Sermon Tone Analysis

*Welcome*

*Call to Worship*

“/The Lord will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge/;

*the fear of the Lord is the key to his treasure*” (Isa.

33:6 NIV).

*~*Praise                *#                      “Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken”

*~*Invocation (Lord’s Prayer)        *Father God, we gather today and ask for a renewed vision of your Presence, for a resurrected spirit of life in history and beyond.

We humbly come to worship seeking you.

May we know you so that we may live in your world in joy and peace.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever.

Amen

*~*Gloria Patri** (*Sung together)*                                          *#575

*Psalm for Today                                                        *Psalm 25:1-10 NRSV

/ To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

/

*O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; *

*do not let my enemies exult over me.

*

/Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; /

/let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

/

*Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.

*

/Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; /

for you I wait all day long.

*Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, *

*for they have been from of old.*

/Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord! /

*Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

*

/He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

/

*All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, *

*for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

*

*Our Offering to God               *Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.[1]

*~*Doxology                                                                                       *#572

*~*Prayer of Dedication         *Dearest Lord and Savior, receive these gifts as expressions of our love, trust, and joy in participating with you in the work of the Kingdom.

May we forever be obedient in dedicating all that we have—and are—to you.

*~*Hymn of Prayer               *#         “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”

*Pastoral Prayer           *Eternal Father, we confess that we do not always find life easy.

Break in upon us in our worship this hour with the reality of your presence.

May the power of your presence be so strong within us that our faith will come alive with meaning, with power and strength, love, hope, and courage.

O God, teach us to hate evil and to love the good, to be willing to take the hard and difficult way when it is your way and not the easy path when it is the popular or softer way.

May we remember the way of the crucified Christ.

Give us then courage to take up our crosses and follow him in the war against evil, in the battle of truth over ignorance, justice over inequity, and righteousness over corruption.

Help us, O God, to bring light where there is darkness, hope where there is fear, concern where there is apathy, victory where there is defeat, and redemption where there is division.

Guide us to draw upon the strength of your abiding presence, which can enable us to become what you have created us to be.

Let us not grow weary then in well-doing.

Inspire us with confidence to continue to follow the way of Christ wherever it leads us.

For we pray it in his strong name.—William

Powell Tuck

*~*Hymn of Praise          *#              “JESUS Shall Reign”

*Scripture Text                                                                     *1 Kings 17:1-9 TM

        And then this happened: Elijah the Tishbite, from among the settlers of Gilead, confronted Ahab: “As surely as God lives, the God of Israel before whom I stand in obedient service, the next years are going to see a total drought—not a drop of dew or rain unless I say otherwise.”

2–4          God then told Elijah, “Get out of here, and fast.

Head east and hide out at the Kerith Ravine on the other side of the Jordan River.

You can drink fresh water from the brook; I’ve ordered the ravens to feed you.”

5–6           Elijah obeyed God’s orders.

He went and camped in the Kerith canyon on the other side of the Jordan.

And sure enough, ravens brought him his meals, both breakfast and supper, and he drank from the brook.

7–9           Eventually the brook dried up because of the drought.

Then God spoke to him: “Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there.

I’ve instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you.”

*Message                                                                     *Rev.

Irish

Hidden for God’s Purposes

People have always loved following the twists and turns of a well-plotted tale.

The Bible is full of attention grabbing stories with heroes and villains, intrigue and murder, scandal as well as self-sacrifice.

And Scripture does not whitewash the character flaws of some of the main actors of history.

Moses, for example, was a hot-tempered murderer.

King David was embar­rassed by a sexual sin involving another man’s wife.

Unlike modern soap operas the Bible always keeps these failures in perspective, clearly show­ing the consequences of immorality and offering redemption from sin.

But let’s imagine for a moment that we have uncov­ered an ancient tabloid with a summary of a drama that occurred around the year 860 B.C. Stripped to* *its essence, the story might read something like this:

        King Ahab continued to claim he is in control of the nation, while conventional wisdom says Queen Jezebel is the real contender for political power.

Jezebel and the government-financed priests of Baal and Asherah have lured many Israelites into the sexual depravity of their fertility cult.

But in a dramatic showdown at Mount Carmel, the prophet Elijah called down fire from heaven, then led the people in the mass murder of 850 of Jezebel’s priests.

Meanwhile, Ahab sulked over his inability to take control of the vineyard next to his Jezreel palace from its owner, Naboth.

After the vine­yard owner was murdered by a local mob, the sovereign Lord appointed a special prosecutor to investigate whether the king and queen had con­spired to obstruct justice by killing Naboth and misappropriating his property... Abuse of power.

Sex.

Greed.

Murder.

Conspiracy.

The “special prosecutor” in this tabloid was Elijah.

God revealed Ahab and Jezebel’s sin to His prophet, who then pronounced God’s judgment on the wicked king and queen.

When we first encounter Elijah, he simply pops up out of nowhere.

All we learn is that he was from Gilead.

Elijah simply appears on the scene, pro­claiming God’s word to the king in the royal court.

...King Ahab’s wickedness was compounded by the fact he had married a woman who was even more ruthless than he was.

Scripture is more concerned with her role in political affairs and the religious life of the nation than her private conduct.

Another problem plagued Ahab: He was a first-class wimp.

Absolutely spineless.

Jezebel, who had the superior* *intellect and greater ambition, did not hesi­tate to fill the power vacuum in the kingdom.

She was a shrewd and calculating manipulator, the power behind the throne.

But of even more importance than all these a considerations is the fact that Ahab had married outside the faith.

Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, a Phoenician city-state.

(On today's map, Phoenicia would cover roughly the same territory as Lebanon.)

Jezebel’s father was not only king of the Sidonians, he was a priest of Asherah, the chief goddess of his people.

And Ethbaal had come to the throne by killing his predecessor.

What was Ahab thinking when he married into such an immoral family?

Evidently he thought he knew more than his forefathers.

Instead of marrying a godly Jewish woman, he entered into a politically motivated union with an idol-worshiping pagan.

Jezebel and Ahab were unequally yoked.