Sermon Tone Analysis
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*Theme*
God calls us to excellence, in our person and our performance.
Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
*One: *Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
*All: * Whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence,
*One:* And if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
*All: * And the God of peace will be with you.
– Based on Philippians 4:8–9
~*Hymn of Praise # 344 “Be Thou My Vision”
~*Invocation (the Lord’s Prayer) Holy God, in this season that commemorates the life and ministry of Jesus, remind us that his ministry is always and ever actively reaching out toward us.
And in this hour of worship, help us to be open to the challenges of his words, the power of his healing, and the opportunity to labor alongside him as both Savior and friend.
In his holy name.
Amen.
~*Gloria Patri
Just for Kids Ask the children if they know what sports event started two days ago, on February 10 — The Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
Show them a picture of the start of the Olympics, and explain that 2,500 athletes will compete and 84 medals will be given.
See if they can name the seven sports that will be presented: Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Ice Hockey, Luge, Skating and Skiing.
Then tell them that the apostle Paul once said that a lot of runners will compete in a race, but only one will receive the prize — he knew that not every athlete wins an Olympic medal.
Stress that Paul advises us to “Run in such a way that you may win it” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
Ask the children to guess what Paul might mean by this — work hard, practice, show self-control.
‘Point out that all these qualities are shown by disciples of Jesus as well as Olympic athletes.
Encourage them to work hard in Sunday school, to practice being loving in their homes, and to show self-control when they are tempted to do selfish things.
Let them know that if they do these things, they will be prize-winners in heaven.
~/~/~/~/~/* Shh! It’s a Secret*
*Preparation: *Bring in some play money.
(Whisper loudly and hold up the play money.)
I have a secret!
I’ve just won 10 million dollars.
I’m not supposed to tell anyone that I’m rich.
But I can’t help it.
I just had to share my happy news with you.
(Revert to normal voice.)
Today’s Bible story is about someone who had something wonderful happen in his life.
This man lived during Jesus’ time.
He had a horrible disease called leprosy.
All people with this disease had to live outside of the city, away from their family and friends.
They were very lonely.
This man with leprosy had heard of Jesus.
When he saw Jesus, he ran to him, fell on his knees, and begged Jesus to heal him.
He knew that Jesus could heal him.
Jesus touched the man and immediately he was healed.
Then Jesus told him, “Don’t tell anyone!”
But the man was so happy – this was the best thing in the whole world that could have happened to him.
He went out and told everyone he saw that Jesus had touched him and healed him.
The power of God’s love had healed this sick man.
He couldn’t keep this a secret.
*Prayer:* Dear Jesus, we won’t keep your love a secret!
Amen.
Stewardship Thought There were two people who chose healing in the Gospel story – first the leper and then Jesus.
Perhaps both choices were important.
If we look deep into our lives, most of us would acknowledge that sometimes we do not choose to be healed.
We stay with life-denying guilt, we hold old wounds to ourselves so that we can’t move on in our lives, ad sometimes live off the sympathy of others rather than our own abundant life.
Some of us even choose illness rather than health because it saves us from growing to maturity and facing life.
Jesus also chose healing for the leper – as God does for us, even if we can’t choose the nature of the healing.
Possibly Jesus didn’t want to be known primarily as the one who solved people’s problems by instant healing – maybe he was more than that for us.
Our Offering to God God Offers us love that surpasses knowledge.
Let us bring our gifts in response.
~*Doxology
~*Prayer of Dedication Lord, as we bring our gifts to you, examine the motives that lie behind our giving.
We can hide from others, but we cannot hide from you.
Burn off whatever motive we may exercise in our giving that is less than your love.
Replace it, we ask, with the selflessness of Jesus who gave his all from a place of unblemished love.
Let this offering be our moment of renewed dedication to you and to our pursuit of becoming all that you want us to be.
Amen.
Scripture Reading 2 Kings 5:1–14
Naaman, a general under the King of Aram, has leprosy.
His Jewish servant girl advises him to visit the prophet Elisha to be cured.
He travels to Israel and is told to bathe in the Jordan River.
After initial resistance, he does so and is cured.
~*Hymn of Prayer # 350 “Open My Eyes that I May See”
Pastoral Prayer Gracious God, as we behold your glory, our hearts are overwhelmed with contrition.
We look at ourselves honestly and recognize that there is nothing we do or say, however noble, that is not tarnished by selfish desire.
For this reason we would never presume to come to you boldly in prayer, were it not for Jesus Christ.
We give thanks that he died for our sin and that his righteousness is imputed to us simply by the exercise of our faith.
How amazing that is, O God. Forgive us, we pray, for failing to pursue your perfection as Jesus counseled us to do.
We ask, confident in the atonement that is ours through the blood of the Savior.
Almighty and ever-loving God, as we enter into your heavenly presence we fall to our knees in reverence and awe.
Your glory, your perfection, your majesty, your unmitigated love – they all overwhelm us.
Were we to look on your face, we would surely die, because our souls cannot comprehend the full grandeur of your being.
And yet, in the person of your son Jesus Christ, you left the glory of heaven and entered into the muck and mire of a sin-filled world.
You transcended the gap between us and reached out to provide all persons, everywhere, with the chance to share in your splendor.
How can we possibly comprehend the magnificence of your beneficence?
We cannot.
Nevertheless, having caught a glimpse of your brilliance, we are highly motivated to please you, to emulate you, and to have our lives characterized by your excellence.
Oh, how we praise you, Lord.
Amen.
~*Hymn of Praise # 451 “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”
Scripture Reading Mark 1:40–45* *
One with leprosy begs Jesus for healing.
Jesus, filled with compassion, heals him.
Jesus dismisses him with the warning not to tell anyone.
Instead, the man tells everyone, forcing Jesus to avoid public places because of the overwhelming attention.
Message How to Impress God
What pleases God most is not rigorous religious living, but our willingness to love selflessly.
Jesus demonstrated this, especially in the cross, but also in countless other interpersonal encounters such as in his healing of the one with leprosy.
So must we.
How do we best show that we love God?
How do we best demonstrate our devotion?
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