Sermon Tone Analysis

*Call to Worship*

“/Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart/:

 *wait, I say, on the Lord*” (Ps.

27:14 KJV).

*~*Praise                         # 3             *God, Our Father, We Adore Thee

*~*Invocation (Lord’s Prayer)        *Father, we come to worship with glad hearts.

We thank you for your Word that is truth.

We thank you for the living Word, Jesus Christ, who dwells among us.

Grant that today we shall so experience your nearness that your thoughts may be our thoughts and your ways our ways.

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                                       Unison                                                    **Psalm 121* NRSV

1     I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come?

2     My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

3     He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

4     He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

5     The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6     The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

7     The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

8     The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.

*Our Offering to God               *“Give, and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap” (Luke 6:38 NIV).

*~*Doxology          #572*

*~*Prayer of Dedication**            *Gracious Lord, open our eyes that we may see the beauty of the world as your gift.

Grant us the desire and wisdom to do our part in bringing your light to the dark places.

For this purpose we do now dedicate these offerings.

*Scripture Reading                                                          **Genesis 32:22-31* NRSV

 22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had.

24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?”

And he said, “Jacob.”

28 Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.”

29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”

But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?”

And there he blessed him.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.”

31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

*~*Hymn of Prayer                   # 25           *Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

*Pastoral Prayer  **           *O God, Thou hast found us and not we thee.

At times we but dimly discern thee; the dismal mists of earth obscure thy glory.

Yet in other and more blessed moments, thou dost rise upon our souls, and we know thee as the Light of all our seeing, the Life of all that is not dead with us, the Bringer of health and cure, the Revealer of peace and truth.

We will not doubt our better moments, for in them thou dost speak to us.

We rejoice that thou

hast created us in thine image.

Thy love has stirred us into being, has endowed us with spiritual substance.

In the intellect, whose thoughts wander through eternity; in the conscience that bears witness to thy eternal righteousness; in the affections that make life sweet, and reach forth to thee, O Lover of Mankind—in these, we are made heirs to the riches of thy grace.

And when we wandered from thee into the far country and there wasted our substance, thou didst not forsake us.

Thy love followed after us and would not let us go and compelled us to return.

We praise thee that in the advent of thy dear Son, all that thou art hast become visible to faith.

His passion has become our deliverance, his wounds our healing, his cross our redemption, his death our life.

Make us one with him in faith and penitence, that as he died, so we may die unto sin, that as he rose again triumphant over wrong and shame and despair, so we may rise with him into newness of life.—Samuel

McComb

*~*Hymn of Praise                   # 226         *Holy Bible, Book Divine

*Scripture Text                                                            **2 Timothy **3:14**-4:5* NRSV

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

*4* In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2 proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.

3 For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.

5 As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

*Message                                          *How ?

~* What do you think when you hear the word, “FEAR”?

Fear is the great motivator, or better said, the great De-motivator.

\\ ~* Few things in life will trap a person in bondage like “fear”.

Fear has the uncanny ability to lock us down and keep us from fulfilling our dreams.

\\ ~* Fear keeps the young man from asking his dream girl out for a date.

\\ ~* Fear keeps the man from leaving the security of a job to launch out and open His own business.

\\ ~* Fear keeps the woman from following her dream to go to school.

\\ ~* Fear keeps everyone from attempting something which we have always wanted to do or to be – because – we’re afraid of what might be revealed about us.

Maybe (just maybe) we don’t know HOW.

We’ve never been “instructed”.

And if we FAIL, well, in our minds that’s worse than not trying.

\\ ~* How does this concept of fear play in our purpose of changing lives for Time and eternity?

We must remember and nail down this truth; “this church will never achieve this goal until those of us who make up this church possesses this desire in our lives.”

Candidly most, if not every one of us, simply do not see ourselves as “change agents.”

We see ourselves as normal, average, every-day believers who struggle.

We do not see ourselves as possessing the “know how” to change lives.

\\ ~* Fear of failure keeps us from giving it a try.

Fear of failure keeps us from sharing our faith.

Fear that we might not have EVERY answer.

Our church culture has so indoctrinated us to where it is believed we must have a theological degree to be equipped for the sharing of our faith.

\\ ~* But I have a belief that is quickly becoming a conviction.

It is my belief that every person who had placed their faith in Christ WANTS to, HAS A DESIRE to be a change agent.

We want to influence people; want to make a difference in the lives of friends.

\\ ~* The rub is; that we don’t really know HOW, or we don’t think we know how, or we’re afraid we don’t know how.

\\ ~* Turn with me to our text and let’s watch God’s word be the living word.

(Read)  But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught.

You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.

15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.

It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

4 I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God.