Meta tags:
description=6 posts published by dimlamp during January 2009;

Headings (most frequently used words):

in, series, on, preaching, sermon, epiphany, yr, dim, lamp, categories, recent, third, second, first, new, year, thoughts, different, directions, קנה, רצוץ, לא, ישבור, comments, pages, posts, donate, free, food, archives, blog, stats,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (200), and (125), god (58), for (56), with (52), that (39), are (33), sermons (32), not (32), this (30), january (28), our (27), #preaching (27), may (26), silence (26), like (24), they (24), you (24), new (22), 2009 (22), april (21), all (21), words (21), december (20), february (20), march (20), august (20), sermon (20), what (20), more (20), have (19), october (19), november (18), june (18), july (18), how (18), can (18), september (17), buttrick (17), his (17), about (16), most (16), one (16), people (16), from (15), 2008 (13), psalmist (13), when (13), will (13), language (13), 2010 (12), 2011 (12), 2013 (12), 2015 (12), 2016 (12), 2017 (12), 2018 (12), 2019 (12), 2020 (12), 2021 (12), 2022 (12), 2023 (12), 2024 (12), 2025 (12), life (12), preachers (12), 2014 (11), than (11), use (11), were (11), even (11), human (11), dennis (11), 2007 (10), 2012 (10), advice (10), out (10), silent (10), their (9), into (9), think (9), however (9), homiletics (9), david (9), moves (9), who (9), because (9), wonderings (8), year (8), was (8), rather (8), need (8), there (8), also (8), body (8), knowledge (8), margaret (8), other (7), book (7), church (7), epiphany (7), would (7), being (7), every (7), these (7), has (7), world (7), homiletic (7), see (7), but (7), likely (7), here (7), don (7), some (7), him (7), wonder (7), vocabulary (7), listening (7), time (7), alone (7), noise (7), too (7), dim (6), lamp (6), ebook (6), tagged (6), prayer (6), israel (6), filed (6), under (6), them (6), hope (6), which (6), sound (6), avoid (6), things (6), then (6), series (6), know (6), scientific (6), say (6), today (6), lives (6), scribbles (5), 2026 (5), thoughts (5), society (5), had (5), such (5), struggle (5), work (5), old (5), still (5), right (5), her (5), among (5), shall (5), another (5), many (5), different (5), comment (5), over (5), example (5), should (5), sentences (5), beginning (5), place (5), really (5), just (5), much (5), knows (5), research (5), find (5), short (5), while (5), take (5), often (5), art (5), craft (5), lutheran (5), awe (5), each (5), cell (5), 000 (5), word (5), speaking (5), source (5), wait (5), care (5), attention (5), com (4), view (4), קנה (4), רצוץ (4), ישבור (4), reviews (4), prayers (4), photos (4), funeral (4), universal (4), categories (4), political (4), yet (4), general (4), make (4), well (4), your (4), why (4), everyday (4), only (4), way (4), present (4), through (4), idea (4), same (4), grace (4), used (4), first (4), consciousness (4), very (4), structures (4), though (4), field (4), leave (4), does (4), away (4), miles (4), information (4), times (4), day (4), fill (4), listen (4), said (4), jesus (4), king (4), waiting (4), get (3), wordpress (3), now (3), blogroll (3), recent (3), dimlamp (3), sunday (3), comments (3), rev (3), garth (3), wehrfritz (3), hanson (3), peace (3), canadian (3), scene (3), canadians (3), consider (3), power (3), she (3), difficult (3), made (3), together (3), turn (3), bless (3), international (3), six (3), long (3), lord (3), ever (3), line (3), else (3), maybe (3), ring (3), perfect (3), light (3), pray (3), community (3), remember (3), unless (3), christ (3), ordinary (3), third (3), phrases (3), actually (3), written (3), works (3), oral (3), sentence (3), never (3), ago (3), professor (3), learned (3), common (3), gives (3), particular (3), whereas (3), professors (3), two (3), years (3), post (3), primarily (3), readers (3), bored (3), beyond (3), belief (3), shop (3), talk (3), warning (3), cannot (3), existence (3), creator (3), great (3), truly (3), amen (3), average (3), three (3), hundred (3), dna (3), thousand (3), folded (3), beings (3), true (3), psalm (3), especially (3), keep (3), minds (3), good (3), pastor (3), percent (3), wisdom (3), second (3), mother (3), teresa (3), give (3), prophet (3), elijah (3), sheer (3), challenge (3), paying (3), voice (3), instead (3), verbs (3), started (2), site (2), content (2), log (2), sign (2), subscribed (2), subscribe (2), blog (2), select (2), category (2), 2006 (2), review (2), destructive (2), pentecost (2), posts (2), stories (2), quotes (2), links (2), pages (2), reformation (2), wor (2), minority (2), middle (2), east (2), justice (2), bit (2), coalition (2), between (2), support (2), prime (2), minister (2), best (2), violence (2), draw (2), gangs (2), drugs (2), needs (2), order (2), questions (2), doors (2), hamas (2), bombings (2), age (2), course (2), days (2), mind (2), wants (2), done (2), bells (2), everything (2), doing (2), anti (2), semitic (2), rhetoric (2), holocaust (2), movement (2), against (2), neighbours (2), focus (2), both (2), opportunity (2), far (2), directions (2), thus (2), therefore (2), conversation (2), clear (2), orally (2), following (2), result (2), instant (2), erasure (2), those (2), read (2), late (2), volume (2), wherein (2), congregation (2), preacher (2), full (2), move (2), single (2), five (2), fit (2), serve (2), encounter (2), methods (2), narrative (2), sometimes (2), described (2), inductive (2), deductive (2), begins (2), makes (2), listeners (2), once (2), seminary (2), courses (2), although (2), didn (2), specialize (2), along (2), continued (2), rcl (2), homilies (2), ecumenical (2), details (2), love (2), towards (2), accident (2), closer (2), bow (2), reverential (2), praise (2), fearfully (2), wonderfully (2), blessed (2), uses (2), energy (2), hour (2), per (2), contains (2), nucleus (2), isn (2), enough (2), sun (2), gallons (2), lifetime (2), live (2), worships (2), gift (2), medina (2), 139 (2), says (2), south (2), ridge (2), village (2), medicine (2), hat (2), alberta (2), chaplain (2), samaritan (2), weak (2), shared (2), testament (2), moreover (2), speak (2), moments (2), simple (2), few (2), longer (2), increase (2), using (2), clearly (2), saying (2), goes (2), friend (2), confident (2), countless (2), quiet (2), try (2), ear (2), alert (2), morning (2), others (2), comfortable (2), found (2), grow (2), active (2), able (2), thing (2), himself (2), public (2), needed (2), confidence (2), security (2), rock (2), salvation (2), fortress (2), refuge (2), images (2), deep (2), sense (2), thanks (2), honour (2), fast (2), pace (2), chattering (2), pay (2), normal (2), heard (2), cartoon (2), someone (2), look (2), talking (2), failed (2), been (2), panel (2), doll (2), ruff (2), visual (2), adjectives (2), agency (2), home (2), principles (2), rules (2), design, collapse, bar, manage, subscriptions, reader, report, privacy, already, account, join, 031, subscribers, 153, 346, hits, stats, feb, dec, archives, donate, free, food, visions, jerusalem, water, data, centres, easter, https, store, csspub, prod, 0788029681, htm, brief, bread, mjeanpike, 2nd, after, myrelar, weblog, name, variation, isaiah, reflections, government, palestine, politics, canada, national, crisis, threat, ndps, liberals, promising, voted, harper, parliament, since, voter, turnout, pathetic, majority, separatist, party, holding, balance, dangerous, empathize, governor, decision, considering, alternatives, ottawa, parties, stop, playing, partisan, games, overall, nation, gave, mandate, govern, responsibly, situation, working, regardless, ideologies, growing, statistics, least, media, coverage, concern, circumstances, factors, proactive, meet, peaceful, signs, despair, opportunities, where, vice, versa, happy, christmas, headlines, focussed, conflict, breaking, month, truce, military, targets, israeli, planes, lament, question, applicable, issues, abraham, sarah, hagar, isaac, ishmael, criticisms, legion, solutions, enigmatic, fundamentalist, evangelical, eschatological, scenarios, dime, dozen, bruce, cockburn, comes, everyone, somebody, little, leonard, cohen, forget, offering, crack, gets, cracks, including, called, moderate, muslim, nations, escalating, denial, conference, iran, nazi, escalated, policies, resulted, criticising, end, failing, act, declare, suicide, crime, humanity, exist, accept, reject, israelis, palestinians, flourish, press, difference, peoples, arrival, brings, open, adage, down, describe, state, syntactical, rhythms, repetition, doublets, triadic, clauses, disciplined, entire, cadenced, sin, evil, seldom, avoided, numbers, let, delete, delaying, evident, scholarly, intensifiers, indeed, add, emphasis, immediately, firm, noun, sequence, reading, couple, decades, came, 1980s, better, guess, attempt, build, scratch, convinced, accomplished, presents, phenomenology, studies, form, insists, principle, absolutely, crucial, preparing, meaningful, dos, calls, developed, consisting, main, conclusion, thinks, structure, concentrates, whole, claims, based, citing, sources, necessarily, endorsing, conversations, credit, fashionable, story, according, specialists, fred, craddock, understood, correctly, event, engaging, refresher, workshop, got, assigned, flexible, willing, teach, specialty, profs, nonetheless, grateful, taught, excellent, nowadays, gained, respect, seminaries, itself, evolved, cited, craig, brian, larson, drew, zahn, editors, wheaton, tyndale, house, publishers, inc, 2002, 135, 