Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome

Call to Worship

/The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought.

/

*We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.

*

/What then are we to say about these things?

If God is for us//, //who is against us?

/

*You, who did not withhold your own Son, will you not also give us all things through him?

*

~*Praise                      # 565        “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”

~*Invocation (Lord’s Prayer)   We do not know how to pray, but as Christ intercedes on our behalf we are emboldened to come before your throne of grace.~/You

make us mindful of your bountiful care as each morning we greet a new day.~/As

we enter the sanctuary we behold your counte­nance in the eyes of sisters and brothers.~/As

your Word is read and pro­claimed we hear how you have been faithful throughout the ages.~/Be

pleased with our offerings of praise and thanksgiving as we respond to your goodness in thought, word, and deed.

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)                                                                               

~*Psalm for Today                                                              Psalm 105:1-11 /(NRSV)/

/O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.

/

*Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works*.

/Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice./

*Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually*.

/Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,/

*O offspring* *of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.*

/He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

/

*He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a *

*thousand generations*,

/the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, /

*which* *he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant*,

*/saying, “To you I will give the /**/land/**/ of /**/Canaan/**/ as your portion for an inheritance.”

/*

Our Offering to God     Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.

Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

~*Doxology                                                                                                                         

~*Prayer of Dedication   Treasures lose their luster, and riches are easily spent, but your king­dom endures forever.

We approach you, 0 God, trusting your will for our lives.

/You /give us assurance of your abiding presence.

/You /provide us with confidence as we follow Christ's call.

Accept the gifts that we offer, so that your truth may be known throughout the land.

Scripture Reading                                                                      Romans 8:26-39 /(NRSV)/

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.

30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31 What then are we to say about these things?

If God is for us, who is against us?

32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect?

It is God who justifies.

34 Who is to condemn?

It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~*Hymn of Prayer          # 252        “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”

Pastoral Prayer  We know you as the God who is and shall be, one who with might performs wonders and with graciousness bestows many blessings.

/You /speak and the heavens thunder with the sound of your voice.

/You /stretch forth your hand and even the sparrows find safe lodging.

In Christ Jesus you chose to walk among your people, revealing in him your marvelous love.

As your Holy Spirit breathes fresh upon us, we are filled with the sense of your presence everywhere.

You choose not to leave us alone, but to guide us; for all your mercies we give you our thanks.

Your heavenly order conditions our decisions, determining the present and future course of our lives.

Your commandments ordain how we should respect other people; your judgment controls us when we seek to rebel.

We pray for a recurring sense of revelation, an intrusion of percep­tion that will enlighten our vision.

We know the Christ, how he calls us to follow.

We ask for direction in our quest to obey.

He calls us to struggle on behalf of your righteousness; keep us from complacency that hinders response.

When we wrestle with forces that would dehumanize our neigh­bors, help us to be specific on what needs to occur.

Give us those extraor­dinary glimpses of your purpose, and grant us strength to obey your will.

~/~/ Help us not to be unduly anxious, when the results of our actions are not readily known.

Add to our need for security a level of your providence that you promise in Christ.

Chasten our desires to control our own destiny, and give us the freedom to take risks for your sake.

When we stumble, set us securely once again on your path.

When we take detours, keep us safe until we regain our bearings.

You know who we are and where we are going.

With that assurance, we shall continue on.

~*Hymn of Praise                  # 401        “It Is Well with my Soul”

Scripture Text                                                                Matthew 13:24-30 /(NRSV)/

24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to

someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.

26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.

27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?

Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’

The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.

30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’

”

\\ Message                                    The Waiting Game

All of us who have tried to plant a garden or get a green lawn to grow have had the experience of putting out good plants or sowing quality seeds, only to discover that after a short time of neglect the weeds have taken over.

Did you ever wonder where the weeds come from?

Our parable says they come from the enemy.

While we are asleep, in the dead of night, he comes under the cover of darkness and sows weeds in our garden.

~/~/To the first century Jew this would seem like a very plausible answer, for in the Orient a common means of getting revenge on a disagreeable neighbor was to sow weeds in his field.

In the explanation of the parable, (Matthew 13:36-43), the sower of the weeds is identified not as a vengeful neighbor, but as the evil one - the Devil himself.

How are we to react to the presence of evil in our world and in our own lives?

~/ The simple and direct answer of the parable is that we are to wait - wait until the harvest, then the time of separation will come.

~/~/

The waiting game is certainly not the most popular sport; to wait for someone is perhaps one of the most exasperating things we have to do.

In this age of constant rushing we all become clock watchers.