Sermon Tone Analysis

*Call to Worship*

“But thanks be to God!

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor.

15:57 NIV).

*~*Praise      insert         *Shine, Jesus Shine

*~***Invocation (Lord’s Prayer)         *O Lord God, in whom we live and move and have our being, whose perfect face is hidden from us by our sin, whose mercy we often forget in the busyness of life, may we know your presence in this place.

May we, in meekness and lowliness of heart, draw near to your throne and in you find our refuge and strength.

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

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.

Amen.

*~*Psalm for Today                                                                          **Psalm 66:1-12* NRSV

1     /Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; /

2    * sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise.

*

3    / Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you./

4    * All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.”

*

5    / Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.

/

6    * He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot.

*

*There we rejoiced in him, *

7     /who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let the rebellious not exalt themselves.

/    

8    * Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, *

9     /who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.

/

10    * For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

*

11    / You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs; /

12     *you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.*

*Our Offering to God    *“Every one shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hast given thee” (Deut.

16:17 KJV).

*              *

*~*Doxology          #572 *Praise God from whom all blessings flow;  Praise him all creatures here below:  Praise him above ye heavn’ ly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

*~*Prayer of Dedication         *Father, as we offer these gifts, remind us that deeds are more persuasive testimony than words alone.

May we know that these gifts are but part of the pledge of loyalty you require of us.

*Scripture Reading                                                       **2 Kings 5:1-3, 5:7-15 *NRSV

*5* Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram.

The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria!

He would cure him of his leprosy.”

7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?

Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.”

8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes?

Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house.

10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.”

11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?

Could I not wash in them, and be clean?”

He turned and went away in a rage.

13 But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?

How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.”

~*Hymn of Prayer          # 314                Moment by Moment

*Pastoral Prayer        * Creator God, you have placed us in the company of others to look after one another and that we might not be lonely.

~/ With each day’s setting sun you seek to end the cares of the day and to close out accounts with sleep.

With each day’s rising  sun, you breakfast us upon the food of second chances.

But we blow it.

Again and again we see a new day, but in the mirror we see an old face and old fears and old ways.

Yet you have promised to those who submit to the pruning of your commanding word, the lasting fruit of your abiding presence – the ultimate, coompanionable answer to the loneliness of Adam and Eve and of all your children.

– Peter Fribley

*~*Hymn of Praise          # 393         *There’s Within My Heart a Melody

*Scripture Text                                                                  **2 Timothy 2:8-15* NLT Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead.

This is the Good News I preach.

9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal.

But the word of God cannot be chained.

10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

11 This is a trustworthy saying:  If we die with him, we will also live with him.

12      If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.

If we deny him, he will deny us.

13      If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

14 Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words.

Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.

15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval.

Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.[1]

Message                    Things To Remember

Jesus Christ is the resurrected Lord.

Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.

This is one of the most important charges ever given to believers—remember this good news.

Remember—the gospel proclaims the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ.

Jesus the Messiah was man.

He was born of the seed of David; He was a man just like David, born of the roots of David.

God sent His Son into the world in human flesh.

The Son of God became a man—flesh and blood—just like all other men.

He had a human nature, and because He had a human nature, He knows the sufferings, the trials, the temptations, the problems, the difficulties, the sorrows, the griefs, the struggles and the pains of life.

\\ The point is this: Jesus Christ knows exactly what we face in life.

Therefore, He is able to support us through all the trials of life.

No matter what the sufferings are, Jesus Christ can deliver us through the sufferings and cause us to triumph over them.

\\ "And the Word [God’s Son] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" So the Word became human and made his home among us.

He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.

And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.[2]  (John 1:14).

\\ It is imperative to /remember./

Paul goes back to the basics to ground Timothy’s thinking—a fresh statement of the elementary gospel.

The first thing to notice is the content of this gospel presentation.

It consists of a person, /Jesus Christ,/ and two events, resurrection and incarnation or Davidic descent.

While we might be surprised at what Paul has left out of this summary of the gospel (forgiveness of sins, salvation, eternal life and so on), what he has included probably spoke directly to Timothy’s situation.

Paul calls Christians to set their focus on Jesus Christ.

It is he who has been raised from the dead, not believers.