Sermon Tone Analysis

January 9, 2005 – 1st Sunday after Epiphany~/

                                        The Baptism of Our Lord

 

        Revised Common Lectionary Readings

        Isaiah 42:1-9

        Psalm 29

        Acts 10:34-43

        Matthew 3:13-17

 

And Do You Come to Me?

 

~*Call to Worship

Beloved of God,

yet one of us,

you stand before us,

clothed in robes of humanness,

entering the waters of our drowning,

yet rising free as living witness

to God’s power and grace.

This is the Christ of the universe,

vulnerable one, passionate one,

blessed for all time

and gathered into the life of God.

 

*Let us worship our God.*

~*Prayer of Invocation        

And do you come to us, Jesus Christ?

Do you stay here among us,

waiting for us to see you

and to claim you as one of us,

and yet our God?

We believe that you are in this place.

We hear faint echoes

of the voice of God’s announcing

and wait to receive your gift of peace.

*We pray that you will be alive in this place*

*and in our hearts, loving Jesus.

Amen.*

 

 

~*Prayer of Confession

O God, just as John the Baptist asked

why the Christ would approach for his baptism,

so we wonder why you would come to us here.

We are far from worthy to receive you, Jesus.

We sometimes wonder

if you would do better in the world

without our very human company.

/Silent reflection./

There are so many times when we fail you,

when those we meet

receive less than your grace from us.

When we look at the world,

we know that we have far to go

before your reign is established.

/Silent reflection./

We doubt that you, Holy God,

would always be pleased with us

as we so often betray your hopes for us

and for your church.

* *

*Come close to us now, *

*we pray, O God.*

*Refresh our lives *

*with the flowing grace *

*of your forgiveness.*

*Remind us of our calling, *

*that we may be your people.*

*In the name of the Christ.

Amen.*

    

 

~*Words of Assurance       

In our baptism,

we are assured of the unfailing love of God.

Even before we could know it or earn it,

we were surrounded by grace.

God, in Christ, will never fail us.

We are forgiven.

*Thanks be to God.*

* *

* *

~*Prayer of Thanksgiving   

Thanks be to God for the water of life,

shed in tears of grieving,

then flowing in healing balm.

Thanks be to God for water of kindness,

dried up in the scorching heat of our mistakes

and returned in kindness

to quench our parched souls.

Thanks be to God for the water of creativity,

spent in lavish self-indulgences

and given as gift for a new future.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

~*Stewardship Thought      

It is interesting to reflect on the reasons Jesus might have had for asking John to baptize him?

Was it part of the affirmation of his complete humanness – that as one who had not yet assumed his life as the Christ, he needed to be included in the bestowing of the absolute grace of God, which is announced in our baptism?

Could it also be that, if Christ comes to us as human beings “to be baptized” it is because God needs us to present Christ to the world?

In baptizing Jesus, John the Baptist placed him before the people and then God did the rest, however we see that moment.

By whatever means, the people present suddenly saw that they were in the presence of the beloved of God, the one who was claimed by God as Son.

Could it be that God relies on our actions to bring before the world the presence of the Christ in ways that people can recognize and understand?

 

 

~*Offertory Sentence                           

God is eternally kind to us.

Let us be kind to others

in the bringing of our offering.

uOffertory Prayer                                

We can never match your generosity, O God,

but we bring our offerings,

in faith, to you this day.

We pray that you will receive them now.

Amen.