136, illustrations, topic, occasion, affirmation, creativity, believe, happened, pure, chance, handiwork, heaven, earth, lead, ability, create, draws, amazed, astounded, astonished, ours, went, detail, weave, help, worship, efficiently, adult, rides, bike, ten, amount, contained, ounces, carbohydrate, car, efficient, gasoline, nine, gallon, genes, chromosome, meters, microns, putting, fishing, cherry, pit, simply, stuffed, becomes, skin, liver, forth, write, volumes, thick, stretched, circle, 260, lungs, contain, capillaries, process, exchanging, oxygen, carbon, dioxide, complicated, exchange, co2, man, shot, cannon, carve, head, pin, passes, heart, pumps, million, upper, tankers, sleeps, beating, billion, worldview, perhaps, greater, creates, moment, john, genetic, engineer, university, washington, ask, yourself, did, happen, totally, explained, scientifically, verses, thirteen, eighteen, amazement, astonishment, meditating, miracle, own, creation, birth, knowing, determined, personality, destiny, before, born, overwhelmed, creative, theological, refers, omniscience, fields, boggling, experts, newest, unlike, humans, totality, imperfectly, part, known, indicates, reasonably, functional, rest, suffered, dropping, almost, soon, spoken, deletions, usually, starts, finishes, possibly, lack, point, control, erasures, caused, regrettable, patterns, achieve, minimum, retention, sidestep, pitfalls, thought, graduate, congregational, member, 500, reduce, greek, eager, parade, erudition, limited, disturb, important, profound, troubling, invariably, revert, slang, koine, continuing, sum, advises, below, kiss, debatable, celebrate, holy, communion, regular, basis, shorter, retain, fails, cite, researchers, regarding, employ, reliable, erudite, communicating, gospel, folks, hear, preached, unfortunately, lost, quotation, attributed, golden, reveal, treasures, priceless, worth, importantly, strengthen, relationship, closest, brother, saviour, encourage, continues, throughout, ages, noisy, surroundings, plugs, shut, key, afternoon, evening, receptive, concentrating, offer, position, sit, chair, relax, meditate, proven, helpful, importance, restlessness, nature, trees, flowers, grass, stars, moon, mission, dead, living, loving, receive, touch, souls, essential, useless, come, within, darkness, means, gospels, tell, early, could, spend, heavenly, father, meditation, retreat, strengthened, ministry, ran, wilderness, hide, fear, surprise, revealed, encouraged, gifted, blessing, back, discovered, fulfill, calling, history, faith, waited, reassures, discovers, strength, safety, protection, health, offers, inviting, spacious, bring, comfort, delivered, enemies, given, ideal, biblical, combination, wealth, property, valour, honoured, valued, respected, sixty, refreshing, writes, soul, waits, trusts, relies, depends, appreciate, centuries, large, city, constant, pollution, airplanes, fly, overhead, cars, trucks, speed, major, roadways, horns, beeping, engines, roaring, buildings, transportation, systems, shopping, malls, earlier, watch, engage, careful, activities, science, technology, speeds, become, impatience, fact, stillness, next, impossible, radio, stereo, blaring, space, complete, anathema, oxymoron, threatening, handle, frustrating, feel, taken, seriously, experienced, misunderstood, intention, communication, felt, sharing, particularly, face, transported, wall, person, addressing, real, issue, advanced, probably, similar, experiences, listened, preoccupied, somewhere, miserably, final, turning, answering, any, wildly, pelting, raising, quick, side, glance, yakking, menace, comic, strip, dog, beside, walking, happily, pulling, red, wagon, clinging, wind, flat, realize, revise, removed, omitting, spoke, colour, having, character, peer, scan, peek, stare, study, puzzle, probe, gaze, grasp, catch, savvy, penetrate, set, edit, scrapping, scratched, scribble, frame, hand, sparingly, snuff, comprehension, nouns, strong, adverbs, pronouns, tense, passive, concerned, wish, imply, indirect, mostly, mixing, speech, conceptual, vague, terms, goals, relationships, situations, desires, analogy, homes, daily, around, kitchen, table, tuck, bed, heads, seasoned, mechanic, nuts, bolts, machines, determining, motor, endeavours, conscious, prepare, deliver, agree, practice, argue, test, learn, search,

Text of the page (random words):
