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
0.6LIKELY
Disgust
0.51LIKELY
Fear
0.13UNLIKELY
Joy
0.58LIKELY
Sadness
0.52LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.59LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.44UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.82LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.69LIKELY
Extraversion
0.21UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.66LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.62LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Text: Esther 4
Theme: Whenever God has a plan, God provides a way.
Doctrine: Providence of God
Image: working in the background
Need: Trust~/Patience
Message: Work in God's plan.
*God's Providence*
Esther 4
*Intro*
The Persian King Xerxes had ultimate control over his kingdom.
He had the largest empire in known history, and controlled the land from India to northern Egypt.
This man was the most politically and militarily powerful person ever to walk the earth.
One night, after a seven day banquet which included much drinking and entertainment, Xerxes decided that it would be nice to show off his beautiful wife to his officials.
So he sent for Vashti, his Queen, to come to the banquet that his officials might gaze on her.
When she got the message she was enraged.
There was no way she, the Queen of the most powerful empire in the world, the most respected and regal woman in history, was going to subject herself to the lusty stares of a large group of drunk men.
When the king received her refusal, he was extremely angry, and after consulting with his legal advisers, had her banished.
When Xerxes sobered up, he remembered what he had done, and he was filled with sorrow.
To cheer him up, his attendants proposed an empire wide beauty pageant.
The contestants were searched for, torn from their homes, and forced to participate in the hunt for a new Queen.
Esther immediately gained favour with all who saw her, and Xerxes eventually chose her as Queen.
*Page 1: Haman wanted to exterminate Jews.*
Esther's step father, Mordecai, upset Haman, one of the palace officials, by refusing to bow to him as he passed.
Haman was incensed and he hatched a plot to destroy, not only Mordecai, but also all of the Jews.
He tricked Xerxes into making an edict commanding the people to attack the Jews, and to wipe them out.
As Mordecai was walking home from another long day of work in Susa, he noticed a large commotion at the gate of the town.
As Mordecai got closer, he could make out pieces of the conversation.
“What does the king have against the Jews?” someone asked.
“Where did this animosity come from?
The king has been rather friendly to all nations, what happened?”
He ran over to the wall, where a fresh declaration was flapping in the breeze.
At first he could not believe his eyes, all the Jews were to be executed!
How could this happen?
Then it hit him.
/He/ had upset Haman by refusing to bow to him, and had made him so angry that he wanted to kill /all/ the Jews, not just Mordecai.
Realising his own part in this disastrous outcome, Mordecai turns slowly for home.
When he reaches it, he takes off his richly embroidered robe, and puts on sackcloth, and goes about the city crying out in his grief.
People are beginning to come out into the streets, curious as to what all the hubbub is about.
Mordecai is joined by other Jews as he makes his way up the hill to the king's palace.
They are stopped at the entrance to the gate by a large group of soldiers.
“What is your business here?”
they shout at the group.
“You are not allowed to enter the king's palace while dressed as in mourning.
Go back to your homes.”
But the group does not dissipate.
They merely spread ashes on the ground, and sit down, continuing to wail and cry out.
When Esther hears about Mordecai's state, she is in great distress, and sends some clothes to him.
She wants him to stop mourning.
She is worried that the king may come out of the gate, and see Mordecai there mourning.
Xerxes would most likely have him killed.
Mordecai, however, refuses the clothing and sends back to her a copy of the edict and begs her to go to the king on behalf of the people.
When Esther learns about the edict, and hears the request of Mordecai to go to the king, she is terrified.
“Tell Mordecai,” she says to her Eunuch.
“Tell him that I cannot go to the king without risking my very life.
I'm not sure if I can do what he asks.
Explain to him the situation I am in.
I cannot do as he asks.
Something else will have to be done.”
As the Eunuch is going out to Mordecai with the Queens message, Esther is left to dwell with her thoughts.
She feels despondent and light headed, she is in shock.
How could this happen!
Esther goes to the mirror, gazing at her radiant reflection she asks, “What can I do about this?”
It appears that the kingdom is against the Jews, against God's chosen people, and Esther feels helpless.
*Page 2: Our Culture wants to exterminate Christianity.
*
Our culture is still pitted against God's chosen people, it is waging a full frontal attack on Christianity, and we feel helpless against it.
The moral fibre which the current culture accepts stands in direct opposition to Christianity on many fronts.
There are now more missionaries in the Western, so called Christian, nations from the developing world than the other way around.
Though the percentage of Christians in the world has changed little over the past 100 years, there has been a shift in location.
In 1900 less than 20% of Christians in the world were in non-Western nations, now over 60% of Christians live outside Western countries.
There are now more Christians in Africa than there are people in North America.
Some claim that the US is a Christian nation, but the filth that is produced in films and on the internet proves otherwise.
There is increasing pressure against Christianity, while there is increasing acceptance of other religions.
The US is proud of its freedoms, and rightly so.
Freedom of religion is one of the hallmarks of US politics, and this includes religions other than Christianity.
We, as Christians can accept this.
The Christian faith has room for the sinner.
We are not to expect that everyone will be Christian until the end of time.
Thus, we are supposed to allow people to have differing opinions and religions.
We are not given a mandate to force people to convert.
We have made that mistake in the past, forcing people to convert to Christianity at the tip of a sword, but this is not what the Bible condones.
Though we have a place for the sinner, and we can allow them to live with differing opinions than us, we have the truth.
We know what their ultimate destiny will be.
We know that the Buddhist down the street will not be saved unless he believes in Christ.
We know that the Atheist up the road will not share in the glory of God if she does not trust in the cross.
This is not something the culture likes to hear.
The current popular philosophy is one of relativism.
People do not think that there is any truth in religion, or if there is there is no way of knowing it.
Thus, no one can claim to know anything about the spiritual realm.
What works for one person, is right for them, and how dare anyone criticise them for it.
When I was studying for my Master's in Philosophy in England I got into some interesting discussions with people.
One evening, when I was at a friends house it got rather heated.
I had recently announced that I was going into the ministry, and people were very interested.
They wanted to know how my faith worked into my other ideas in philosophy.
Throughout the discussion I made some strong claims regarding the truths of the Christian faith.
That God created and upholds the universe, that God came down to earth, became human, and died on the cross, bearing the punishment for our sins, and other claims like this.
These are things which we as Christians know to be true through the witness of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
My friends did not take the fact that they were sinful very well.
They did not want to see themselves as people who were deserving of eternal punishment.
Only truly bad people deserve something like 'hell', and they were not really bad people.
They tried to say, “Oh, well as long as it works for you.”
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9