Sermon Tone Analysis

Prelude

Welcome

*Drama*

Call to Worship....

The Journey Begins ...

 

L  Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

C Come, let us turn to the Lord, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.

L  “I will lead the blind by a road they do not know.

I will turn the darkness before them into light.”

C You show me the path of life.

In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

L  “My sheep hear my voice.

I know them, and they follow me.”

C He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

L  “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

C Oh, send out your light and your truth; let them lead me.

In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you.

~*Hymn of Praise           318                  When We Walk with the Lord (Trust and Obey)

Invocation        (the Lord’s Prayer)       Father, we praise  you that we have received peace through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to the grace in which we stand, and reconciliation in your sight.

Be with us as we pray

Turn to the Lord ... Abide With Me

 

Turn to the Lord; repentant, seek his face,

For God abounds in steadfast love and grace.

They shall not perish who in Christ believe,

But everlasting life they shall receive.

Responsory Psalm ... Psalm 32:1-7, 10-11

 

L  Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

C Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

L  While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

C For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

L  Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity.

C I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

L  Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you.

C At a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.

L  You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble.

C You surround me with glad cries of deliverance.

L  Many are the torments of the wicked,

C but steadfast love surrounds those who trust the Lord.

L  Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Special Music                Be Thou My Vision       B.Huling, S.Noel – North Kingstown

Our  Offering to God

Doxology

Prayer of Dedication                 Just as our worship of you, O God, is not confined to this place, so also our praise is not limited to certain times and places.

Accept our offerings that we bring as a witness to your Spirit, who dwells in all that we do.

Use what we give so that others may come into your presence with joyful songs of hope and thanksgiving.

Take Up Your Cross ... O dass ich tausend Zungen

Take up your cross and walk, believing,

This Lenten road our Savior trod,

His help and steadfast love receiving,

The blessings of the Son of God

Freely and graciously bestowed

On all who walk this Lenten road.

Take up your cross, your burden bearing.

This road you need not walk alone.

Christ is beside, the burden sharing;

His yoke is light, his mercy known.

Your Savior eases ev’ry load

Of those who walk this Lenten road.

Take up your cross and follow Jesus;

This is the way your Savior leads,

Where from our sin and guilt he frees us;

His blood for sinners intercedes,

Opens the way to heav’n’s abode

For all who walk this Lenten road.

~*Hymn of Prayer                      448                  Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Pastoral Prayer            O Lord, we have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and are not worthy to be called children of the heavenly Father.

Greedy, we have grasped for your goodness as if it were our right.

Dissatisfied, we have turned our backs and wandered every one to our own way.

We are not even worthy to be called your servants.

We have no claim on your goodness.

But you, Lord Jesus Christ, are prodigal in your giving.

The forgiveness you offer us by faith in you is more than we could ever deserve.

We look at ourselves to discover a ring on our finger, a robe to cover our disobedience, and sandals on our feet—all signs that we /are/ children of the heavenly Father, welcomed into the family of the faithful.

Help us to receive that blessing with true joy, and to live our lives in humble gratitude, welcoming our brothers and sisters as we ourselves have been accepted.

Move us to deal with them in love, and to serve them as you have served us.

And when at last our work on earth is done and we turn toward our source, welcome us into the Father’s home, where there is a table prepared for us, and where—like you and with you, our faithful Companion—we will live forever.

~*Hymn of Praise                       277                  Jesus My Lord Will Love Me Forever

Scripture Reading.. Luke 15:11-24

11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.

12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’

So he divided his property between them.

13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.

14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.

15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.

16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.

17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!

18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’

20 So he set off and went to his father.

But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.

21 Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe — the best one — and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’

And they began to celebrate.

Message  THIS LENTEN ROAD                   The Road Home

I’m going to turn the parable of the prodigal son on its ear today.

In its normal reading, we place OURSELVES in the character of the prodigal son.

But today, for our consideration, I’m going to place JESUS—who himself “humbled himself to death...even death on a cross”—in that rather humiliating position.

But to set the scene we need to remember that the son seems unconcerned with the exact amount he receives _ for he apparently converts all he can into cash and is on his way "abroad" or "to a distant country" within "a few days."

The story is quite veiled about what this younger son actually does with himself and his inheritance once he reaches this distant place.