The Commons
A preaching blog with ideas and for interactive story sermon writing and image exegesis by Len Sweet.
Here, you can comment on any post to discuss its meaning and share your thoughts.
Pergamon
Pergamon is famous for being one of the seven churches of Asia cited in the Book of Revelation. Among the ruins of Pergamon is the temple of Aesclepius. Aesclepius was the god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. There were many temples of Aesclepius (“hospital” is a corruption…
For Adult Children
“My touchstone image of God comes by way of my friend and spiritual director, Bill Cain, S.J. Years ago he took a break from his own ministry to care for his father as he died of cancer. His father had become a frail man, dependent on Bill to do everything…
Bullying
Have you ever preached on bullying? The problem of bullying is not ultimately solved by rebuking or reprimanding or punishing the bully, but by drawing the bully into greater depths of compassion and empathy. No one has ever said this better than this little story found in William Saroyan’s 1943…
Babe Ruth
“Babe” Ruth, the great home-run hitter, was an enormous eater. He couldn’t seem to control his appetite, even during the baseball season. Once, just before the start of a game, Babe ate a couple of sandwiches, a dozen hot dogs, three bags of popcorn, drank ten bottles of soda pop,…
Good Health
An eighty-year-old man went to the doctor’s office for his annual physical checkup. The doctor was hugely impressed with the man’s physical condition. “Sir, you have the body of a man thirty years younger. What is the secret of your extraordinarily good health?” The man replied, “Well, when I was…
Prayer
“God, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, grant us a glimpse of your glory; that our eyes may be opened and the world transfigured for us; that we may see your glory in all things, and the entire earth full of your glory.” David Adam
God is Everywhere
Rabbi Joshua ben Karhah was once asked, “Why did the Holy One, blessed be he, speak to Moses out of a thornbush?” The rabbi replied “To teach you that there is no space free of the divine presence, not even a thornbush” (Exodus Rabbah 2:9).
Holiness
A nine-year-old kid was swimming at the hotel where his parents were staying. He walked up to a woman who was sunbathing beside the poor and asked, “Are you a Christian?” She replied, “Why yes, I am.” He went on: “Do you read the Bible and pray? Do you follow…
God IS
My brother, Dr. John D. Sweet, is a teaching elder in the Philadelphia Presbytery (PCUSA). This meditation was part of his Christmas letter: “G > /\ + \/ . . . These 4 symbols mean that God (G) is greater than (>) our ups (/\) and downs (\/), God is…
Knowledge
A five-year-old girl asks, “Daddy, where was I when you were a little boy?” The question prompts Dad to look in the direction of her brother, a twelve-year-old growing by leaps and bounds. The father remembered his own early adolescence, and decides that now is the time for bold action.…