Sermon Tone Analysis

I want you to think back to a time in your life when you were eagerly awaiting a special day.

For some of you that might be your wedding day.

You were looking forward to finally getting to marry your husband or wife and begin your life and family together.

For some of you kids, you might be thinking about your birthday or Christmas when you would finally get some of the presents you asked for.

2. For some of you kids, or if your a 6’ 4” 12 year old like me you might be thinking about your birthday or Christmas when you would finally get some of the presents you asked for.

Still others, especially considering our church, especially the demographic of our church, you might think about the birth of a child.

As you think about these special days, I don’t want you to think about the special day itself.

Instead I want you to think about all the days and the weeks leading up to the day.

For all of us, these special days were characterize by preparation.

Still others, especially considering the demographic of our church, you might think about the birth of a child.

As you think about these special days, I don’t want you to think about the special day itself.

Instead I want you to think about all the days and the weeks leading up to the day.

For all of us, these special days were characterize by preparation.

You didn’t just wake up and had your wedding.

There was months of planning with finding the right venue, the right invitations, the right dress.

For all the kids in here?

Did you leave it to chance that your parents would get you what you wanted?

Of course not, you made them a list and bugged your parents continually until they were prepared to buy it for you just so they could get some peace and quiet.

You didn’t

Right now Jessica and I are preparing for the birth of our son, Owen.

For the last 8 months we’ve been getting his room ready, buying clothes, and procrastinating from reading all the parenting books.

The big idea is that when you are excited for some huge, life altering event, you are actively preparing for it.

Today, as we continue in our sermon series called “The Meaning of the Parables,” Jesus is going to tell us that we must be excitedly expecting his return and prepare accordingly.

Last week, we looked at the Parable of the Two Builders and talked about true discipleship.

To remind you, a life of discipleship consists of two marks:

Receive Christ as Lord.

We are born again through the gospel and adopted as sons and daughters of God who live for the glory of Jesus.

Live with Christ as Lord.

This is where we grow in obedience to live for the glory of God in every area of our life.

In other words, where we grow to worship God with all that we have.

The Lord in his providence arranged these two sermons together because if last week was a call to true discipleship, to truly follow Jesus, than this week is a call to perseverance as we wait for Jesus to return to establish his kingdom on the earth.

Go ahead and open your Bibles to and we will read the parable and then study what Jesus was saying.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.

But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom!

Come out to meet him.’