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.
Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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Scripture
Background
Israel had been exiled among the Persians.
Darius was the king.
He was known for his administrative genius and for the large building projects that took place during his reign.
Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah.
He was the grandson of Jehoiachin who was the last king of Judah.
This made him a descendant of King David.
Joshua was the son of the High Priest Josedech.
He and Zerubbabel were among the first group of exiles, led by Sheshbazzar to return to the land in 537 BC.
It was they who had organized the laying of the temple foundations.
At the time Haggai writes to Joshua and Zerubbabel, the work on the temple has been halted for 16 years.
The Problem of Leadership
This word is addressed primarily to men who were in a leadership position among the people.
Personality and attributes of a group quickly starts to reflect those of the leadership.
The failure of the leaders to keep God as the first priority in their lives quickly spilled over into the people that they were leading.
The leaders were building themselves cieled houses.
The word cieled carries the idea of ornate, fancy, opulent, expensive furnishings and finishes.
The leaders were spending a great deal of money on their own houses while letting the house of God sit unfinished for 16 years.
Not only is the temple unfinished, but the leaders have no vision or plan to complete it.
Look at how this lack of vision and leadership affected the people:
Haggai 1:
Their crops didn’t produce as they should have.
They drank, but couldn’t be satisfied.
They had clothes, but couldn’t get warm.
No matter how much the people earned it was never enough for their need.
God said to the leadership, “Consider your ways.”
The Peoples’ Problem
The heart of the people was far from God.
They knew that the temple had been started and unfinished, but went quietly along with their daily lives.
They accepted the ways things were as the status quo.
They were so complacent that their words echoed the lethargic attitude of the leaders.
The time to build the Lord’s house has not come.
In essence they were saying, “Don’t rock the boat.
There’s nothing to see here.
Let’s just move along.”
The people knew the commandments of the God just like the leaders.
It’s not as if there were no other choice.
It’s not as if there were no other choice.
God said to the people, “Consider your ways.”
The Problem of Priorities
The leaders and the people didn’t think they had enough resources to build God’s house.
They weren’t getting as much as they should from their crops.
They were having trouble getting enough water and clothing.
They thought it wasn’t time to build God’s house because they had lack in their personal lives.
The truth was, there was lack in their personal lives because they had not built God’s temple.
Everything starts with God.
Everything centers around Him.
Application
There is a lack in God’s house this morning.
The ministry of the gospel isn’t being carried out the way it’s supposed to.
There are a few of us here, but where is the crowd that used to come.
Where are the people that should be here?
How many people within 3 miles of this church could tell you where it is if you knocked on their door and asked them for directions?
We’ve been so busy with our daily lives that we haven’t built the house of God.
We have a building, that’s true, but we’re too busy to put God’s business and ministry first.
I can’t teach a Sunday School class.
I don’t have time to study.
I can’t show up for church during the evening services, I’ve got to get ready for the week ahead.
Besides, Dancing With the Stars is coming on.
What are you doing on Sunday evening and Wed.
evening that’s more important than coming to God’s house.
Just like the ancient Israelites, we’ve got our priorities wrong.
Changes
We’re going to develop a long term vision for the church.
Through prayer, we’re going to define our purpose in the community and begin to accomplish our mission to reach outside the 4 walls of the church.
With God’s help, we’re going to impact our community and make a difference.
We’re going to bring back the church’s emphasis on prayer by shortening the preaching time on Wed.
nights and praying together for our community and for God to show us what our role in the community is supposed to be.
Isn’t it time we got our priorities back in the right order?
Isn’t it time that we began to build God’s kingdom again?
Isn’t it time for you to join us as we start this process?
If not now, then when?
What are you waiting for?
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