Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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ORGAN PRELUDE
ANNOUNCEMENTS                        Psalm 27:''The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear?''
CALL TO WORSHIP
~*OPENING HYMN                            Spirit of the Living God  (1 me, 2 us) #150
~*INVOCATION AND LORD'S PRAYER                 O God, Creator of all of the Universe, we stand in awe when we realize You loved each and every one of us so much that You sent to us the Christ, our Savior.
We give You our love.
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
Passing the Peace
SCRIPTURE READING                     (Isa 9:1-4 NLT)  "Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever.
The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will soon be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.
{2} The people who walk in darkness will see a great light--a light that will shine on all who live in the land where death casts its shadow.
{3} Israel will again be great, and its people will rejoice as people rejoice at harvesttime.
They will shout with joy like warriors dividing the plunder.
{4} For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the army of Midian with Gideon's little band."
MISSION MOMENT
OFFERING                 (Isa 55:2 NLT)  "Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul!"
~*DOXOLOGY
~*PRAYER OF DEDICATION            Deepen our satisfactions, O God, with the joys of openhearted and openhanded giving.
As you have given your best to us, may we seek to give our best to you.
CHILDREN'S STORY TIME  Treasures of the Snow
CHORAL ANTHEM
PRAYER         Heavenly Father,
   forgive us for the many times
   that we could have spoken Jesus' name but did not.
Forgive us for the many times
   that we could have shown the way but we kept silent.
Forgive us for the many times
   that we did an act of love but never said why.
Forgive us for being afraid,
   for not speaking,
   for often not even thinking like Jesus' fisherfolk.
We repent of these unfaithful ways,
   and turn again to answer Jesus' call
   to reach out to the broken and the lost.
(Continue praying silently.)
In the name of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven.
Now celebrate Jesus' forgiveness
   by answering the call to faithful witnessing,
   now and always.
Amen.
~*PREPARATIONAL HYMN             "Christ for the World We Sing" #545
SCRIPTURE TEXT     (1 Cor 1:10-18 NLT)  "Now, dear brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves.
Let there be real harmony so there won't be divisions in the church.
I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
{11} For some members of Chloe's household have told me about your arguments, dear friends.
{12} Some of you are saying, "I am a follower of Paul."
Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Peter," or "I follow only Christ."
{13} Can Christ be divided into pieces?
Was I, Paul, crucified for you?
Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? {17} For Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News--and not with clever speeches and high-sounding ideas, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
{18} I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction.
But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God."
SERMON                    What Is The State Of Your Union?
Matthew views Jesus as the prophetic fulfillment of the liberation movement spoken of by Isaiah.
A universal liberation movement for the entire world would begin in an ancient pocket of political oppression -- the land of Zebulon and Naphtali.
There is an interesting change in Isaiah 9:2 as quoted by Matthew.
In Isaiah, it is the people who walked in darkness who have seen a great light and those who lived in the land of deep darkness on whom the light has shone.
In Matthew it is those who sat in darkness and those who sat in the region and the shadow of darkness who have seen a great light.
Matthew's image conveys more of a sense of the darkness of prison.
People don't so much walk in prison or live there; they merely sit on their perches like birds in a cage.
Incarceration immobilizes its victims.
In proclaiming the nearness of the kingdom of God, Jesus is initiating a movement of spiritual liberation.
The arrest of John is Jesus' signal to commence his ministry.
Following his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, Jesus leaves Nazareth and establishes residence in Capernaum, which is situated along the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus is the Anointed One who brings the light of eternal truth to this cosmopolitan, yet sin darkened, region.
From that time, Jesus begins the proclamation of the good news: ''Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near'' (v.
17).
He initiates the reign of God by calling his disciples together as the nucleus of the redemptive community of witness.
Andrew, Peter, James and John perceive the urgency of the call and immediately leave their worldly pursuits.
Matthew 4:12, 13"When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
{13} But instead of going to Nazareth, he went to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
Jesus moved from Nazareth, his hometown, to Capernaum, about 20 miles farther north.
Capernaum became Jesus’ home base during his ministry in Galilee.
Jesus probably moved (1) to get away from intense opposition in Nazareth, (2) to have an impact on the greatest number of people (Capernaum was a busy city, and Jesus’ message could reach more people and spread more quickly), and (3) to utilize extra resources and support for his ministry.
Jesus’ move fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1, 2, which states that the Messiah would be a light to the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, the region of Galilee where Capernaum was located.
Zebulun and Naphtali were two of the original 12 tribes of Israel.
Matthew 4:14-16{14} This fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy: {15} "In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River-- in Galilee where so many Gentiles live-- {16} the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined."
By quoting from the book of Isaiah, Matthew continues to tie Jesus’ ministry to the Old Testament.
This was helpful for his Jewish readers, who were familiar with these Scriptures.
In addition, it shows the unity of God’s purposes as he works with his people throughout all ages.
Matthew 4:17{17} From then on, Jesus began to preach, "Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near."
The “Kingdom of Heaven” has the same meaning as the “Kingdom of God” in Mark and Luke.
Matthew uses this phrase because the Jews, out of their intense reverence and respect, did not pronounce God’s name.
The Kingdom of Heaven is still near because it has arrived in our heart.
Jesus started his ministry with the same message people had heard John the Baptist say: “Turn from your sins.”
The message is the same today as when Jesus and John gave it.
Becoming a follower of Christ means turning away from our self-centeredness and “self” control and turning our life over to Christ’s direction and control.
Matthew 4:18{18} One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, (The Sea of Galilee is really a large lake.
About 30 fishing towns surrounded it during Jesus’ day, and Capernaum was the largest).
he saw two brothers--Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew--fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen.
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