why well because our world today is so full of noise and activities science and technology speeds up our lives to such a fast pace that it has become normal to fill our lives with impatience and noise in fact some people struggle so much with stillness and silence that it is next to impossible for them to be still or silent for long even when people are alone they often have the t v or radio or stereo blaring away to fill up their space complete silence for them is anathema or an oxymoron silence is just too threatening they don t know what to do or how to handle it even if people do appreciate silence and try to listen with care it is still more of a challenge today i think than it was centuries ago why because if one lives in a large city which most people in the world do then there is the constant struggle with noise pollution airplanes fly overhead cars and trucks speed along the major roadways with horns beeping and engines roaring even people chattering in buildings or on public transportation systems or in shopping malls fill our lives with noise over against all of the noise and fast pace of life today psalm sixty two gives us a different refreshing view of life king david writes for god alone my soul waits in silence for my hope is in him silence silent waiting silent waiting for god the psalmist is able to wait for god alone in silence because god is the source of his hope he is confident in god he trusts in god he relies in and depends on god for life and everything in life waiting for god in silence reassures the psalmist of who god is and what he does god the psalmist discovers in silence is my rock my salvation my fortress my refuge in other words god is the psalmist s source of strength safety and protection god is the psalmist s true security god is the psalmist s source of health and offers him an inviting spacious place in which to live all of these images of god bring the psalmist a deep sense of comfort and confidence it is thanks to god that king david was delivered from his enemies thanks to god he was given honour among his people as israel s ideal king honour here in the biblical sense is a combination of being blessed by god with wisdom wealth property and valour when one is honoured one is valued and respected in the community all of this is a gift from god in the history of israel and the church countless people of faith have also found god to be their rock salvation fortress and refuge too just like king david when they waited on god alone in silence they too learned more clearly who god truly is and what he does think for example of the prophet elijah remember that he ran away for a time in the wilderness to hide for fear of his life then to his surprise god revealed himself in the sound of sheer silence it was in the sound of sheer silence that god encouraged elijah and gifted him with the grace and every blessing that he needed to go back to his people and serve god as a prophet in the sound of sheer silence elijah re discovered the confidence and security that he needed to fulfill his calling as a prophet in the new testament we think of jesus himself as our perfect example of what it means to wait for god alone in silence the gospels tell us that jesus would often get up early in the morning to go to a quiet place so that he could spend time with his heavenly father in silent prayer and meditation these silent times of retreat for jesus strengthened him for his public ministry in recent times here is what mother teresa once said about the importance for us today to wait on god alone in silence we need to find god and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness god is the friend of silence see how nature trees flowers grass grow in silence see the stars the moon and the sun how they move in silence is not our mission to give god to others through the word not a dead god but a living loving god the more we receive in silent prayer the more we can give in our active life we need silence to be able to touch souls the essential thing is not what we say but what god says to us and through us all our words will be useless unless they come from within words which do not give the light of christ increase the darkness 1 to mother teresa s words of wisdom i say amen and i encourage each one of you to take some time each day to turn to god alone and wait pray listen in silence i am confident that he will speak to you through the silence if you are truly listening with care just as he has done and continues to do so for countless people throughout the ages and right up to the present day find a quiet place if you have noisy surroundings try using ear plugs to shut out the noise the key too is to find the time when you are most alert for some that will be the morning for others it will be afternoon or evening when you are most alert you shall likely be the most receptive in concentrating on listening with care the other bit of advice i offer you is to be in a comfortable position sit on the most comfortable chair so that you can relax your body as you pray and meditate in silence all of these things have proven helpful for many people i hope they will be for you too silence can be as the old saying goes golden it can reveal to us many treasures from our lord of priceless worth most importantly silence can strengthen our relationship and draw us ever closer