Sermon Tone Analysis

Secular:

*  First day in a new school…

* New realty…

* New friends…

* New teachers…

* New routines…

* Same with a new job…

* Know the guy with the bad attitude…

* Know the copier that jams

* Know that creepy guy… I don’t even know what he does…

* Takes some time to function well…

* Not cuz we don’t want to….

* But because we need to know the who we are in this new environment… what this new environment is all about…  

Biblical:

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."40

And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"41

So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.43

Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favour with all the people.

And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Personal:

* Marriage is an interesting institution….

* Created by God…

* Feeling… no

* Contract… no

* Self-focused… no

* Do people live as if it is….

* Not a feeling

* A contract… when you do… I will

* About me….

Meeting my needs… my expectations?

*  If we don’t have a right understanding of the relationship….

What is the outcome?

* Infidelity, unhappy, divorced….

* A right understanding helps us to live appropriately…

Bridge:

*  Ever see someone who tries to fake it…

* Thinks they get it…

* Muddles through

* Fights off help

* Won’t admit they need help

* Relationships struggle when we don’t deal with them well…

* Whether we’re dealing with a new school and learning the ins and outs…

* Or a new job… learning the systems…

* Or a marriage… right relationship foundations…

* Our relationship to Christ is one that we can’t risk… feeling our way…

* Trial and Error

* Base it on a feeling

* Or think of it as a contract….

*  It is something we need to understand…

* First point… *what about me?*

* What do I look like in relationship to Christ?

Ideal vs. Real

Tension…

In our Relationships…

Personal Expectations…

How do we fill the gap?

            Society tells us how…

            Emotionally we respond…

            Start a cycle….

We can assess the Ideal… until we know what it looks like…

            Not just the points….

(God, Others, Self)

            But the dynamics of living it out….

What about us?

*  Often we take a Drivers point of view….

* As we approach life… guided by every correction of the steering wheel… following a map…

* What I want to do is back up and look at the maps perspective….

An aerial view of our life…

* I gave two options… prevalent in our society….

In last weeks hand out…

* What we want correctly do… is assess the ideal…

* What should our walk of faith look like?

* Option one…

Pluralism…

* Popular in Canada…

* Fits with multiculturalism…

* Deals in spheres of life…

Draw it….

Describe it:

A) My Life is made up of a number of spheres of influence and responsibilities.

My faith is one sphere that should have an impact on all the other aspects of my life….

*  Looks like… * Everything from someone who separates faith… and the rest of their lives – to the committed individual whose faith strongly influences other aspects… but sees the areas as distinct.

* E.F.C….

pluralism…

* Spheres may influence… because my spheres co-exist with every one else’s sphere… I have freedom until it collides with someone else’s sphere….

* Like living in a condo complex… enjoy your place… but don’t encroach on the neighbours…

* Noise, decoration, rent,…

* Paul Martin’s comment

* Comments….

Benefits… Complications….

* /Non-conflict/

* /Easy to preserve/

* /Hard to maintain in  separation/

* /Self-evaluative /

* /Unique… low accountability/

* /Low community/