Sermon Tone Analysis

Lord, you call each of us to ministry, ministry that takes on many forms, from the words of my mouth and the mediation of all our hearts, may we hear a word from you about the ministry that you have for us this day and going forward.

Amen

 

In starting I would like to thank you all for having me here and thank Cathie for inviting me to speak today.

I have known Cathie’s husband David for quite a long time.

He has been a long time friend of my Dad and our family

                                    We have gone cross country skiing and hiking together, he was a                                         frequent guest for Sunday dinners when I was growing up

                                                he taught me how to sail

                                                            and was one of my Sunday school teachers

I had the strange experience of helping him move into Wycliffe college when I was just 15 years old

            Strange because I remember wondering if I would ever go there

                        And 20 years later I graduated from Wycliffe

It was in David’s first few months that we (our) family started hearing about Cathie and to our joy they married while they were both still in Seminary

            Later when we would go to visit them, it was Cathie that was great to talk to

                        So it is truly a pleasure to be here this morning

 

I tell you all of that as a means of introduction

            But also to tell you a little something about me

                        You see a very earlier age I had thoughts and feelings about being called                            into ordained ministry

                                    Even before I helped David move into Seminary, I thought about it

                                                And while there at Wycliffe, God was sending me powerful                                                hints, which I remember clearly… as if it was yesterday

That is one of the reason that for today I will be looking at the Old Testament reading for the day - know as “/Jeremiah’s Call and Commission/”

            There is some powerful stuff in the reading for today that has gripped me since the            first time that read it.

/                                    “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, /

/                                    and before you were born I consecrated you;”/

 

Now my name is Paul Matthew Tinker

            Tinker because that, of course, is my family name

                        Paul after St. Paul

                                    And Matthew after the gospel writer and disciple

My parent’s didn’t *know* how I would turn out, but they had hopes and gave me names that reflect their ideals

            I have four kids and before they were born Kelly and I named them

                        Madison Debra Anne

                                    Debra & Anne being the two grandmas

                                                And Madison because we like the name and it is a                                                                derivative of Matthew, my middle name

                        Jackson David Gary

                                    David & Gary again for the two grandpas

                                                And Jack, because to us Jack was a name that we associated                                                with being a friend and buddy - extended to Jackson for a                                                   more formal alternative

                        Grace Lisa Elizabeth

                                    Lisa after Kelly’s sister, and Elizabeth for two great grandmas

                                                Grace because we believed her to be a gift from God

Now naming our baby, was the most difficult for me, Kelly knew all along, but I didn’t, until I started to look at the meanings of names

            When I looked into the meanings of our first three, the decision became clear:

                  Madison           - Derived from Matthew 'gift of God'

                  Jackson            - Based on John - God has been gracious; has shown favor.

Grace               - from the Latin 'gratia', meaning God's favor.

So the names that Kelly had all along            - Elizabeth or Matthew were perfect

      - as they both mean - Gift of the Lord

                  We were blessed with a beautiful baby boy - a true gift from God

                              Before any of our kids were born, before they were even in their                                   mother’s womb, we, their parent had hopes and ideals for them

 

      *How much more must God have for each of us…*

 

 

Today, Cathie asked me to speak about the ministry of evangelism

            And today we have the incredible prenatal - preconception choosing of a great       prophet - one of the most influential prophets of the Old Testament

 

God conveys a clear message to the young Jeremiah - still a boy

            Notice the language - the emphasis expressed by the use of the strong and              frequent verbs in - I formed you,

                                    I knew you,    

                                                I set you apart,

                                                            I appointed you

            Incredible commissioning!

 

Oh, if only it were that easy for the rest of us!

If only God had such a clear statements of the hopes and ideals for us

 

But I believe that we all have a vocation

                        - I believe that we are all called to one form of ministry

            By our birth, we are all made in the image of God, and there is a purpose for all of us

Now this might start to sound like our lives are fully planned out - that God has predestined our existence

            Jeremiah being called as a boy, might look like he has his life laid out

                        I mean when he objects to God’s calling - when he says that he is too young                      and doesn’t have the words to speak

/                                    the Lord put out his hand and touched his mouth; and the Lord said                                   “Now I have put my words in your mouth.”/

Sounds like God will be in control of Jeremiah

            But we need to look deeper

                        We need to look at the very fact *that* God has people who are called as prophets at all

                                    You see, the people were going about their lives doing what they wanted to do

                                                            And God introduces someone to suggest differently

                                                The dynamics of the dialogue, still require a response from Jeremiah                                    and subsequent acts of obedience.

If you consider the undertones throughout the narrative that is                                            the book of Jeremiah are those of human freedom and the                                                    capacity to respond …or not, to the divine call.

In the expression of God’s will for his people, the purposes for the world as a whole, he employs the instrumentality of human servants, who have the capacity to choose

            We all intuitively know that we choose our actions, we know that even though      God is with us, we still are the one with the foot on the gas pedal

 

It is precisely because we, humanity, have free will that God calls Jeremiah and tells him of his purpose for him

            God is saying that despite your ability to choose, I want you on my team, I will coach       you and be with you through the difficult times

 

 

This makes one wonder about what prophet might look like today, in our times

            Makes you question what a prophet actually is

                        Do they fulfill only a narrow definition - a stereotype, if you like, of the Old                      Testament prophet that spoke God’s words and warned people of the errors in                        their ways?

Or is the definition of a prophet broader, someone that is empowered by the Holy             Spirit to testify, in some form, of God’s ways?

And here is precisely where we connect both with last week and this week’s NT reading

            The two together because one is the response to the other

                        Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians finishes the message of chapter 12

 

                        Last week we were told that we are all members of Christ’s body

                                    That the hand is just as much a member of the body as the eye or ear

            That there is a need for apostles, prophets, teachers; gifts of healing, forms of         assistance, forms of leadership, and there are varieties of services, and there are varieties of activities,

                        /To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good./

Gifts from God are *defined as such* - if they are for the common good

 

So we are all potential witnesses of God - if we use our gifts for Christ’s body - the church universal

            We are all evangelists

                        We all proclaim the Good news of Jesus Christ

                                    Evangelists if we live out our role, our vocation, our calling with Love

                                                Live out our gifts *in* the greatest of the gifts - Love 

                                                            As the scripture says

                                                if we do not have love, we are nothing.

And maybe *as* you are striving to live out your life empowered by the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you

            Someone will see God’s love shine through you and ask you something like

                        ‘why do you work differently from the rest?’

 

                                    and you can tell them *your* story

 

Don’t worry - you don’t need to have gone to ‘Evangelist training academy’