Sermons
Weekly professional powerhouse sermons by Leonard Sweet.
The Sound of Heaven
The Sound of Heaven –A Second Master Sermon This Week by Len Sweet There is always something wrong in the suburbs. Whether it be the creativity crushing sameness of street after street; Whether it be the identical house/garage designs and dead-end cul-de-sacs; Whether it be the snatch-it-off-your-porch delivery thefts; or…
Pilings
Pilings Lectionary 11 November 2018 25th Sunday After Pentecost Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 Psalm 127 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44 Text to Life Throughout the final scenes of Jesus’ public ministry, Mark’s gospel documents an ongoing debating match between Jesus and the Sanhedrin. Today we heard how Jesus gets in the last…
The Death of the Red Heifer
The Death of the Red Heifer Lectionary 4 November 2018 24th Sunday After Pentecost All Saints Sunday Ruth 1:1-18 Psalm 146:1-10 Hebrews 9:11-14 Mark 12:28-34 Text to Life Ask any kid, “What is the scarcest resource in the world?” and you’re likely to get the answer “gold” or “silver.” As…
Uncloaked
Uncloaked Lectionary 28 October 2018 23rd Sunday After Pentecost Reformation Sunday Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22) Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:46-52 Text to Life See if you’ve noticed this too. When wondering about a Halloween rig, people don’t usually ask, “What costume are you going to wear?” No, instead we…
Fire Proof
Fire Proof Lectionary 21 October 2018 22nd Sunday After Pentecost Laity Sunday Job 38:1-7, (34-41) Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 Text to Life How many times in your life have you, well and truly, “stepped in it”? You know exactly what we’re talking about. Those “cringe and…
Binge-Live
Binge-Live Lectionary 14 October 2018 Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Psalm 22:1-15 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31 Text to Life Fall is settling in. The days grow shorter and the nights longer. We are drawn to the warm, flickering glow of luminous light in our living rooms. No, it’s not the fire place.…
The Maker’s Mark
The Maker’s Mark Lectionary 7 October 2018 World Communion Sunday 20th Sunday After Pentecost Job 1:1; 2:1-10 Psalm 26 Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16 Text to Life Some days it’s “Good morning, God.” Some days it’s “Good God, it’s morning.” Sometimes it seems like life is just one big “rat…
Keep On Keeping On
Keep on Keeping On –Guest Sermon by Judge Jesse Caldwell 30 September 2018 19th Sunday After Pentecost Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 20-22 Psalm 124 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50 Text to Life A former minister of mine, Dr. Richard Crowder said that at staff meetings at a previous church, he often called…
No Kids Left Behind
No Kids Left Behind Lectionary 23 September 2018 18th Sunday After Pentecost Proverbs 31:10-31 Psalm 1 James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Mark 9:30-37 Text to Life Everyone has a “pet peeve.” A “pet peeve” is not a major moral disaster, but it is an action or attitude that simply, yet constantly, rubs…
Who Am I?
Who Am I? Lectionary 16 September 2018 17th Sunday After Pentecost Proverbs 1:20-33 Psalm 19 James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 Text to Life “Who do others say I am?” Every one of us knows that question. Every one of us has asked that question. Every one of us has lost sleep,…