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
0.12UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.1UNLIKELY
Fear
0.52LIKELY
Joy
0.56LIKELY
Sadness
0.52LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.6LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.47UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.54LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.55LIKELY
Extraversion
0.02UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.76LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.5UNLIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Introduction
Opening Story/Illustration: My sister used to work for a DVD rental store.
Like a hometown version of blockbuster.
One summer during college, I went home and a friend came with me.
It’s a small town and there’s not a lot to do.
So we would rent movies using my sister’s discount.
We got really into a show called 24.
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it, but it’s a crazy show.
There are 24 episodes in each season and each is an hour long.
It’s supposed to show a real 24hr day in the life of a man named Jack Baur.
He works for the governments counter terrorism unit.
The show is really good at 2 things - Cliffhangers that will stress you out (Does the nuclear bomb go off?
Find out next time!) and unexpected twists.
I as so glad that we had the DVD’s and we didn’t have to wait until the next week to see what would happen.
I would have been extremely stressed out waiting!
Series Set-Up: This morning, I want to start a new series.
I want to set this series up by looking at a cliffhanger moment in the life of the nation of Israel and I want to talk about something that was unexpected.
Over the next few weeks we want to say this, that God is an unexpected God.
He is often different than we expect, better than we expect, and is working in ways that we do not expect.
Transition to the Text: The Christmas story is full of “unexpected” moments and the Christmas story is the resolution of a 400 year cliffhanger.
The cliffhanger comes as the prophet Malachi pens what are the last words of the Old Testament.
Malachi writes to the jewish exiles who have returned to Israel and they have rebuilt the temple.
It should be a glorious and grand story of redemption and God’s Faithfulness, but instead, there is a problem.
The people have slidden into half-hearted worship.
The priesthood, the people who are supposed to stand between the people and God, have become corrupted.
The book of Malachi is a message to a backslidden people and a priesthood that has become corrupt and he ends his prophetic announcement of possible doom and a prediction that God is going to send someone, another prophet.
Malachi makes this prophetic announcement and then everything fades to black.
400 years without an official word from the Lord.
To be sure, God was still speaking and working, but the golden age of Israel’s prophets was over and for 400 years we get no official “thus saith the Lord” type prophecy.
So what will happen?
Who is this man God is going to send?
When will he arrive?
Text:
Transition to Points: I want to look at this story tonight and dive into just a few points.
Points
An Unexpected Couple
We are introduced to a married couple
They are good, righteous people.
They are old
They have no Children - Because she is barren and they are both old.
This couple is faithful to God
He is a priest
An Unexpected Promise
God has been silent for 400 years.
No prophetic word has been given.
The Last Word God Spoke was a promise -
Notice who Malachi is talking about here?
JOHN THE BAPISTS
God has been silent for 400 years.
No prophetic word has been given.
God makes this prophetic statement and then waits 400yrs to fulfill it!
Imagine how the Jewish people felt - Perhaps the felt forgotten.
Perhaps they felt abandoned.
It had been 400 years!
The Last Word God Spoke was a promise -
An angel shows up to this man Zechariah.
Notice who Malachi is talking about here?
JOHN THE BAPISTS
He is a righteous man
God makes this prophetic statement and then waits 400yrs to fulfill it!
An Unexpected Couple
The angel shows up while he’s faithfully serving.
Imagine how the Jewish people felt - Perhaps the felt forgotten.
Perhaps they felt abandoned.
It had been 400 years!
An angel shows up to this man Zechariah.
He is a righteous man
The angel shows up while he’s faithfully serving.
He gives him a promise - He’s going to have a son.
Waiting on God to come through can be a very difficult thing.
It’s so easy to get discouraged
An Unexpected Couple
He gives him a promise - He’s going to have a son.
Waiting on God to come through can be a very difficult thing.
It’s so easy to get discouraged
An Unexpected Mission
God gives unexpected promises to unexpected people so they might fulfill an unexpected mission.
Conclusion
Restate the Main Idea: God often shows up to unexpected people, in unexpected places, in unexpected ways.
So What?
Where has God been silent and you don’t feel like he’s actually working?
Where might you bee missing what God is doing because you didn’t expect it?
May I encourage you to read the Christmas story this week - spend time looking for the unexpected in it.
Read it fresh - Like you haven’t heard it a million times.
Put yourself in the shoes of the characters and feel what they felt and see what they saw.
Now What?
Let’s take some time to discuss this tonight.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9