Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
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*A Bad Man’s Good Example*
*Luke 16:1-14*
v For some reason, pigs and money go together
Ø As in piggy-bank
Ø As in "Bring home the bacon”
Ø As in “living high on the hog”
Ø The old proverb, “You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear”
Ø And the saying, “Pork meets penny”
§ Even the term for what we are to be traces back to the medieval English STEWARD = "STY-WARD."
· Yep, a pig-keeper
v Parable of the shrewd manager or “Steward”
Ø A person that was entrusted with the master’s wealth ~/ money
§ And through Jesus we see this bad man’s good example
*READ Luke 16:1-14*
v Traditionally one of the most difficult parables to understand
Ø Has a poor moral compass
§ Everywhere you look there are bad or immoral examples
· *Steward* cheating the master
¨ Embezzling from master
¨ Usury toward the debtors
· *The debtors* accepting the bribes from the steward
¨ More than happy not to pay the full rent
· *And the master* seemingly applauds the steward’s dishonesty
¨ *READ V. 8a*
Ø This is perhaps the most difficult verse to understand
§ But this verse actually holds the first of our 4 principles of Stewardship
· As a Christian…Be clever
¨ More to the point…
v *V.
8 ~~ Be Shrewd*
Ø And on first glance it seems that Jesus is commending the steward’s actions
§ However, as T. W. Manson points out…
· There is a world of difference between
¨ “Applauding the dishonest steward because he acted cleverly”
Ø And
¨ “Applauding the clever steward because he acted dishonestly”
Ø In other words…
§ Jesus is applauding his cleverness *not* his dishonesty?
· *READ 8B*
Ø The word translated “Shrewd” = GK phronimos
§ Louw & Nida, /Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament/
· /Understanding resulting from insight and wisdom/
¨ Other versions translate it
Ø The steward acted Prudently, Wisely
Ø But we have a negative impression of the word Shrewd
§ If you call someone a shrewd businessman
· Its kind of a backhanded compliment
¨ It means that they are so focused on their goal…
Ø So focused on success that sometimes they hurt some people along the way
Ø That is the kind of Christian that Jesus wants…SHREWD, FOCUSED
§ Now Jesus does not want us to act unloving with people
· But he does want us to be Focused, Shrewd Christianians
Ø Before sending his 12 disciples out, Jesus prepared them saying
§ *Matt 10:16*
· /I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.
Therefore be as shrewd (phronimos) as snakes and as innocent as doves./
/ /
Ø Jesus wants shrewd followers
§ Commenting on this passage William Barkclay writes…
· “If only Christians were as eager and ingenious in our attempts to do good as the man of the world is in his attempts to attain money and comfort.”
¨ Does that hit a soft spot?
· I think this passage is asking us a challenging question…
¨ Am I approaching my faith walk shrewdly?
¨ Am I ingenious in my attempts to do the good?
¨ Do I pour my creative juices into my attempts to do the Lord’s work?
¨ Do I labor over my attempts to do the Lord’s work?
¨ Do I make painstakingly sure that the work I do for the Lord is the best of the best?
Ø *Illustration:*
§ When I would put together a powerpoint presentation in my secular career
· I labored over it
¨ /Describe here/
Ø Do we do that with the Lord’s work?
§ William Barkclay continues in his commentary, and I will conclude with this…
· “If only people would give as much attention to the things concerning their souls as the things that concern their business.
People will expend 20 times the amount of time and energy on their pleasures, hobbies, garden, sports as they do on their church.”
2nd principle found in verse 9…
v *V.
9 ~~ Be Strategic*
Ø As Ken Hughes states…
§ /It is inescapably clear here that our wealth and possessions are to be used to win eternal friends/
· Not in the Dale Carnegie sense
¨ “How to win friends and influence people”
· But in the true sense of “winning friends for Christ”
¨ Allow your wealth and possessions to be used in subservience to the Gospel
Ø Use your Wealth for the Kingdom
Ø Now most of us automatically default in our minds to giving money
§ And that is all well and good and appropriate
· But I think it goes beyond that, don’t you?
¨ There is a funny thing about giving money…
Ø It can become so sanitized, so insulating
§ Write down your pledge to missions and forget about it
§ When people ask, you are doing your “part”
Ø But that word “part” is the problem
§ Jesus doesn’t want just “part” of anything
· He demands the whole thing
¨ He wants your whole heart
¨ He wants your whole life (Rom 12:1)
¨ He wants all of your resources
Ø But that is a tough thing for us to hear…even tougher to do!
§ We hang on to our “things”
· We cling to them like they will do something for us
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