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
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
0.69LIKELY
Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
0.73LIKELY
Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
0.77LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.63LIKELY
Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
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I’m gonna take some of us back to our childhoods hear…
Sing this with me… (Joy down in my heart)
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart to stay
I've got the peace that passes understanding
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart
I've got the peace that passes understanding
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart to stay
I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart
I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus
Down in my heart (where?)
Down in my heart to stay
Whew!
God Loves to see His Children play!
He loves to see US find Joy!
These moments are fun!
They make us happy!
They bring us Joy… at least for a time…
But… What do we do when times get tough… when life knocks us down… when discouragement sets in?
In those times, it can be difficult to find JOY… amen?
It can be difficult to know where to turn… Where to look…
It can seem like JOY is so far out of reach that we will never find it again…
This broken world tells us that Happiness and Joy are two separate things… that they are somehow disconnected, and yet… are both attached to emotions and circumstances… But that couldn't be farther from the truth!
Joy can be found… Joy can be experienced… in the midst of our adversities…
We CAN experience JOY no matter what discouragements we face!
Let’s start with this: What is Joy?
Where does it come from?
Marriam-Webster define “Joy” as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.”
There second definition is: “a state of happiness-felicity.”
But that couldn’t be farther from the truth!
Joy is not an emotion… Joy is not short-term…
You see… unlike what some believe, joy isn’t being separated from pain and disappointment…
In fact, a lot of the time… Joy is born out of long-term disappointment and grief…
Look at Luke 1:5-7
This is where the Christmas story begins… Not with shepherds… babies… and wise men… But with two cousins, who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances…
This short paragraph… This short story… that only Luke chooses to begin with would have spoken volumes to Luke’s audience!
— We’ve got Herod… the Roman appointed King of the Jews… working hard to keep the Jews under the harsh rule of the Romans…
— It’s a reminder that the times were difficult…
This harsh… demanding… anti-Jewish/soon to be anti-Christian world was not full of Joy and Happiness…
This… is where we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth…
— They were both born into Aaron’s lineage… therefore, they were from priestly lineage… making Zechariah a priest…
In a day of religious corruption and political power plays… by even the Church… the Pharisees and Saduccees… Zechariah and Elizabeth stood in stark contrast.
Look at verse 6:
Luke describes them as blameless… righteous… faithful…
Luke tells us that they were both old… and had never had children…
That is HUGE!!!
It is significant!
Not only in light of what is going to happen, but in light of how the world would have viewed Elizabeth as well…
You see… to be childless… to be barren… to not have born children for your husband was a shameful thing in their culture…
Elizabeth would have suffered under the shame… blame… and accusations that would have been thrown at her…
The world would have told Zechariah to marry another woman… one who could give him children… But…
Zechariah loved his wife… and so… they resigned themselves to living the life God had given them… They remained faithful to Him!
Because of that, one day… while Zechariah was fulfilling his duties in the Temple… their lives changed!
The angel Gabriel shows up… and scares the bejesus out of Zech… !
Zechariah is so overwhelmed… and confused… that he can hardly believe it…
Basically… “How will I know this is true?
How can I be sure?
What is the sign I will see?”
I love this part!!!!
Gabriel says: “Oh!!!
You want a sign… OK, here’s your sign!
You won’t be able to speak until the child is born!”
Do you see what happened?
Do you see what Gabriel — God — did?!?
Zechariah’s faith wavered… and he asked a stupid question!!!
And Gabriel… Gabriel… I love it… Gabriel says: “Oh… You want a sign!
Hold on… I got something for you...”
(pick up sign)
“Here’s your sign!”
It’s like Zechariah came out of the Temple wearing this sign!!!
Now… His wife’s reaction was completely different!
Elizabeth believed the news… and when she becomes pregnant, she gives God the glory!
But, I want you to notice something…
Look at Luke 1:24
There is an odd note in this verse…
You see… It tells us that Elizabeth went into seclusion… basically went into hiding… for the first five months.
WHY????
Why would she go from praising God… to hiding?
Maybe it had something to do with the shame… and disgrace she felt…
Her lifelong inability to have children would have been a source of pain… sorrow… and shame…
We already said it was a big deal in her culture… Think about it…
Bearing children was the only REAL thing a woman had…
They had tried repeatedly through the years… and yet had failed… NOW… their hope had faded…
I am sure that Elizabeth talked to the other women… asking questions… seeking answers… trying to understand WHY!
They probably had plenty to say to her — mostly unfair — putting suspicion and blame on her… maybe accusing her of “being a sinner”… and suffering because of the shame she brought on her husband…
Maybe there were pregnancies that sparked hope… but the hope was dashed by the grief and loss of miscarriage…
Miscarriage… leaves a woman wondering… “Why?
What’s wrong with me?”
Regardless of the reasons, We can know that Elizabeth’s self-worth had probably sunken pretty low throughout the years… and hope for change dimmed with age…
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