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.
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Life Happens When You Least Expect It
No matter how much we want to know the future it eludes us.
No matter how much we want to control our lives and circumstances, we can’t.
Many refuse to accept this and they lead very frustrating and disappointment-filled lives.
So what’s the alternative?
Although we can’t know the future, maybe we are not clueless about what to do.
Maybe it isn’t about being in control, but being ready somehow.
How Can We Be Ready?
Maybe it’s easier to think about what it’s like to not be ready.
It was 7:15am and I was glad I had made it on time to early bird gym class.
I was a sophomore or junior in high school, I think.
We were jogging laps around the basketball court and my friend Eric was next to me.
He said, “is your speech ready?”
I said, “I’m making good progress on my research paper, what speech are you talking about?” “The speech we have to give in 45min based on what we have learned so far in our research!
He said I realized you were gone and may not have known she said we had to do this today.”
To say that my heart rate increased would be an understatement.
I was not prepared for this speech.
I had not given many speeches in my life and like most people was deathly afraid of public speaking.
Well God bless my friend Eric for giving me a heads up.
I was in gym class but I had 45min to try to form some sort of speech in my head.
Still, to not be ready is a terrifying thing.
Being ready in our spiritual journey is just as important.
We can pay attention to the words of Scripture, especially the words of Jesus.
Jesus wants us to be encouraged and ready for the challenges and changes of life.
He told the disciples I’m telling you this in these moments when we are together.
So you can process it here in my presence and take hold of it as truth in your life.
He adds: I’m telling you this before it happens so that when it happens you may believe.
We have a choice how we respond.
The right choice is to choose to believe.
Now Jesus was telling the disciples this before a massive transition.
Being with them as a human being vs the Holy Spirit working deeply in their lives.
The Holy Spirit will be better but change can be stressful.
But being able to see it as a promise fulfilled makes it so much easier.
But it will still be an important choice to make.
Because it’s easy to hit the freak out button.
If we forget to have faith we can be overcome with fear.
But if we have time to prepare some things can be so much better.
We make the choice to see it as part of God’s unfolding plan in our lives.
So we look expectantly for God being at work.
We can trust.
We can believe.
Between the ascension and pentecost
The ascension is about Jesus leaving the normal human experience.
He was already resurrected from the dead.
He already had a transformed body.
Now he was planning to ascend back to heaven.
For God as spirit this is probably not a big deal.
But for Jesus the forever God-Man this was amazing.
Possibly inter-dimensional stuff!
I have no idea if there are multi-verses like on Spiderman or Dr. Strange.
But if there are, Jesus is Lord of every dimension of creation.
And I know this: somehow Jesus’ resurrected and transformed body, still a special human body bearing the scars of the crucifixion, ascended into heaven as it exists now.
Is heaven a different dimension?
I don’t know.
But I know Jesus went there and one day he’s coming back and he’s bringing the heavenly city with him!
Amen?
I know this much is true.
Then came a time of searching and waiting.
He promised the holy spirit would come...
There would be a gap but that gap didn’t have to be meaningless and full of stress.
That gap could be seen as the overlap between the incarnation and the age of the Spirit.
So they had the opportunity to wait with purpose.
To look with purpose for the Spirit.
They could believe if they would.
Jesus told them before it happened.
Between Gym Class and English 10
Well remember me back in gym class?
As I began to think about it I had done a lot of research.
I was beginning to know and care about the topic.
It was about the Salt II nuclear treaties between the US and Soviets.
The more I forgot about the stress I was able to gather my thoughts get a sense a brief speech in my head.
I was feeling good.
So thankful for my friend Eric letting me know ahead of time.
I made my way to the classroom.
We were to present in groups.
I noticed everyone else had note cards.
I don’t remember Eric mentioning that, lol.
Thankfully, I was trying to do research whenever I could so I was carrying all my 3x5 note cards with me in my backpack at all times.
I grabbed a handful and hoped some of them would be helpful as I talked.
I stood up and to my amazement meaningful words came out of my mouth.
I looked down at my notecards and switched from one to the other but almost every single one I looked at was not helpful for what I was wanting to say.
I just kept talking and would flip to the next card when that thought ended.
Another buddy Todd was next to me waiting to present his paper.
He looked at my notecard and realized it had nothing to do with what I was saying at that moment and he busted up laughing and almost tipped his chair over.
But I just kept going.
The teacher was nodding approvingly and eventually I was done.
I had gotten through it and the world did not end.
I got my grade and she gave me an A-.
I was like whew, I’ll take it.
But I had to smile when I saw the reason that she had taken off points for the A-.
She said I was a bit too dependent on my notes, lol!
I started to go explain how that was impossible when something told me, nope, don’t be stupid.
My friend Todd laughed even harder when I showed him why she took points off.
Looking back I think God was just showing off a little.
Getting me ready to trust that I could speak and have something to say.
If I hadn’t done the research I don’t think I could have counted on the help.
Someone nudged Eric to ask me just in time.
Did God know I was going to be speaking sometimes on short notice for the rest of my life?
I’ll let you decide.
I didn’t know all that yet.
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