Sermon Tone Analysis

GATHERING

Dying, Christ destroyed our death.

Rising, Christ restored our life.

Christ will come again in glory.

As in baptism Hosea (pronounced Jose) put on Christ,

    so in Christ may Hosea be clothed with glory.

Here and now, dear friends, we are God's children.

What we shall be has not yet been revealed; 

   but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him,

    for we shall see him as he is.

Those who have this hope purify themselves

    as Christ is pure.

THE WORD OF GRACE

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and I am life.

Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live,

    and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

I died, and behold I am alive for evermore,

    and I hold the keys of hell and death.

Because I live, you shall live also

GREETING

Friends, we have gathered here to praise God

    and to witness to our faith as we celebrate the life of Hosea G. Richards, Sr.

We come together in grief, acknowledging our human loss.

May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort,

    in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.

PRAYER *

Let us pray.

O God, who gave us birth,

you are ever more ready to hear

    than we are to pray.

You know our needs before we ask,

    and our ignorance in asking.

Give to us now your grace,

   that as we shrink before the mystery of death,

   we may see the light of eternity.

Speak to us once more

   your solemn message of life and of death.

Help us to live as those who are prepared to die.

And when our days here are accomplished,

   enable us to die as those who go forth to live,

   so that living or dying, our life may be in you,

   and that nothing in life or in death will be able to separate us

   from your great love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE

NEW TESTAMENT LESSON

Revelation 21:1-7 (NLT)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared.

And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people!

He will live with them, and they will be his people.

God himself will be with them.

4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.

All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”

And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished!

I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End.

To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.

7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

GOSPEL LESSON*

John 11:1-4, 20-27, 32-35, 38-44

1 A man named Lazarus was sick.

He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair.

Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death.

No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this...”

20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him.

But Mary stayed in the house.

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.

Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.

Do you believe this, Martha?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him.

“I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God...”

32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept...

38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.

39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days.

The smell will be terrible.”

40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside.

Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.

42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth.

Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

SERMON

What a powerful message we receive from this Gospel reading in John.

Did you catch what it said there two-thirds of the way through the reading?

It said, “When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled.

Jesus wasn’t angry at Martha or Mary for questioning him…

He wasn’t angry at the people there for crying and wailing…

After all, it says that Jesus himself was weeping…

The anger that welled up in Jesus came from his own grief…

He had lost a dear friend…someone whom he loved as a brother or a cousin…someone close to him…

He was witnessing the pain it was causing Lazarus’ sisters Martha and Mary…whom he also loved…

He was witnessing the pain it was causing Lazarus’ family and friends…

And, again, he was experiencing the pain that it was causing him…

AND HE GOT ANGRY…