Sermon Tone Analysis

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Today I want to look at the lyrics of called “What a Friend we have in Jesus”

Pray about everything, tell God what you need, thank Him for all that H has done.

I think too many Christians have a misunderstanding of prayer.

It is my hope that today you will develop a true sincere love for the presence of God through prayer.

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

  All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

  Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

  O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

  Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged,

  Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

  Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness,

  Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,

  Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge—

  Take it to the Lord in prayer;

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer;

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,

  Thou wilt find a solace there.

This is written by a man named Joseph Scriven who lived in the 1800’s in Ireland and he fell madly in love with his childhood sweetheart.

On the day before they were to get married they rode horseback to met each other and tragically her horse bucked, threw her off where she hit her head on a rock beside the river and rolled unconscious into the water just moments before Joseph arrived.

She died and he found his fiance dead in the middle of the river.

So Joseph decides to leave Ireland and move to Canada where he encountered the powerful grace of Jesus.

Joseph falls madly in love with living for Jesus and vows to live a life of poverty.

He is very handy and decides to work only for people that did not have the means to pay him.

Last week we talked about God’s Amazing Grace and John Newton and his nick name was the Great Blasphemer.

Joseph Scriven nickname was the Great Samaritan.

The story doesn’t stop there.

He later fell in love with a young lady name Eliza Roche and weeks before they were to get married she came down with pneumonia and died.

Two times the love of his life was taken.

He never fell in love again.

Years later his mother back in Ireland was dying but he did not have the money to go see her so he wrote and sent it to her.

The poem became well known, although he never took credit for writing it, but years later a friend was in the house and found the original notes, now a hymn and asked Joseph if he wrote it and he said to be honest “the Lord and I wrote it together.”

So the poem that he wrote to his dying mom is a hymn that we have sang for a couple hundred years.

Misconceptions about Prayer

Prayer is complicated

Prayer is boring

Prayer does’t work

Can we find a friend so faithful,

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged–

Take it to the Lord in prayer

How Do We Pray?

Sometimes you talk to God.

Sometimes you vent to God.

Sometimes you listen to God.

“Prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God.” Billy Graham

At all times, you give thanks to God.

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear!

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

True peace isn’t the absence of problems.

True peace is found in the presence of God.

Hymn # 665 O Mater, Let Me Walk with Thee

Prayers of the People

Closing Chorus # 513 Thank You Lord

Charge: Philippians 4:7 (May) the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus