Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Intro
I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Christmas stories by Robert Bentson
“It was the night before Christmas in Chicago.
It was a cold, dark night; a blizzard was coming.
A little homeless boy was selling newspapers on the corner.
He finally walked up to a policeman and said, “Mister, do you know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight?
I sleep in a box in the alley and it is very cold.
It is the night before Christmas.
I sure wish I had a nice warm place to stay.”
The policeman told the little boy to go down the street to the big white house and knock on the door.
When a lady comes to the door, you just say “,” and she will let you in the house.
The shivering little boy ran to the house.
He walked up the steps and knocked on the door.
A lady came to the door.
He looked up and said, “.”
The lady said “Come in my son.”
She took him inside the warm house and gave him a seat in front of the fireplace.
She went into another room.
The little boy sat near the fireplace and thought, “…I really don’t understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.”
Later she came back and asked him “Are you hungry?”
He said, “Well, just a little.
I have not eaten in a couple of days.”
She sat the boy down at the kitchen table which was full of food.
He ate and ate until he was full.
As he was eating he thought, “…I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full.”
She took him upstairs to a large bathroom with a huge bathtub filled with warm water.
She told him to take a warm bath, put on warm pajamas and rest.
As he soaked in the tub, he thought, “ …I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean.”
The lady came in and took him to a bedroom.
She tucked him into bed and pulled the covers up around his neck.
She kissed him on the forehead and turned out the lights.
The boy lay there and thought, “…I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested.”
The next morning, Christmas day, the woman came and took him to the kitchen again.
The table was full of food.
After he ate, she took him back to the chair near the fireplace.
She gave him a big wrapped present.
He was very excited!
He quickly pulled off the ribbons and opened it.
He was surprised to find new clothes and a Bible.
He happily thought again, “ …I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a lonely boy happy.”
The lady took his Bible and sat down near him.
She asked him, “Do you know about ?”
He said, “No, ma’am, I don’t.
The first time I heard of it was when the policeman told me to use it.”
She opened the Bible to , and he read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
She explained to him about Jesus.
Right there in front of the big warm fireplace he gave his heart and life to Jesus.
He was saved on Christmas day!
Now he understood the true meaning of Christmas.
He held his new Bible and hugged it as he sat in front of the warm
fire.
He thought, “.
I now understand it, and it sure makes a cold boy feel warm inside.
It sure makes a lost boy feel safe.”
In this time shepherds would be considered a lowly occupation.
Their job would lead them to be isolated for days and weeks.
While their position could lead to ostracization.
They tended to be ignored and devalued.
Even though they played an extremely important part in the sacrificial system of Israel.
They were tending that night to the lambing.
These lambs would be used in the passover a few months later.
So it is significant that the angels came to them first with the announcement that the true lamb has been born.
They didn’t stay isolated.
They came and worshipped Him, the new born King.
They had been invited and accepted into that holy family.
They didn’t have to change clothes or get cleaned up.
God wanted them to be part of His life.
You Need of God’s Friendship.
A. Many People Experience Isolation and Loneliness.
First of all, loneliness is a common fact.
Now it’s much more common than you may realize.
You may think, “Well, only a few people are lonely.”
Thomas Wolfe, who is a famous novelist, said, “Loneliness is far from being a rare and curious phenomenon.
It is the central, inevitable fact of human existence.”
Now that is a big statement.
He says it’s not just rare; it is a central and inevitable fact.
And Dr. Paul Tournier, who is a famous Swiss psychologist, had this to say.
He said, “Loneliness is the most devastating malady of the age.”
Now that is a big statement: “the most devastating malady of the age.”
And again, Dr. Abraham Maslow, famed research analyst, estimates this amazing thought.
Listen to this.
Here’s a direct quote from this man: “The truth is that the average American citizen does not have a real friend in this world.”
That is what he said.
Right or wrong, if he would even say such a thing, we know that we’re dealing with a real, definite experience.
And many of those who name the name of Jesus, those who follow the Lord, may be afflicted with loneliness.
I was looking at a verse over in Psalms—, verse 16—and the Psalmist said, “For I am desolate and afflicted.”
() That’s just another way of saying that he was lonely.
Now, what is loneliness?
Well, I want to say that mere solitude is not loneliness.
Solitude is good.
Have you ever wanted to just get off by yourself?
I do sometimes.
I heard of a preacher who said, “I don’t want to go to heaven because there will be no partying there; I want to go because there will be no meetings there.”
Just to be alone sometimes, that’s good.
And many of us don’t want to get off in solitude.
Why?
Because we have to look God and ourselves in the face.
It’s good to have solitude.
Many times Jesus would withdraw Himself from the crowds and get alone by Himself.
That is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
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