Sermon Tone Analysis

Proposition 1

Jesus could heal over distance.

Proposition 2

Jesus, even when present, could perform miracles without touching.

Proposition 3

Science has done several studies showing us the power of touch.

The benefits start from the moment we’re born.

A review of research, conducted by Tiffany Field, a leader in the field of touch, found that preterm newborns who received just three 15-minute sessions of touch therapy each day for 5-10 days gained 47 percent more weight than premature infants who’d received standard medical treatment.

There are studies showing that touch signals safety and trust, it soothes.

Basic warm touch calms cardiovascular stress.

It activates the body’s vagus nerve, which is intimately involved with our compassionate response, and a simple touch can trigger release of oxytocin, aka “the love hormone.”

In my own lab, in a study led by my former student Matt Hertenstein (now a professor at DePauw University), we asked whether humans can clearly communicate compassion through touch.

Here’s what we did: We built a barrier in our lab that separated two strangers from each other.

One person stuck his or her arm through the barrier and waited.

The other person was given a list of emotions, and he or she had to try to convey each emotion through a one-second touch to the stranger’s forearm.

The person whose arm was being touched had to guess the emotion.

Given the number of emotions being considered, the odds of guessing the right emotion by chance were about eight percent.

But remarkably, participants guessed compassion correctly nearly 60 percent of the time.

Gratitude, anger, love, fear—they got those right more than 50 percent of the time as well.

Proposition 4

Jesus preferred method of healing was to touch.

Challenge:

Will you use your power of touch to be Jesus to someone today?