Sermon Tone Analysis
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March 14, 1999
ORGAN PRELUDE
ANNOUNCEMENTS (Psa 23 NLT) "The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
{2} He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
{3} He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
{4} Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
{5} You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
{6} Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever."
(Psa 23 KJV) "A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
{2} He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
{3} He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
{4} Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
{5} Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
{6} Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."
CALL TO WORSHIP
~*OPENING HYMN Open My Eyes, That I May See #174
~*INVOCATION AND LORD'S PRAYER Jesus, worker of miracles,
like the Pharisees, we so often refuse to see your miracles.
Open our eyes so that we might recognize your activity around us.
Fill us with wonder, like the man born blind;
so that we cannot help but witness to your marvels.
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 1 Samuel 16:1-13 READER
MISSION MOMENT
OFFERING (Rom 8:32 NLT) "Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?"
~*DOXOLOGY
~*PRAYER OF DEDICATION Our Father, as you have freely given us all that we have and lovingly made us all that we are, we now freely and lovingly give back to you the substance of our lives.
Forgive us where we have been selfish.
Remind us that it was from the poverty of the cross that we gained the richness of life.
Accept these gifts as a symbol of our sincere worship, for we do love you and enthusiastically seek the promotion of your kingdom.
AMEN
CHILDREN'S STORY TIME
CHORAL ANTHEM
PRAYER Merciful God, remove the scale from our soul and the film from our eyes that we might see Jesus in the midst of life's joys and sorrows.
May the light of his Spirit within us show the way that leads to life eternal.
O God, You see clearly into our souls and know even the things we dare not tell ourselves.
We give You our praise that You have shown us Your mercy and called us to serve You.
Lord, so often we have formed our opinions of those around us based only on their appearances and not upon the precious souls they possess.
Forgive us, Lord, for we know we would probably never have chosen Isaiah or Moses or even John the Baptist, yet these were surely Your chosen servants.
Open our hearts to Your standards, Lord.
Lord, so often we fail to pray.
Forgive us, Lord, for the times we did not seek Your will; or for the times we had so little faith we would not pray; or for the times we were even afraid to come before You.
Open our spiritual eyes, Lord, that we might again know Your glory and that the world might see through our lives the wonders of Your mercy.
In Christ we pray.
Amen.
~*PREPARATIONAL HYMN Open Our Eyes, Lord # 132
___ Imagine a story about a person who believes that they have been miraculously healed by a stranger.
They try to tell others about the miracle, and the stranger who made it possible.
Everyone who hears the story is not only unbelieving, but some are very hostile.
Sound like a TV show?
SCRIPTURE TEXT John 9: 1-41
SERMON We Want to See Jesus
The paradox of suffering.
The blind man brought up front the questions we all struggle with: Why do some people suffer loss and misfortune and not others?
The disciples, products of their society, assumed that such a misfortune must be the punishment for some evil, either on the part of the man or his ancestors.
"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (v.
2).
The disciples assumed that there was a direct link between sin and suffering.
Jesus denies this connection in the case of the blind man, without revealing the reason for such misfortunes.
Yet, he sees it as an opportunity to display the grace of God.
Such misfortune is still a scandal (stumbling block) for those who would believe.
Without explaining away the mystery of suffering, we can use it as an opportunity for the Spirit to manifest God's glory.
The disciples assumed that there was a neat explanation for everything that happened in this world.
They wanted and needed to believe in a rational universe, where there is cause and effect.
That's what we want too, isn't it?
~/~/The factor that really disturbs a lot of people about the epidemic of violence in our society is its randomness.
Some punk pulls out a pistol, shoots into a crowd and kills innocent bystanders, who just happened to be there.~/~/~/
No more orderly universe.~/~/~/
The paradox of suffering can be stated as follows: If God is good, as well as powerful, why do innocent people suffer?
God does not explain away the paradox; he merely answers it with another paradox.
The God who brings light out of darkness also raises life out of death.
Identity crisis.
After Jesus healed the man there was a question as to whether this sighted man was really the blind beggar.
He was known as the blind man, his identifying characteristic, and since he was no longer blind, it must be someone else.~/
If we take the evidence in the text alone, it would appear that this man had no identity crisis.
"I'm the man," he boldly proclaimed.
Yet this man's life was turned on its ear.
He could no longer earn his living as a beggar through the sympathy of bystanders.
His world was immeasurably enlarged and transformed -- almost like being on another planet.
He had to learn how to see and this would take time.
Fortunately, he had Jesus to open his eyes not only to the physical world but also to the spiritual world.
To know Jesus is to get a handle on our identity crisis.
Seeing Jesus with both eyes.
When the blind man received his sight, he did not immediately see Jesus.
In the account, we see a growth in his perception of the Lord.
When the Pharisees asked who healed him, he responded, "The man they call Jesus ..." (v.
10).
Note the impersonality of his designation.
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