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.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.14UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.11UNLIKELY
Fear
0.09UNLIKELY
Joy
0.58LIKELY
Sadness
0.55LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.67LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.73LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.65LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.74LIKELY
Extraversion
0.41UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.66LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.72LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
What do you think of when you see this? - hold up the dollar
Why do you think that way?
How many of you have heard a sermon on money?
How many of you listened to the sermon?
Why do you think it is that preachers talk about money?
Or, why do you think that preacher’s don’t talk about money?
One of the reasons that preachers should talk about is money, is that Jesus did!
According to Howard Dayton in “Your Money Counts” points our that “Sixteen of [Jesus’] 38 parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions.
Indeed, Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other subject.
The Bible offers 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,350 verses on money and possessions.
The Lord said a lot about it because He wants us to know His perspective on the critical area of life”.
- Howard Dayton
The fact of the matter is that money matters.
Now money itself isn’t as important as what it can reveal and what it can accomplish.
The authors of Soul Shift write “To him [Jesus], money was not a symbol.
It was a lever to get something done.
It had no inherent value apart from the opportunities it could create.”
- Steve DeNeff and David Drury
If this is true, then it is is something that should be talked about.
How we view, handle, desire, and steward our money and possessions, matters in the kingdom of heaven.
The truth is, we Americans are consumers.
According to information put out by WSU:
Americans constitute 5% of the world's population but consume 24% of the world's energy.
On average, one American consumes as much energy as
2 Japanese
6 Mexicans
13 Chinese
31 Indians
128 Bangladeshis
307 Tanzanians
370 Ethiopians
Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day - that's roughly 200 billion more than needed - enough to feed 80 million people.
We live in the wealthiest nation in the world.
We have access to the best resources in the world.
We are also the world’s leading consumer.
This goes to show that by nature, when we have access to resources, we like to use them in abundance.
Sadly, this can be true of christians as well!
Even the disciples were in shock at the words of Jesus is today’s story.
In:
The disciples were amazed at His teaching.
It was difficult for them, even though they had given up everything to follow Jesus, to understand what He was talking about.
The disciples themselves needed a shift in their thinking.
So, if the disciples needed a shift, do we?
Do we need to change our view of money?
Quiz Time
Do I see other people’s stuff and become critical or bored with my own?
Do I shop for recreation?
Do I buy compulsively (because I feel like it) without thinking first of my budget or of my need?
Is my circle of need getting bigger (such as cell phones, iPods, larger homes)?
Do I complain a lot about how much I make (such as my salary or tips)?
Do I feel self-conscious when I am around rich people?
Do I give less than 10 percent of my income to the ministry of the church?
Does it annoy me when the preacher talks about money?
If your answer is yes to one or more of these, it is likely that you need a soul shift.
You need to shift from
Consumer to Steward
According to the Google Dictionary, a consumer is:
a person who purchases goods and services for personal use.
And a Steward is:
a person employed to manage another's property, especially a large house or estate.
or a “caretaker” or someone who looks after someone else's stuff.
You see, a consumer is interested in having their own stuff.
A steward is interested in taking care of someone else’s stuff.
As a consumer, we feel entitled to own our own things.
As as steward we realize that nothing that we buy is actually ours, but on loan from God.
A consumer is worried about their possessions on earth, a steward is concerned about their treasures in heaven.
As a consumer, we think the point of:
is to “go, sell everything you have and give to the poor”
When the truth is the important thing is “you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come follow me.”
Remember the rich man’s question: What must I do to inherit eternal life?
That is the question that Jesus is answering.
We often lose focus of the original question and push the idea of selling all your possession on people.
Or, we deny the words altogether.
When the truth is somewhere in the middle!
The main idea of this passage isn’t the possession, but the journey to finding eternal life.
What Jesus is pointing out here is that this man was a consumer.
He was too concerned with what He had to do what he needed to do to follow Jesus.
One of the quotes that I read in preparation this week hit me like a ton of bricks:
“If you think giving up everything is too hard, you should try following Jesus while holding onto everything.” - Steve DeNeff and David Drury
Jesus won’t let you do!
He is going to ask you to give things up to follow Him!
It is going to require sacrifice and sometimes, going without.
You are trading what you are attached to for things that are eternal.
The shift from consumer to steward is saying that I will give up everything in an instance to follow Jesus.
Or, even better, I will use whatever God has given me to serve Him and His kingdom.
So, what are you attached to?
What are you trying to build for yourself, and not allowing Him to use?
As we shift from consumer to steward, there are some mini-shifts that take place as well.
1.
From Spending to Saving
Maybe you need to challenge yourself to save rather than spend all that you earn.
Start with the discipline of cutting back and not spending all that you have.
Then Shift:
2. From Saving to Giving
Sociologists have noticed for a long time that people who have more often give less.
It is a confusing thought initially, but when we get down to it, it makes a bit of sense.
Those that have nothing, have nothing to lose.
They know what having nothing feel like.
And, they know what it is like to be blessed in a huge way.
Thus, they often give more.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9