to jesus who is and wants to be our closest friend and brother as well as our god and saviour amen 1 unfortunately i ve lost the source of this quotation attributed to mother teresa filed under sermons tagged with ecumenical sermons epiphany sermons homilies lutheran sermons rcl sermons sermon on psalm 62 sermons second in a series on preaching january 19 2009 leave a comment second in a series on preaching warning this is a post primarily for preachers readers who are not preachers most likely shall be bored beyond belief because this is shop talk about the art and craft of preaching continuing with david buttrick s homiletic moves and structures here are a few more words of advice if i had to sum up what professor buttrick advises below in one sentence i would say keep your sermons short and simple or kiss the advice to keep them short may be debatable however especially among preachers who do not celebrate holy communion on a regular basis moreover maybe a sermon needs to be longer not shorter to increase the listeners opportunity to actually retain 35 percent of it j i do wonder about the source s of buttrick s research which he fails to cite i also wonder how researchers do know what they say they know regarding their research i e what methods do they employ and are they reliable that said his advice in using the 5 000 word vocabulary rather than the erudite 12 000 word one does have wisdom preaching is about communicating the gospel clearly in order that folks listening really do hear and or encounter christ in the preached word research indicates that in a reasonably good sermon only about 35 percent of the language will be functional the rest will have suffered instant erasure dropping out of consciousness almost as soon as it is spoken while such deletions are usually the result of weak starts and finishes to moves or possibly a lack of point of view control some erasures are caused by regrettable language patterns so if we are to achieve at minimum a 60 percent retention of language we will have to sidestep some common pitfalls also it is thought that the graduate from seminary has about a 12 000 word vocabulary whereas an average congregational member will have a vocabulary of about 7 500 words however for oral speaking you can reduce the common shared vocabulary of a congregation to about 5 000 words the language of preaching should be the vocabulary of everyday conversation remember the vocabulary of the new testament s koine greek is not much more than 5 000 words unless we are eager to parade erudition the limited vocabulary of preaching need not disturb us moreover when we speak of important moments the profound if often troubling moments in our lives we invariably revert to simple words i e the words we learned in the first 5 years of our lives slang words and phrases if used in shared everyday language can be used in sermons to be continued filed under wonderings tagged with art and craft of preaching david buttrick homiletics new homiletic preaching sermons sermon 2 epiphany yr b january 16 2009 leave a comment 2 epiphany yr b 18 01 2009 ps 139 1 6 13 18 rev garth wehrfritz hanson pastor of grace lutheran church chaplain of the good samaritan society s south ridge village medicine hat alberta the wonder of being known by god god knows all things in theological language this refers to god s omniscience think of how great god s knowledge is especially in light of human knowledge for example in most fields of knowledge today the information is mind boggling and even experts struggle to keep up with the newest knowledge yet god knows all things in every single field of knowledge unlike we humans god knows things in totality whereas even the best human minds know imperfectly and in part how great god is in verses thirteen to eighteen of psalm 139 the psalmist worships god with reverential wonder awe amazement astonishment by meditating on the miracle of his own creation birth and life the all knowing god determined the psalmist s personality and his life s destiny even before he was born into the world the psalmist overwhelmed with god s creative power knowledge and love says i praise you for i am fearfully and wonderfully made even though he didn t live with a scientific worldview of human beings he worships god in awe and wonder of it all with our scientific information of the human being i think we can actually perhaps even be in greater awe and wonder at the gift of life and how god creates each of us consider for a moment the following scientific information as described by dr john medina a genetic engineer at the university of washington then ask yourself did this all happen by accident can human existence be totally explained scientifically or is god the true creator of human beings listen to the words of dr medina