Sermon Worksheet & Manuscript

Robert L. Hutcherson, Jr.

Board of Examiners

                                Introduction to Preaching/Preaching Lab

                                                     Ezekiel 37:1-14

“Word To The Bones”

The Rev. Karla J. Cooper, Pastor

April 28, 2007

Sermon Worksheet & Manuscript

I.  What does this passage say? (exegesis)

A VISION OF RESTORATION. Undoubtedly, the restoration of Israel is the immediate thought in the mind of Ezekiel. He sees his people stricken to death. The nation is virtually dead. The exiled citizens of Jerusalem have lost all spirit and energy. But with the restoration will come a restored energy to the people. The nation also will once more rise up as from the dead.

2. What does the passage mean? (hermeneutic)

The people could not be truly restored unless they were reformed and renewed in heart and character. Hence the strange and striking form in which the promise of restoration is given. It appears as a resurrection. What happened to ancient Israel happens to all the people of God. They are restored to true life and prosperity by means of a spiritual resurrection. Souls are dead in sin. The world is like a valley of dry bones - ugly in its wickedness, helpless in its confusion, utterly unable to save itself. But Christ has come to give new life to the souls of men. His resurrection is a type of the soul's resurrection.

A. To the original audience?

Under the emblem of the open valley being thickly strewed with very dry bones is represented the hopeless state of the Jews when dispersed throughout the provinces of the Chaldean empire. But God, contrary to every human probability, restores these bones to life, thereby prefiguring the restoration of that people from the Babylonian captivity, and their resettlement in the land of their forefathers, The vision was to encourage the desponding Jews; to predict both their restoration after the captivity, and also their recovery from their present and long-continued dispersion.

B. To the contemporary context?

No created power could restore human bones to life. God alone could cause them to live. Skin and flesh covered them, and the wind was then told to blow upon these bodies; and they were restored to life. The wind was an emblem of the Spirit of God, and represented his quickening powers.

3. What does this passage say to the larger community? (homiletic)

That no matter what our state, God never completely abandons us, and that even though we may have to endure consequences for our actions, He can and does restore us.

What is the "Bad News" in the text? What is the "Bad News" for our time?

That we have become as the “dry bones” in the vision, without substance and scattered and useless.

What is the "Good News" in the text? What is the "Good News" for our time?

That God can and will restore us, so that we recognize His Sovereign power

How can the conflict between the Bad News and the Good News be reconciled?

We acknowledge God as the Author and finisher of our faith, and His Son, Jesus the Christ, and become obedient to them.

7.  Specific Purpose/Central Idea.

(In one clear sentence say what the sermon is about and why you are

preaching it).

I propose to show That we are as scattered as the bones in the vision, that only through the supreme power of God can we be made whole and productive. That it is the mission of those of us who would preach the Word to reach those “dry bones” around us. ______________________________________________

To the end that the hearers will

Respond anew to refresh their relationship, if need be, and their commitment to God’s people.

8.  What will the listener/audience celebrate as a result of hearing this

sermon? (Celebration happens in preaching when the Gospel becomes

Good News for the listener). Just as the sermon must have a specific

aim, the celebration must be specific as well.

That Jesus paid the ultimate price and was victorious, allowing us to be in the position to once again feel the restorative breath of God once we accept Jesus’ saving grace.

9. How will I conclude the sermon?

My brothers and sisters, we have our work cut out for us…Let us prophesy to the dry bones in our midst, help them come together…then prophecy to the breath...”O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.”

Prayer

Invitation to Christian Discipleship

10. Where will I make sermonic moves and transitions?  List specific

transitional sentences.

Ezekiel describes his simple obedience.

But just as the miracle of reconstruction takes place…

Maybe sometimes we’re afraid of just what might happen…

Just then is when we need the life-giving power of God's Spirit.

Have you felt the breath of God lately?

what kind of bone are you?

We live in a world that is dying…

All of these are part of the One we call Jesus the Christ…

11. What biblical translation and/or paraphrased version are consistent

with what I want to say in the sermon? What cross-references and/or

literary sources will I use?

The NIV Study Bible, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, The Revised Standard Version Bible, The AMEC Bicentennial Hymnal, Adam Clarke's Commentary

TEXT

"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, {there were} very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, {they were} very dry. He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, You know. Again He said to me, Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.' Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. 'I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.' So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.' So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it, declares the LORD.'" (Ezekiel 37:1-14 NASBR)

       BODY

"Can these bones live?" Now there's a question for you. What do you say to such a question from God? Ezekiel is clever at best, doubtful at worst. "O Lord God, you know." It almost sounds like our common expression of bafflement, "God only knows." Which is where we all too often find ourselves. Maybe, like Ezekiel, we have the common sense not to deny God's ability, but lack the faith to truly believe in it." If the question God poses to Ezekiel seems strange, then consider the command he receives. "Then he said to me, Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live." 

Ezekiel describes his simple obedience. He prophesies, he preaches to the dry bones exactly what he was told in ordinary words. No magic, no special incantations, just the power of the living word of God. He vividly re-tells the vision of what happens next. He starts with the noise, the great rattling din as the bones clatter together to remake their former "owners". Then the sight as ligament and sinew fuse the skeletons together and soft flesh re-sculpts the bodies into cadavers.

