Sermon Tone Analysis

7-5-05

Dear Dr. Beale,

            I am turning in my II Tim. 3 sermon a week late because I was not able to work on it sufficiently last week.

I explained the situation when I turned my last report in.

I am including what I wrote in that report (see immediately below).

I appreciate your understanding.

In His love and by His grace,

\\ Jonathan Bolin

 

 

 

 

 

6-28-06

Dear Dr. Beale,

            I am writing concerning the third 3-page sermon that is due today.

I was not able to complete it for a number of reasons.

I was asked by my pastor to preach in the Sunday night service on two occasions.

I preached on II Tim. 1 on May 28.

The second occasion was last Sunday.

I believe that God led me to preach II Tim. 2 (to give some continuity to the church and because I believe the message was more applicable to their current situation than II Tim. 3 would have been).

Therefore, I spent 30 hours last week preparing~/refining the II Tim. 2 message (in addition to the 15 hours that I spent on it before it was due 6-14-05).

I did not believe that I should use any of that time for a message that I was not going to preach that Sunday.

I am including the sermon.

I just wanted to show you that the reason I don’t have my II Tim. 3 sermon ready is not because I was goofing off.

I had full intentions on getting it done Monday and Tuesday, but we were surprised by an unexpected visit from my father-in-law from Massachusetts (he is unsaved).

I had to make a judgment call about whether to spend time with him and my wife or to write the sermon.

I believe (for the sake of being a good testimony to him and for peace with my wife) that I made the right decision.

Thank you for understanding my “predicament.”

I am planning on turning in my II Tim. 3 sermon next Wednesday.

I will include a similar note of explanation with it at that time.

In His love and by His grace,

 

Jonathan Bolin

Jonathan Bolin

Extension # 006

Project #3

*WHAT TO DO IN PERILOUS TIMES*

 

*[Introductory Scripture]* Rev. 2:10

*[Introduction] *We live in sinful times.

Our culture is sliding down hill.

Murders are on the rise (both in number and in degree of brutality).

Sex offenders prowl rampantly (though not a surprise due to the commercialization of sex).

According to a survey, most people feel that it is necessary to lie on a daily basis.

Men seek only to satisfy themselves.

That is why Christians come into direct conflict with unbelievers.

We have two different purposes in life.

This often results in persecution.

Paul tells us how to live in these times.

*[Announce and read text]* II Tim.

3:1-17* *

*[Prayer for illumination] *

*[Contextualization] *In chapter one God, through Paul, is exhorting Timothy not to be ashamed of the Gospel.

He gives him the following three reasons why Timothy needed not to be ashamed: because He has not given us a Spirit of fear but of power (:7), because we can see His work in us (:9), and because of who Christ is (His ability to keep us) (:10, 12).

As Paul closes chapter one, he sights a few positive and negative examples of being ashamed of the Gospel.

In chapter two we saw how Timothy was to suffer [for suffering would come if he was living a godly life (II Tim.

3:12)].

We noted that Timothy was to be made strong, to commit the doctrine to faithful men, and to take his share in the suffering.

Paul closes chapter two by speaking about false teaching.

He tells Timothy to remind Christians of the danger of false teaching, to handle the Word correctly, and to avoid the error of false teaching himself.

Paul uses an analogy of a clean vessel to further strengthen his point.

Timothy was to have the characteristics of a good leader.

As we come to chapter three, Paul continues his thought by explaining to Timothy (and to us) what to do in perilous times.

*[Fallen Creature Focus]  *When confronted with evil our tendency is to be affected by it.

Without God’s grace we become evil instead of opposing it.

*[Theme]* We can effectively live (pleasing God) in evil times by knowing what to do with evil men (the unsaved) and by knowing what to do with ourselves.

*I.*          *We can live a God honoring life in perilous times by knowing how to deal with evil men (:1-9)*

*            *Paul told Timothy that perilous times would come (future), but speaks to him as if they had already come (present tense is used throughout the passage).

Similar language is used in Ephesians 6, where Paul tells the Ephesians to put on the armor of God because they would need to withstand in the evil day (6:10).

Perilous (same word is used in Mat.

8:28 for an exceedingly fierce demon possessed man) times where upon Timothy.

It was his responsibility to know what to do and to lead those under him correctly.

What made these times evil was the character of the men.

*A.    **Know Them (:1-5a) *

In order to avoid their error, Timothy was to know what characterized ungodly men.

Many of the characteristics in this list parallel Rom.

1:28ff.

*1.      **What they love*.

Paul begins and ends the characteristics section by describing what theses men love.

Each of the words he uses begins with the prefix fil- (to love).

*a.

Themselves (:2)** *filautoi

*b.

Money (:2) *filarguroi-this adjective is usually translated covetous (Lk.

16:14).

In the LXX it was used to describe Eli’s sons going after money (I Sam.

8:3).

I Pet.

5:2 makes it clear that ministers of the Gospel must not love money (love of money is a definite characteristic of false teachers-Titus 1:11)

*c.

Pleasure (:4)*-filhdnoi-“Hedonism.”

*d.

Not God (:4)*-filoqeoV-these latter two realities characterize our culture.

*2.      **How they carry themselves*.

Paul continues his description by describing how these men act.

*a.

Boasters (:2)*-Prov.

21:24 and Hab.

2:5 describe how a boaster acts.

*b.

Proud (:2)*-uvperhfanoi-this is a compound word meaning to show oneself above another person.

Many of us enjoy making ourselves look good by showing how much better we are.

But, God delights in humbling the proud (Prov.

3:34; Lk. 1:51; James 4:6; I Pet.

5:5; Psa.

118:21; Isa.

13:11)

*c.

Blasphemers (:2)*-Paul considered himself a former blasphemer (I Tim.

1:13)

*d.

Traitors (:4)*-this is the same word used for Judas Iscariot in Lk. 6:16.

In Acts 7:52, Stephen calls the Jews traitors for what they did to the prophets and to Christ.

*e.