Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome:

Singing:

*Let me lead us in prayer:*

 

*Father God, holy, holy, holy is your name!*

*We come before you this morning Lord, in awe and wonder of your goodness.*

*We are here Lord because you have brought us safely here, from many destinations.*

*Just as the wise men of old, we have come to worship you.*

*And the most wonderful part of our coming here together this morning Lord is that you yourself, through the Holy Spirit, have filled our hearts with a yearning to adore you, to gather here.*

*You give us faith, Lord – to God be the glory.*

*You give us Love Lord, your love, and we find we have love to spare for our fellow beings.*

*Above all, you give us hope, Heavenly Father, and because we have hope, we are ready to go forward.*

*We want to go forward, Lord, serving you – please let that be our deepest desire!*

*See us here Lord, your servants!*

*Let it be to us as you will have it be for us.*

*All to the glory of your name,*

*Amen*

* *

*Let us praise God anew in our singing this morning.

Lets sing BoW 252: 1,2,6,7.*

*(O Come Emanuel…)*

* *

*Please turn with me to the book of forms, page 75 and join me as we read the answers to the questions of Lord’s day 14…*

* *

* *

*Our Father who is in heaven*

*When we come before you, when we take a moment to reflect on our lives, we stand before you in deep humility.*

*Your love has enfolded us from before time began.*

*Even though Lord, we do not deserve it.*

*We do not deserve life, lord, let alone the many blessings you bestow on us.*

*Our lives are often live in sacrifice to the worldly gods,*

*To selfishness, and lust, and laziness,*

*And we serve ourselves first and then, if we have time, or energy, or means to spare, we consider serving our brothers and sisters that we have in you.*

*And then Lord, if we have a spare moment here and there, only then do we serve you,*

*Only after the parties, after the business has been taken care of, after the footy or the cricket has been won – all, lord, as if anything happens to us by our own strength.*

*We do not deserve to live Lord, and yet you give us abundant life.*

*And on this day Lord, we are reminded that because of the birth of our Saviour Jesus, we indeed have ever-lasting life.*

*Let a song burst forth from our lips, Lord, in gratitude for all that you do,*

*And may we live our lives from now on for the purpose you have made us*

*- to serve and glorify you in all that we do and say and think.*

*In Jesus name we pray – Amen.*

* *

*  *

*Please turn with me to 1 John 1: 1-4; and 2: 3-8*

* *

* *

*1 John 1:2-4:*

*/1/**/     That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

/**//**/2/**//**/ /**/The/**/ life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

/**//**/3/**//**/ /**/We/**/ proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may /**/have fellowship with us.

/**/And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

/**//**/4/**//**/ /**/We/**/ write this to make our  joy complete.

/*

*/ /*

*1 John 2: 3-8:*

***/3/**//**/ /**/We/**/ know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

/**//**/4/**//**/ /**/The/**/ man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

/**//**/5/**//**/ /**/But/**/ if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.

This is how we know we are in him: /**//**/6/**//**/ /**/Whoever/**/ claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

/*

*//**/7/**//**/ /**/Dear/**/ friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.

This old command is the message you have heard.

/**//**/8/**//**/ /**/Yet/**/ I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining./*

*/ /*

*Let’s sing in response.

BoW 285 (Lord Jesus Come…)*

* *

*Just before we ask       to lead us in the congregational prayer and a prayer of thanksgiving, let us consider our collection this morning.

The collection is for *

*…………………*

* *

Collection:

 

Prayer* (…………………………………..)*

* *

Reading.

Luke 1-39-56

* *

Sermon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*B&S**, if you were to be get a message later this morning, that you have been chosen to host the King of kings in your house from tomorrow onwards - or an unspecified time – what would you think.*

* *

*Let’s say you are a young woman, soon to be married, and as you go about your daily chores, no doubt day dreaming about your coming wedding day, and your handsome husband …*

*–an angel appears and says to you that the Saviour of the world wants to come and stay at your place for a while *

*          from where He has the most important work to do.

*

*What do you say?*

* *

*Or perhaps you are an older man, or woman, retired perhaps, *

*and** the angel appears and asks…*

*          would you happen to have a spare room for the Lord?

*

* *

*He will be here in a little while and He has chosen your house to be His base from where He will launch His final attack against the Evil One – so that all the world might be saved.*

*What do you do?*

* *

*Would you think:** *

*Why me, I am an important man, or woman – I have people to meet, places to visit, contracts to sign – I do not have time for this now!*

*          ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/Or perhaps… Why me?

I am a nobody?*

* *

* *

* *

* *

*Would you say…*

*can** you ask the King to go to my neighbour instead, my house is not big enough, grand enough, we do not have enough to eat and the wine cellar is empty – I cannot receive such an important guest at this time.*

*          Or perhaps … I am sure the King will provide all that is needed       for His stay – He has always been good to me and knows, I do   not have much.

*

*          What a wonderful privilege that he chooses my house to come        and stay for a while.

I am rich beyond measure just for the fact    that He has chosen me.*

* *

*Would you do the following*

*Would you rush of to church, pray on your knees at least this time, read large sections of the Bible in case the King asks you about your knowledge of His laws and decrees; *

* *

*would** you draw a significant part of your small fortune and hand it out that nuisance of a beggar that you see at the entrance to your office every morning…*

* *

*          Or will you burst out in song, go visit a friend and take with you      the wonderful good news that soon all that separates us from serving in the Kingdom of  the King of kings, He who is able to       heal us from our illnesses, to give us life everlasting, to take away our material needs that binds us to this earth, is coming – and he has chosen to stay with you.*

* *

*What will we think and say and do, when Jesus comes again?*

*What did Mary do when she was told that she was to the mother of the King, the one we had been hoping for and praying for?*

*You see, perhaps we can learn what we should do when we consider what Mary did when she was first told that she would be the mother of Jesus – for the sake of all of mankind!

*

* *

*So what did Mary do: *

*The very first thing she does is that she submits to the Love of God!*

* *

*When she is first told she would be mother of the Saviour, after she gets over her shock, she says…verse 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” *

* “May it be to me as you have said.”

*

* *

*That,** clearly is the starting point.*

* *

*But, what else does she do?

*

*Luke describes it so well…*

*She rushes of to one close to her heart *

*and** when she gets there, she cannot help herself.

*

*          She bursts out in song…*

* *

*“My soul glorifies the Lord *

***and** my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, *

***for** he has been mindful *

*of** the humble state of his servant.