Sermon Tone Analysis

ATTENTION

How many of you consider yourself to be a patriotic American?

Ok, that’s most of you.

And I’d raise my hand too.

I love this country . . .

but you’ll have to admit that sometimes we outsmart ourselves.

Sometimes we’re a whole lot smart and not very wise.

For instance consider some of these things that happen “only in America:” You see it’s:

1.

Only in America . . .

can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.

2. Only in America . .

are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.

3.

Only in America . . .

do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions, while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

4.

Only in America . . .

do people order double cheese burgers, large fries and a diet coke.

5.

Only in America . . .

do banks leave vault doors open and then chain the pens to the counter.

6.

Only in America . . . .

do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our junk in the garage.

Hello...

7.

Only in America . . .

.do we use answering machines to screen calls and have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.

8.

Only in America . .

.do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

9.

Only in America . . .

do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering

10.

Only in America . .

.do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.

Yes, it’s true, isn’t it.

Sometimes we are a whole lot smart and not very wise.

This whole wisdom thing can be tricky.

We all feel the need for it, but it often seems pretty illusive.

And because we lack wisdom, we find ourselves in the middle of a big mess.

ME

I suppose that all of us can look back on things that happened to us in our lives and see how foolish we were.

I sure can.

I remember the early 80's.

Kathy and I were newly married without a lot of income, but we were absolutely determined to own a home.

Let me rephrase: She wasn’t that thrilled.

It was me who wanted to be a home owner.

There was only one problem.

I didn’t have a penny saved, houses in Nashville, Tn were expensive, and interest rates were running about 12-13%.

But then came the deal of a life time.

Now I know that’s what it was because my real estate agent told me that.

Ok, he didn’t say that, exactly, but I was so anxious to buy that I read that into everything he told me.

And to make matters even worse, I used the guy selling me the house as my primary source of wisdom.

That’s never a good idea.

I never asked why the previous owner had let it go into repossession.

To put it mildly, I probably didn’t make a very wise decision.

If I didn’t realize my folly when I signed the papers for the home, it didn’t take me long to realize how foolish I had been.

I discovered what I had purchased really wasn’t a house . . . it was a houseboat.

Everytime it rained I had lakefront property, only the lake wasn’t at the front, it was all around the house.

I made a poor decision because I lacked wisdom, and I really didn’t look for it in the right place.

And, while I haven’t bought any houseboats lately, I have to tell you, I still need wisdom.

There are still times when I look at certain issues and wonder what is right and what is wrong.

Whenever I face a major life decision that will impact my life and the life of my family, it is often that I just don’t know what to do.

Quite honestly there are some decisions about this church that make me scratch my head!

I often pray, “God, please show me what to do?”

YOU

You ever feel that way?

Maybe you’re a husband and you know that you should be spending more time with your family and your kids, but your job is calling and you need more money.

Your willingness to work overtime increases your value to the company and helps to secure the job that puts food on your table, but the increased time at works takes you away from those very people you’re trying to provide for.

How do you balance all of that out?

Where to you draw the line?

What’s the wisest thing to do?

Maybe you’re a wife.

You know that children do better if their mom stays in the home, especially when they are very young, and, in your heart of hearts, that’s where you really want to be, but the house payment needs to be payed, and those credit card bills keep coming.

If you quit, you’re afraid you’ll never find another job when the kids get older.

What do you do?

How do you determine what’s right?

What’s the wisest thing to do.

Or you could be a teenager, and you’re confused.

Now you’d never admit it, because you want everyone to think that you pretty much know everything, but the truth is that you’re really confused.

Your teacher tells you one thing is true, your parents tell you something else, and then Brad comes along and tells you that they’re both wrong.

How do you decide?

How can you balance things out?

Or maybe your parents want you to go to Barton because it will be much cheaper if you live at home.

You know you need to save as much money as possible, but there’s a part of your heart that’s telling you that God wants you to go to the Bible College or Liberty.

In fact, you’re not sure, but God may be calling you into ministry.

How do you know what to do? What’s the wisest thing you can do?

And it could be that, as a single mom, you don’t know what’s right.

Your son needs the influence of his father, but whenever he goes to see his dad, Dad’s new girlfriend is there and she stays overnight.

You want your son to see his father, but you are afraid of the influence this situation is having on him.

What do you do?

What is the wisest thing?

PROBLEM:

Now some would say, “Just read your Bible.

God’s word has all the answers to the questions of life.”

Well, I would agree that the Bible is the best place to start, but dilemmas like this just aren’t directly addressed.

In fact, some of the principles you find might even seem to contradict one another.

For instance, if you’re a teenager heading off to college, the Bible makes it clear that you are still under your parents’ authority and should obey them.

On the other hand, you also know that you are to obey God’s will for your life.

Both of these are Biblical principles.

How do you decide what’s right?

Well, that question is answered in one of my favorite Christmas passages of Scripture.

It’s in Isaiah 9. Read with me beginning in v 6:

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.