Sermon Tone Analysis

OPENING

JOKE

Pirate’s 80th Birthday

What did the pirate say on his 80th birthday?

AYE MATEY

Group of 6 Dwarfs

Fox News Alert: The Seven Dwarfs have been advised that, as of today, they can only meet in groups of six.

Six of them are not Happy.

Then I Saw Her Face

My wife asked me to stop singing “I’m a Believer” by the Monkeys because she found it annoying.

At first I thought she was kidding....But then I saw her face...

Butt Quack

God gave ducks feathers to cover their butt QUACK.

__________________

I love to laugh, but there’s a time to laugh and a time to cry; a time to celebrate (as we do tonight), but also a time to mourn - as you have experienced this year…and will likely experience some more, even during your graduation.

This school year was very difficult, with to the passing of Dakota.

Suddenly, we were all reminded of the reality of eternity.

Dakota’s eternal destiny became a front-burner issue for all of us…and concerns about OUR OWN eternal destiny rose to the forefront.

And some of you had some powerful spiritual experiences.

But over time even our most powerful spiritual experiences fade away.

But those every now and then experiences aren’t meant to fuel your faith, anymore than having one fantamtiv meal every so often would fuel your body.

So tonight I want to give you...

5 Daily Decisions for the Journey Ahead

Because the next couple of years will likely set the course for the rest of your life.

And, just in case you think it’s too late to change course…there’s a Greek word for that - BALONEY!

Several years ago Tonya and I had the difficult task of approaching a teenager who had pulled the wool over her parents eyes.

They didn’t think she was dating anyone, but she was.…someone they would not approve of.

My wife and I confronted the teenager with our concerns.

Instead of telling us the truth, she lied to us.

Finally, we went to her parents, and told them what we knew.

That night her world got turned upside-down.

They grabbed her phone and saw what was on it…and it was BAD stuff, humiliating stuff, sinful stuff.

It broke their hearts & their trust.

Phone was gone.

Vehicle & driving privileges were taken away.

She was deeply ashamed…but she was also DEARLY LOVED.

And now, a few years later - her countenance is BRIGHT, her dating habits are pure, AND…her relationship with God and her parents is deeper than ever!

She sent me this text :

My life changed the moment that I turned away from a continuing sin.

When I trusted Jesus with my life after facing a “head on confrontation” with the sin I was living in, the guilt, regret, shame, and fear I lived with began to vanish.

At first I thought “my life was over” or “it’ll never get better” or “how will I ever be good with my family again” but in my reaction to what I got MYSELF into, I turned to God.

He continued to show me through those He used in my life that I am still loved, I am worth it, and I am FORGIVEN.

I chose to face that I was wrong and move forward in pursuing God again.

My relationships with people & God, that had previously been built on lies, eventually grew stronger - now built on truth.

Sin wedges us from God, family, and good friends.

In the end it is not worth losing that and it’s not worth us having to wait until we hit rock bottom to REFOCUS.

Since I have refocused on God my desires and plans have been centered around Him and following Him better day by day.

So tonigh, regardless of your past, let’s look at 5 daily decisions that can change the course of our lives, 5 daily decisions that are changing this young lady’s life too.

PRAY

Let’s launch from Psalm 1.

Psalm 1:1–2 (CSB)

How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers!

Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.

Here is a picture of a person who is no longer putting themselves in the position to be influenced by CULTURE - including ungodly friends.

It’s not that he’s a hermit and never is around these folks.

Instead, he/she does not walk in the advice of these influences any longer.

And this is the first daily decision I challenge you to make:

1. Limit ungodly Influences.

You are bombarded by stuff all day long via social media apps, music & movie messages, and ungodly friends.

You can’t live in the world without hearing some of it, but you CAN limit these influences.

How can we do THAT?

[PHONE] PUT DOWN this PERPETUAL GLOWING RECTANGLE.

This little thing saturates our lives.

One study way back in 2009 suggested that most people spend 90% of their day “interacting with, and deriving satisfaction from glowing rectangles.”

So from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, “Americans are in near-constant visual contact” with these ‘perpetual glowing rectangles.’

QUESTION: When do you put this down and take a break from it and all the messages that it is sending you?

We need to LIMIT UNGODLY INFLUENCES and instead - VERSE 2 - fill that gap with Yahweh’s instruction, from the Scriptures.

This person reads, listens to, and marinates in who God is and what God says, all day long!

This person...

2. Stay in the Scriptures.

Read them, memorize them, marinate in them, and obey them!

Take the 10 minute challenge!

You know what’s keeping us from that? 2 things:

Distractions like these perpetual glowing rectangles.

And while these can be great tools to work, communicate, & enjoy watching, they can also be HUGE distractions from seeking the KINGdom above all else.

Our sports, time with friends, & jobs are more distractions we could add to the list.

And then there is SIN in our lives.

“THIS BOOK WILL KEEP ME FROM SIN, AND SIN WILL KEEP ME FROM THIS BOOK.”

You don’t want to open the Scriptures when you know God is going to deal with your sin.

You might claim, “I’m too BUSY”, but the truth is…you don’t want to get BUSTED!

So, what’s the contrast between those who seek God and those who allow ungodly influences to seep into their soul?

Psalm 1:3 (CSB) He [the one who seeks God] is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

This person THRIVES, with roots that reach deep, bearing fruit and never drying up (leaf does not wither).

But…

Psalm 1:4-6 (CSB) The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Limit ungodly influences.

Stay in the Scriptures.

3. Pray throughout the Day.

Your heavenly Father WANTS to hear from you!

Matthew 7:7–11 (CSB) Ask, and it will be given to you.

Seek, and you will find.

Knock, and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.

Do you spend any time talking to God, seeking Him in prayer?

If you’re like me, you can get distracted, SO….write down your prayer needs and stay on track that way.