Sermon Tone Analysis

Prelude

Welcome

Drama "Crossing The Desert (Of Life) And Findin' Nuttin' But Sand, Sun, And Superficiality."

-- an original drama by Arley K. Fadness.

Call to Worship           

Come, Creator God, who made the heavens with a word, who gathers the oceans together.

\\ \\ *Come, powerful God, whose wisdom stands forever, a gift to all generations.*

\\ \\ Come, generous God, who provided safe travels and a blessing to Abraham and Sarah.

\\ \\ *Come, healing God, who calls us daughters and sons, whose grace can make us whole.

\\ * \\ */Come, great God, who is worthy of our gladdest songs, and our deepest commitment.

\\ \\ Amen./*

~*Hymn of Praise                       # 28                 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Invocation  (the Lord’s Prayer) O God, As we sit here, we wait to know your presence.

We are the fragile ones who dare to hope for your company.

We are those who believe that you would never turn away from us.

Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Touch us with your life and call to us in your voce of wisdom.

Responsive Psalm                     from Psalm 33 TLB

1     Let the godly sing with joy to the Lord, for it is fitting to praise him.

4     For the word of the Lord holds true, and everything he does is worthy of our trust.

5     He loves whatever is just and good, and his unfailing love fills the earth.

6     The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.

He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.

8     Let everyone in the world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him.

9     For when he spoke, the world began!

It appeared at his command.

13    The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.

14    From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.

15    He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.

18    But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.

19    He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.

20    We depend on the Lord alone to save us.

Only he can help us, protecting us like a shield.

21    In him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in his holy name.

22    Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.

Our  Offering to God       Let us offer meaning to others by bringing our gifts

Doxology

Prayer of Dedication          Receive all that we bring to you, O God: the small gifts and the large.

Use them to enlarge life for others.

~*Hymn of Prayer                      # 344               Be Thou My Vision

*Pastoral Prayer * \\ O holy God, great Physician, Lover of all people, we are astonished by your amazing grace.

We are captivated by your power and awed by your mercy.

In the heart of our hearts, we long to know you more deeply, and to know peace and healing.

We strain our ears to hear you call us daughters and sons, like so many before us.

We pray for the faith that can make us whole.

\\ And we pray for those in need of your healing this day: \\ For the sick, for the injured and hospitalized, and for those whose illness has isolated them from their community.

Give them a spirit of healing and hope .... \\ For the outcast, and for those whom we have cast out through our action, or inaction.

Shine a light on our prejudices, soften our hardened hearts, and transform us for loving service toward every Christ we meet .... \\ For those who mourn and weep.

Let them stand firm in your promises, buoyed by your strength and care.

Give them the comfort and assurance that nothing can separate them from your love.

\\ Loving God, we pray for healing and hope to reign in this world.

Where there is conflict and war, let there be peace.

Where there is hunger and poverty, let there be abundance.

Where there is distress and despair, let there be light, warm and unquenchable.

\\ We pray to hear your words: “Follow me,” for they are words not only of discipleship, but of assurance — that as your disciples, we will never be forsaken.

You will lead us, all of us, into unexpected places.

Give us the courage to follow you each day of our lives.

Amen.

~*Hymn of Praise                       # 373               All to Jesus I Surrender

Scripture Reading                     Luke 18:18-30

18A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?

No one is good but God alone.

20You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’”

21He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.”

22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking.

Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

23But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich.

24Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  26Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”

27He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”  28Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.”

29And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Message                 What Are You Holding On To?

 

"A certain ruler asked Jesus, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'..." This leader sought reassurance, some way of knowing for sure that he had eternal life.

He wanted Jesus to measure and grade his qualifications, or to give him some task he could do to assure his own immortality.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     I am pleased to announce a Preaching Series based on a

poll on the spiritual needs of Americans.

According to

George Gallup, Jr., six spiritual needs surfaced in that

nationwide poll.

They are:

1) The need to believe life is meaningful and has a purpose.

2) The need for a sense of community and deeper

relationships.

3) The need to be appreciated and respected.

4) The need to be listened to and to be heard.

5) The need to feel that one is growing in faith.

6) The need for practical help in developing a mature faith.1

This morning we consider the number one need of believing life is meaningful and has a purpose.

Seventy percent of those polled cited this need.

Let me begin with a story Michael Foss tells.

It's about an executive in a high-rise office building in New York City.

The executive had a seven-foot fluorescent light that had

burned out.

But in the office building only the janitors could

replace light bulbs, and the cost was twenty dollars.

In his mind this was exorbitant.

So he decided he would replace it himself.

He went to a lighting outlet near his home and bought the proper light bulb and got up early the next day, drove his car into town, caught the subway into the city, carrying the seven-foot fluorescent bulb all the way, and sneaked in through the foyer before anyone else was there except the security guard.

Then he replaced the bulb.

He took the old tube and placed it up against the wall behind his desk chair so no one would see it.