Now that's effective preaching! But just as the miracle of reconstruction takes place before his eyes, it all suddenly stops "dead". And the effect is limited at best. He says, "There was no breath in them." still no life, no movement, no real humanity…until the divine voice booms again. "Then he said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." Here we have it again, as so often in the Bible, that one remarkably flexible word ruach (pronounced roo-ah, the New Testament word is pneuma): breath, wind, Spirit. At its root the word simply means air in motion. From the breath of God, that breathes human life into clay at the dawn of history, to the Holy Spirit that blows the church into life at Pentecost. In this wonderful word the Bible bridges our modern gap between biology and theology. Life, breath, Spirit; it's all one. It's about telling lifeless people to listen to the word of the Lord.. In other words, it awakens hope. It suggests enormous possibilities. It magnifies a vision of the grace and power of the living God. Only God can breathe life into death. Only the Holy Spirit can bring the very life of God into our mortal bodies. We humans can't create life, and we can't bring about new life either. God alone is the Creator who breathes life into clay, and brings dead souls to life again. The agency of that life is God's Holy breath. That’s why the Scriptures tell all of us who have that breath “Let everything that has breath, Praise the Lord!”

Maybe sometimes we’re afraid of just what might happen if we truly lay our hearts open to the life-giving power of God's Spirit…the life-changing, earth-shaking, real, reinvigorating, resurrecting renewal and revival of God's people from the valley of dry bones, where we survey the dusty landscape of our scattered souls and say "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost." Maybe its the dry bones of a lifeless soul where there's hardly a spark of faith. Bleached and brittle with bitterness, cracked with complacency. Maybe its the skeleton of a marriage, Maybe its the emptiness of grief, Maybe its the feeling that you're stuck in a career that's not going anywhere, an illness that won't go away, an annoying addiction that sticks to you like gum on your shoe, or maybe even a church struggling to rekindle its vision. Or maybe you just gave up hoping and praying long ago, gave up dreaming, settled for a continuous but oh-so-unsatisfying routine of hard work and harsh employers, dirty laundry and disobedient, disrespectful children, exorbitant bills and inadequate finances, You feel as though you’ve come to an end of everything - everything. Desire, that once filled up your life, now drained clean away. Nothing seems important any more. All ambition, all striving, all wanting, all loving ... all of it dried up… shrivelled up to nothing till it seems a huge foolishness, all of it… thinking that the best years of your life are behind you, thinking that God has forgotten all about your dry and dreary little life. Just then is when we need the life-giving power of God's Spirit. Just then is when we need the words of the hymnist:

                       Breathe on me, breath of God,

Fill me with life anew,

That I may love what Thou dost love,

And do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, breath of God,

Until my heart is pure,

Until with Thee I will one will,

To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, breath of God,

Blend all my soul with Thine,

Until this earthly part of me

Glows with Thy fire divine.

Have you felt the breath of God lately? Are you aglow with His Holy fire? Or are you “dry bones”? And if so, let me ask you today…what kind of bone are you? Are you a WISHBONE…always pursuing the past but fearful of the future? A KNEEBONE…irritated and indignant from thinking that you ought to be at least a NECKBONE…Or are you a TAILBONE…just sitting around, watching others work and wondering and complaining why more isn't getting done?

We live in a world that is dying, waiting for God's people to understand and finally believe that God is not done. Now is the time when we prophesy,  preach to the dry bones around us exactly what is still told in ordinary words. "Thus says the Lord, I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live!" "O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." Let’s rise up from the dust of our discarded dreams. Let the Holy Spirit breathe new life into our souls. Then we can transform and be transformed from WISHBONES and TAILBONES into BACKBONES, where we know what needs to be done and can help carry the load, the spiritual life of the body. Where we can bring still other dry bones together with the ligaments of love…the sinews of spirituality…the flesh of faithfulness…and cover them with the skin of servanthood. All of these are part of the One we call Jesus the Christ…his back reduced to a bloodied pulp, the skin torn away in shreds…a heavy cross askew across his mangled back... heavy enough by itself, but added to that weight the past sins, the present sins, and the future sins of the entire world. No one else but the Son of God could have carried that load! His humanity so exhausted, yet His spirit so willing … Are you weary of your burden today? Look at Jesus by your side. He’s carrying the heaviest end of the load…the end with the rough edges. And if He isn't, it is only because you will not let Him! Are you weary of the scorn of others? Look at Jesus, more scorn was heaped on Him than on you! Are you weary of your tired, aching, diseased, faltering body? Look at Jesus. He was so weary He fell... His body covered with wounds, spit and blood! But the good news is that He rose again!! John 20:22 tells us He breathed His Holy Spirit into His disciples, who then changed the world…and today He waits for us at the right hand of the Father!! Jesus the Christ, who was God, came down, took human form and walked among us, performed miracles, suffered, bled, and died and rose again to give us the opportunity to feel the breath of God once more. My brothers and sisters, we have our work cut out for us…Let us prophesy to the dry bones in our midst, help them come together…then prophecy to the breath...”O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.”

Let us pray…

Order of Worship

Sunday April 29th, 2007

11:00 A.M.

Opening Hymn…………………………” Let It Breathe On Me”, Hymm 295

Doxology……………………………………………………All

Call to Worship…………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson

Hymn………………………………….”Breathe on Me, Breath of God”, Hymn 192

Prayer……………………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson

Prayer Response………………………………….”Give Us This Day”

Scripture Reading………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson

Decalogue……………………………………….Bro. Robert Hutcherson

Gloria Patri…………………………………………….Congregation

Sermon…………………………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson

Invitation to Christian Discipleship……”Spirit of the Living God”, Hymn 619

Altar Call/Offertory………………………………………..All

Offertory Response……………………………”All Things Come Of Thee”

Affirmation of Faith…………………………………..Congregation

Benediction………………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson