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
0.08UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.07UNLIKELY
Fear
0.11UNLIKELY
Joy
0.66LIKELY
Sadness
0.22UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.73LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.85LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.84LIKELY
Extraversion
0.25UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.83LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.73LIKELY

Tone of specific sentences

Tones
Emotion
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Joy
Sadness
Language
Analytical
Confident
Tentative
Social Tendencies
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Emotional Range
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Introduction
Before we get back to Colossians, we’re going to start off in a passage from .
Titus was another one of Paul’s pastoral proteges in the ministry field.
Just like Timothy, Titus tended to be in need of some.
This passage comes right on the heels of Paul’s battle charge to Titus in verse 1: “Speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”
Look at , verses 11-12 with me.
Ephesians 4:14-2
Ephesians 3:
Why does Paul pray for the church at Ephesus here?
Verse 17: “so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith”.
How is that accomplished?
Look back at verse 16: “by being strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.”
So, we see that in the life of a true Christian, Christ resides in our hearts through faith by the power of His Spirit.
What does it look like to have Christ dwelling in our hearts?
Verse 18: “Comprehension of the expanse of heavenly things”, and verse 19: “To know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.”
So, we see that in the life of a true Christian, Christ resides in our hearts through faith by the power of His Spirit in spiritual-mindedness and sacrificial love.
Paul bowed His knees before the Father because of this reality.
The question is, do we do the same?
Our natural tendency is to think that our prayers for people should only be about their salvation.
If they’re already saved, then they’re good, right!? That’s like running up the score in a basketball game when you’re already up by 40.
The game’s over!
At least that’s how we tend to think.
This tendency in our hearts reveals a problem that is systemic not just in you and I, but in Christians around the world today.
The problem is this: We don’t have a clue how God’s grace really works.
Here’s a litmus test: How many of us in this room know the way God’s grace works…?
(Pose to study)
Titus was another one of Paul’s pastoral proteges in the ministry field.
Just like Timothy, Titus tended to be in need of some.
This passage comes right on the heels of Paul’s charge to Titus in verse 1: “Speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”
These two verses are two of the most important verses in the New Testament.
Arguably, this might be the best summary of the Christian life in all of Scripture.
All of Scripture is also clear that God’s grace drives the Christian life.
Look at again: “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.”
God’s grace saves sinners, and salvation is a miracle!
And, as we’ve seen in Colossians, this miracle in actin is what drove the apostle Paul to his knees in prayer.
In order to be an effective Christian soldier, our prayer lives must be consistent, persistent, others-centered, and divinely enabled.
Popular guys in the church today have a lot of thoughts on how God’s grace is supposed to work, and most of those thoughts are lacking.
The common maxim is that God’s grace saves sinners, and that God’s grace reminds sinners of that saving work for the duration of their Christian lives.
While that’s partially true, it’s not sufficient.
The reality is that God’s grace saves sinners and trains sinners in His righteousness progressively.
So, we can conclude that in order to be an effective Christian soldier, our
Self-absorption and self-reliance in the heart will cripple your prayer life.
We can usually rely on the writings of Paul to help us renew our minds in these areas, and this case is no different.
But notice what else God’s grace does in sinners.
It doesn’t just save.
It sanctifies.
Look at verse 12: “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.”
This is huge.
God’s grace saves sinners, and makes them holy over time.
And, as we’re going to see in Colossians tonight, this ongoing miracle is what fueled the apostle Paul in prayer.
In order to be an effective Christian soldier, our prayer lives must be consistent, persistent, others-centered, divinely-enabled, and divinely growing.
But do we live up to that standard?
Too often, our prayer lives are often inconsistent, lack persistence, self-centered, self-enabled, and self-reliant.
Sadly, pride is the enemy of prayer.
Pride is what drove Adam to sin against God in the garden.
Pride is what kept the Pharisees from believing in Jesus.
Pride is truly the enemy of prayer.
So the central question is this: how do we pray for others when our hearts are wired not to?
Paul’s prescription for our affliction in prayer was a simple one, but a profound one.
In , Paul provides two keys to praying faithfully for the family of God: thanksgiving and interceding.
Last time, in verses 3-8, we looked at the first key to faithful prayer for God’s family, which was thanksgiving.
We saw that Paul gave thanks to God for three main motivators: divine faith, divine love, and divine hope.
Tonight, in verses 9-14, we’re going to dive into the second key to faithful prayer for God’s family, which is intercession… intercession.
His prescription for our affliction in prayer was a simple one, but a profound one.
In , Paul provides two keys to praying faithfully for the family of God: thanksgiving and interceding.
His prescription for our affliction in prayer was a simple one, but a profound one.
In
Last time, we looked at the first key to faithful prayer for God’s family, which was thanksgiving.
We saw that Paul gave thanks to God for three main motivators: divine faith, divine love, and divine hope.
Tonight, we’re going to dive into the second key to faithful prayer for God’s family, which is intercession… intercession.
, Paul provides two keys to praying faithfully for the family of God: thanksgiving and interceding.
WHO / WHEN / WHERE
Before we dive into verses 9-14, let’s recap where we’ve been so far.
We know Paul and Timothy are in Rome, somewhere between 60-62 AD when Paul wrote this letter.
Since Paul was on house arrest, he sent Tychicus and Onesimus to make the 1300 mile journey so that the Colossians could receive the letter.
WHAT / WHY
We also know that the Colossians had never even met Paul.
A few weeks back, we looked at how Paul overcame that hurdle in his greeting from verses 1-2.
After greeting the Colossians, Paul wanted to let the Colossians know of his prayers and thanksgiving to God for them, which takes us to our passage in verses 3-14.
The goal of sharing this information was to encourage the believers in Colossae because of the good reports he received about them from Epaphras, and also to provide an example of what faithfulness in prayer looks like.
HOW
WHY
WHEN
Paul’s prayers for the Colossians attest to his conviction that God’s grace both saves AND trains.
As the ideal prayer warrior, the example he leaves for us here in the Scriptures is one that every believer should aspire to.
Last time, in verses 3-8, we looked at the first key to faithful prayer for God’s family, which was thanksgiving.
We saw that Paul gave thanks to God for three main motivators: divine faith, divine love, and divine hope.
Tonight, in verses 9-14, we’re going to dive into the second key to faithful prayer for God’s family, which is intercession… intercession.
Intercession / αἰτούμενοι ()
INTERPRETATION
translated as “to ask”
Look at verse 9 with me.
What exactly is intercession anyway?
Intercession is simply the “action of praying on behalf of another person or other people.”
This sums up what Paul is doing for the Colossians in this passage.
“For this reason also” is in reference to verse 8: Epaphras had told Paul all about the Colossians’ love in the Spirit.
In response, “since the day [they] heard of it,” Paul and his cohorts have not stopped praying for the Colossians!
At this point, it could have been weeks or months since Paul got that first report from Epaphras.
This just emphasizes the power Paul believed to be in prayer.
Next, Paul goes on to say that he has not ceased asking on their behalf either.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9