Sermon Tone Analysis

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

When God began to create heaven and earth— the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water— God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.

And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.

God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.”

God made the expanse, and it separated the water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the expanse.

And it was so.

God called the expanse Sky.

And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.”

And it was so.

God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of waters He called Seas.

And God saw that this was good.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.”

And it was so.

The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it.

And God saw that this was good.

And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years; and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.”

And it was so.

God made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars.

And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.

And God saw that this was good.

And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

God created the great sea monsters and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind.

And God saw that this was good.

God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”

And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts of every kind.”

And it was so.

God made wild beasts of every kind and cattle of every kind, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.

And God saw that this was good.

And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.”

And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”

God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.

And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.”

And it was so.

And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good.

And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Chapter 2 - The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array.

On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that He had done.

And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done.

Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created.

I.                    Mission trip?

II.

Candles

 

III.

Shout to the Lord

A.                 Today, our voice is joining with others around the world.

So let us join that chorus.

Today, we sing together.

\\ IV.              Connection with the choir stoles – the variety of cultures in today’s service.

A.                 We have been here for 9 months, and we have come to appreciate the rich varieties of worship here at Chaparral.

B.                 Today is a perfect example.

V.                 The choir

A.                 It is wonderful to have a choir who can sing everything from Mozart to Siyahamba (Zulu).

B.                 Asked Marion about this:

1.

They sing different pieces and rate them on a scale of 1 to 5.

2.                   Marion gets everything from 50 (liked) to -20,000 (hated)

3.                   Despite their variety and preferences they can lead us in worship with one powerful and beautiful voice.

4.                   This diversity brings color and vibrancy to our lives together, like the stoles they are wearing today.

C.                 I have a plain, white stole that I purchased from Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem.

1.                   Plain white with the Jerusalem Cross, symbolizing the five wounds of Christ.

2.                   But, although it looks plain, remember that light contains all of the colors and frequencies of the rainbow.

And, it takes all of the colors, all of the frequencies to see the beauty of the world around us.

D.                 We desperately want to live and see life in color

1.                   True of all of us

2.                   B~/W movies are now colorized

E.                  Likewise, the many colors and frequencies of worship can create a rich tapestry by which we can see God and express our thankfulness for all that he has created.

F.

In fact, these different frequencies and colors make strike each of us in different ways:

1.

A member of the choir was telling Marion about a song and how it moved her.

a.                   Message, meditation or the hugs

2.                   This is all part of the mystery of worship.

3.                   I say this is a mystery because we all may see God a bit differently.

Yet we still come.

*Why?*

a.                   What do you hope to see when you come into this place?

b.

Or, have you ever asked yourself, “why do we worship?”

Or, what is worship in the first place?

VI.

These are very important questions, because, they have tremendous implications of how we choose to see God and by extension, how we see ourselves.

A.

This is exactly were Paul begins his longest letter: a letter which summarizes much of what Paul’s believes about the living God and our response to God.

\\ B.                 Romans 1:18-23

!

1.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.

So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools;.

!

C.                 Look again at where Paul begins.

The creation of the world and how we choose to see it.

!

1.

In fact, in most of his dealings with the Gentiles, he begins with creation.

!

2.                   What can be known about God has been shown to us.

Where?