Sermon Tone Analysis

WELCOME

Creator God,

We give thanks for the life of Her Most Gracious Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

We honour her life of service built on a firm foundation of faith

and an exemplary commitment to duty.

Comfort those who mourn and bring peace to those in distress.

We offer our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

“I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give laws or administer justice but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion”

This quote from the Queen’s 1957 Christmas broadcast, it speaks of a life lived well before God.

Holy God,

We give thanks for the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,

 She for many of us has been the only monarch we have ever known.

and although we may never have met her she has been a constant in our lives.

We give thanks for her many years of service, and for her great faith in you our Lord,

her faith in you that guided her throughout her years

We ask you to bless and keep all who will miss Queen Elizabeth.

We pray especially for the Royal Family,

And the times that lay ahead, we pray for king Charles, as he prepares to take on the role

as king of this nation.give

him strength to rule with the same grace as his mother.

We bring all this to you,

 while giving thanks for the life of Queen Elizabeth,

 and while celebrating your sovereignty over our hearts.

Amen

CALL TO WORSHIP

God, we your people love you.

We’ve come today to praise you,

to listen to your word and to learn from you.

We are different from each other:

young and old, quiet and loud,

serious or frivolous, tired or lively.

Help us all to worship you

with one heart and mind.

Amen.

Hymn 55: Immortal invisible, god only wise

PRAYERS

Lord, who calls the lost to be found,

who seeks to know us and be known,

we worship you.

We praise you for your constancy,

your faithfulness, your unending love,

and your undiminished passion

for the well being of your people.

Amen.

CONFESSION

O God, when we have closed doors

where we should have opened them,

forgive us.

When we have stayed in the box

where we were called to break out,

forgive us.

When we have bubbled ourselves so thoroughly

that we cannot even perceive

what is outside our experience,

forgive us.

When we have been gatekeepers

instead of welcomers,

forgive us.

May we ditch judgementalism,

throw away condemnation.

and learn how to celebrate

the loving invitation of your kingdom.

Amen.

FORGIVENESS

Ever-loving God,

you call us all into your family of grace.

Where we have been lost, you seek us.

You retrieve us, you untangle us

from the thorns that snare us.

Your hands are kind;

you restore us with joy.

Thank you for not only accepting us

but celebrating us, delighting in us

as we discover what it means to belong to you.

Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Hymn 362: Meekness and majesty

READINGS

1 Timothy 1: 12-17

Luke 15: 1-10

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.

2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’

7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,[a] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?

9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Hymn 443: Come, let us sing of a wonderful love

SERMON

As Jesus continues his journey toward Jerusalem, followed by crowds that include people of every description, his teaching is becoming more and more intense.

Last week, you may have heard about him insisting that no one could follow him unless they surrender everything for the sake of being a disciple of Jesus.

Scribes and Pharisees had challenged Jesus, but they were still part of the crowd.

At first, they may have come out of curiosity.

Later, Now they were following Jesus with the intention of catching him in some heresy.

Whatever their reason for being there, people came and listened.

As they listened, they asked questions about the things Jesus said that didn’t make sense to them.

And there were plenty of questions!