the average human heart pumps over one thousand gallons a day over 55 million gallons in a lifetime this is enough to fill 13 upper tankers it never sleeps beating 2 5 billion times in a lifetime the lungs contain one thousand miles of capillaries the process of exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide is so complicated that it is more difficult to exchange o2 for co2 than for a man shot out of a cannon to carve the lord s prayer on the head of a pin as he passes by dna contains about two thousand genes per chromosome 1 8 meters of dna are folded into each cell nucleus a nucleus is six microns long this is like putting 30 miles of fishing line into a cherry pit and it isn t simply stuffed in it is folded in if folded one way the cell becomes a skin cell if another way a liver cell and so forth to write out the information in one cell would take three hundred volumes each volume five hundred pages thick the human body contains enough dna that if it were stretched out it would circle the sun 260 times the body uses energy efficiently if an average adult rides a bike for one hour at ten miles per hour it uses the amount of energy contained in three ounces of carbohydrate if a car were this efficient with gasoline it would get nine hundred miles to the gallon 1 i don t know about you but i find those scientific details about the human body an affirmation of god s knowledge creativity and love towards us i cannot see or believe how these details all happened into existence by pure chance or accident this is the handiwork of god the creator of heaven and earth and you and me this scientific knowledge does not lead me away from god and his ability to create rather it draws me closer to god and makes me more in awe of it all i like the psalmist am amazed astounded astonished at how great this creator god of ours is if god went into such scientific detail to weave together my body then i like the psalmist cannot help but bow in wonder and worship god with reverential awe and say i praise you for i am fearfully and wonderfully made we are truly blessed by god from the beginning of our existence on amen 1 cited from craig brian larson drew zahn editors perfect illustrations for every topic and occasion wheaton il tyndale house publishers inc 2002 pp 135 136 filed under sermons tagged with ecumenical sermons epiphany sermons homilies lutheran sermons rcl sermons sermons first in a series on preaching january 12 2009 leave a comment to be continued first in a series on preaching warning this is a post primarily for preachers readers who are not preachers most likely shall be bored beyond belief because this is shop talk about the art and craft of preaching every once in a while we preachers take a refresher course or workshop or read a book on preaching in the old days when i was in seminary homiletics courses often got assigned to the more flexible professors who were willing to teach it even though the field of homiletics was not their specialty although my profs didn t specialize in homiletics nonetheless i am grateful to them for what they taught me in my homiletics courses we had two professors in particular who were excellent preachers nowadays professors do specialize in homiletics and the field has gained more respect in seminaries along with this the field itself has evolved over the years one of the still fashionable methods of preaching is the narrative or story sermon sometimes also described as the inductive rather than deductive sermon inductive preaching begins with the particular and moves to the general whereas deductive preaching begins with the general and moves to the particular according to homiletics specialists like dr fred craddock if i ve understood him correctly the narrative sermon makes preaching as much an event engaging both preacher and listeners as it is a focus on the content of the sermon right now i m reading a book that i likely should have read a couple decades ago when it came out in the late 1980s homiletic moves and structures by professor david buttrick better late than never i guess this work is among other things an attempt to build a new homiletic from scratch on up i m not convinced buttrick accomplished that however there is much to be learned from this volume buttrick presents here a phenomenology of language wherein he studies how sermons work or form in the consciousness of a congregation every preacher knows that oral language is different than written language buttrick insists that this principle is absolutely crucial in preparing and preaching meaningful sermons therefore he is full of advice on the dos and don ts of what he calls language moves and structures in the sermon a move is a single idea developed in the sermon consisting of a a beginning b the main body of the id...