Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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Tone of specific sentences

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Emotion
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Joy
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Openness
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Anger
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TITLE:   Go Out Into the Darkness \\ \\ SERMON IN A SENTENCE:     Christ does not promise that we will not experience difficult times, but does promise that, if we walk in faith, he will redeem the difficult times.
\\ \\ SCRIPTURE:    Mark 4:35-41 \\ \\
SERMON:     \\ \\ It was evening on the Sea of Galilee.
This little sea sits in a basin 700 feet below sea level, and is surrounded on three sides by steep hills and cliffs.
I can imagine standing by the Sea of Galilee watching the sun moving overhead until it gets to the tops of the hills in the west – and then it would quickly duck behind the western hills and it would be night.
Jesus and the disciples were on the western side of the lake, which must have meant that the sun set all the more quickly.
\\ \\ The western side of the lake was the Jewish side.
The eastern side was the Gentile side -- home of the Decapolis, a group of ten cities with a large Greek population.
Jesus was going there to minister to these Greeks -- something that not many rabbis would stoop to do.
In these Greek cities, Jesus had a truly amazing ministry -- lots of miracles -- lots of teaching -- very little opposition.
These Greek cities were a good place for him.
\\ \\ But I am getting ahead of my story.
At Jesus' command, the disciples got into a boat and started their journey across the little sea.
I say "little," because the Sea of Galilee is small for a sea -- more like a large lake -- eight miles wide and thirteen miles long -- not much of a \\ sea, really.
Jesus and the disciples probably weren't crossing the lake at its widest point -- were probably going only five miles or so – not much of a journey, depending on your boat.
\\ \\ A few years ago, archeologists unearthed a boat from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and carbon dating places it around the time of Jesus' life.
It was 26 feet long and 7 or 8 feet wide.
There is a very good chance that it was a boat very much like this in which Jesus and the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee -- I should say rowed across the sea, because that was how the unearthed boat was propelled -- by four people rowing -- two on each side.
Five miles looks a little further when you are holding an oar in your hand, getting ready to row.
\\ \\ But the disciples were used to rowing.
At least four of them were professional fishermen before they met Jesus.
Any man growing up in that region would have spent some time in boats.
Boats were very much part of their lives.
\\ \\ And so they started their journey.
The farther they went, the darker it got.
The hills rising up around the sea would block even the light of the stars -- except for the stars immediately overhead.
If there were clouds in the sky, being in a small boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee must have been a little like swimming in an ink-bottle -- no light anywhere.
\\ \\ And then the storm struck.
At the Sea of Galilee, the cool air falling from the hills to meet the warm air rising from the sea often causes quick and violent storms.
Just as these disciples got past the point of no return, the storm struck -- high winds -- waves as high as the boat was \\ long -- a fisherman's nightmare.
\\ \\ The disciples panicked!
I can't really blame them!
Being in that small boat in a small storm was very scary thing.
If I were in a small boat in a storm, I would want to get it to shore as fast as possible.
And I would want someone who knew what they were doing to be in charge.
\\ \\ The disciples wanted to turn the task over to their leader.
The storm was beyond their abilities -- the waves were so high that their little boat threatened to pitch pole end-over-end to the bottom -- certain death for all aboard.
Maybe Jesus could help!
They had seen him do some pretty wonderful things!
But where was Jesus, anyway?
They looked around and finally found him asleep in the little cubby underneath the stern deck.
Asleep!
They were astounded!
How could anyone sleep through such a storm!
\\ \\ And then they were angry!
Jesus was their leader-- the one in charge.
Jesus was the miracle worker -- the one with the answers -- the one who gave the orders.
Now, when they needed him worse than they had ever needed him, he was asleep in his own little private space in the stern of the boat!
What was wrong with him!
Didn't he have any sense of the crisis!
Didn't he care!
Would they all die because of his dereliction!
\\ \\ And so they woke him!
And he looked out into the storm with a steady gaze and said simply, "Peace!
Be still!"
And the wind stopped!
And a great calm settled on the waters!
And the disciples were sore afraid!
They were stunned by Jesus' power -- not sure what to make of it.
They were as afraid of this sudden turn of circumstance as they had been afraid of the storm.
Only God has this kind of power, and they were frightened to be in God's holy presence!
These were men who, out of reverence for God, would not even call God's name.
These were men who knew that to look on God's face was to die.
And now they were looking at Jesus and wondering if they had been saved from the waves only to be consumed by God's fire.
"Who then is this," they cried, "that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
But they already knew the answer -- and the answer scared them.
\\ \\ Whenever I read this story, my first inclination is to be critical of the disciples.
They had heard Jesus teach.
They had seen him heal.
They should have known who Jesus was.
They should have known what to expect.
\\ \\ But then I must admit that I have access the "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey would put it.
I know where Jesus will take them from here.
I know about the cross, but I also know about the open tomb.
I have quite an advantage over the disciples -- but I am often sore afraid myself.
\\ \\ I read about people who are members of the Three O'clock Club.
I wonder if anyone here is a member of the Three O'clock Club.
Members of the Three O'clock Club wake up at three o'clock in the morning -- suddenly panicked over some problem that was of only mild interest the day before -- certain that the sky will crash in around them unless they can resolve the problem.
When that happens, they wake Jesus up and ask, "Don't you care that I am perishing!"
Sometimes I have read stories from various magazines about Jesus redeeming people from bad situations.
When I have a bad situation, I pray.
I try to turn the problem over to Jesus.
So how can I criticize the disciples?
I am no better than they!
\\ \\ Whether you are a member of the Three O'clock Club or not, you probably have moments when you wonder if God has abandoned you -- when it feels like the sky is falling -- when it seems that everything precious is in jeopardy -- when you feel like crying out, "God, don't you care that I am perishing?"
It is in those moments that we especially need faith -- and \\ it is in those moments that our faith is severely tested.
In those moments, a great deal depends on whether we have nurtured our faith in good times so that we can draw on it in bad times.
Even more depends on whether, once the crisis is upon us, we choose to honor our faith or our fears.
We have a choice, you know.
When the tough times come, we can \\ choose to be fearful -- full of fear -- or faithful -- full of faith.
A great deal hangs on our decision.
\\ \\ On Christmas Day, 1939, King George VI of England gave a Christmas Day radio address that had a tremendous effect on that struggling nation.
England had been moving toward war with Germany for over a year, and had finally declared war when German invaded Poland on September 1.
The nation had instituted a military draft, and was in the process of doubling the size of its armed forces.
They had evacuated one and one-half million children from London and other industrial centers to protect them from enemy bombs.
They were in the process of building over one million bomb shelters.
Among other things, they had ordered more than a million gas helmets for babies.
Many people found themselves suddenly unemployed as retail sales slumped and businesses closed.
\\ \\ If you were the king of England, faced with giving a Christmas Day radio address to a nation in those circumstances, what would you say?
What the king chose to say on that Christmas Day brought great hope and strength to his people.
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