Smarts
Jesus Smarts Lectionary 6 December 2015 Second Sunday in Advent Baruch 5:1-9 Malachi 3:1-4 Luke 1:6-79 Philippians 1:3-11 Luke 3:1-6 Text to Life “SMART” is now an acronym for products that are Simple, Maintenance-friendly, Affordable, Reliable, Timely-to-market. Let’s see how many “smart” phones are here this morning. Lift them up…
A Surround-Sound Advent
A Surround-Sound Advent Lectionary 29 November 2015 First Sunday in Advent Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 25:1-10 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 Luke 21:25-36 Text to Life Finally, it’s over. I thought it would never end. The “it,” of course, is those twenty-seven Sundays designated as “After Pentecost.” Six months is a long time…
Kingdom Moments
Kingdom Moments Lectionary 22 November 2015 (26 November 2015) Thanksgiving Joel 2:21-27 Psalm 126 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Matthew 6:25-33 Text to Life Jesus lived a life that straddled the past, the present, and the future. In the time-fulness of the Spirit, the timelessness of God became timely in Jesus the…
Moving In
Moving In Lectionary 15 November 2015 25th Sunday After Pentecost 1 Samuel 1:4-20 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25 Mark 13:1-8 Text to Life For some, it would seem, the gospel is “good news” about increasing your living standards, not your loving standards. The gospel as “good news” is…
Nobodies and Nothings
Nobodies and Nothings Lectionary 8 November 2015 24th Sunday After Pentecost Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 Psalm 127 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44 Text to Life Ever wonder where we got the expression “my 2 cents” or its longer version “put my two cents in?” You read it this morning in Mark’s gospel,…
Entanglement
Entanglement Lectionary Isaiah 25:6-9 Psalm 24 Revelation 21:1-6a John 11:32-44 Text to Life We are all entangled. Whether we know it or not, our lives are entangled. Let me show you how. This year the other-worldly celebration of “Allhallowtide” fell just right on the this-world weekly calendar. Allhallowtide is the…