Sermon Tone Analysis

Call to Worship

L: Today is a day to sing praise to God!

P: God continually blesses us, each and every day.

L: Even in the midst of cold and darkness, the warmth of God’s love is real.

P: We can count on God to be here for us.

L: Let your hearts rejoice and your voices shout praise to God.

P: For God is great and worthy to be praised.

Opening Prayer

Lord, we come to you this morning with so many concerns and issues that demand our attention.

Our lives are burdened; our spirits are tired.

Guide our lives and our steps as we walk this Lenten journey, inward and outward.

Help us to discern what you would have us do, that others may be healed.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.

Offertory

In the letter Paul wrote to the Philippians 3:17, he charges them to “join in imitating me”.

Will you do that?

Imitate Paul, whose life beyond that road to Damascus was totally dedicated to proclaiming Jesus as the Christ, and totally committed to sharing his time, talent and treasure in faithful service to Christ.

Let us receive our morning tithes, gifts and offerings.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Generous God, what abundance you share with us! 

Receive now these gifts, portions of what you’ve first given to us.

Thank you for the privilege we have of giving.

Inspire us to use these gifts to share Good News in a hurting world.

Help us seek each day to imitate people of faith who model both generosity and gratitude.

AMEN

Prayer

Eternal God, we come to you with hungry hearts,

  waiting to be filled: 

  waiting to be filled with a sense of your presence;

  waiting to be filled with the touch of your spirit;

  waiting to be filled with new energy for service.

Come to us as we wait, we pray.

Be with us.

Touch us.

Empower us as your people that we might worship you here

   and act in the world for Jesus’ sake.

AMEN

John 2:13-25 New International Version

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.

15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here!

Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”[a]

18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”

21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.

Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.[b]

24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.

25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

Benediction

Be strong in the Lord.

You can walk in God’s ways, for God is with you, offering you peace, hope, courage, and joy.

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.

God’s love abides with you always.

Go in peace.Amen.