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
0.18UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.51LIKELY
Fear
0.1UNLIKELY
Joy
0.52LIKELY
Sadness
0.47UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.3UNLIKELY
Confident
0.23UNLIKELY
Tentative
0UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.8LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.83LIKELY
Extraversion
0.14UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.79LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.74LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
*Luke 2:1-52*
*The 5 Voices*
v If you have spent any time in the church at all
Ø This text is familiar to you
§ This birth narrative is read every Christmas season
· I will always associate this text to our Christmas eve tradition growing up
¨ It was read to us before we went up to our rooms for the night
v Perhaps you have heard more than your share of sermons preached from this text
Ø Focusing on the birth of the baby Jesus
Ø Focusing on the Shepherds
Ø Focusing on Simeon and Anna
Ø Focusing on Jesus as a boy
v Today, I would like for us together to look at *the 5 voices* that we hear in this text…
Ø The first voice we hear is…
*The Voice of Caesar Augustus*
* *
v *READ 2:1-3*
v Here we are, 6 months after the birth of John the Baptist
Ø Augustus issues a decree to count all the people in his kingdom
Ø Joseph & Mary travel to Bethlehem to register
Ø While there Mary went into labor
§ There were no inns as the song tells us
· Hospitality was taken care of by the elders
¨ That is why that is a prerequisite of being an elder in *1 Tim 3:2*
v *So Mary was relegated to a barn*
v Mary gave birth to the savior of the entire world in a barn
Ø What humble beginnings for the king of all creation, the ruler of heaven and earth, listen to how *Col** 1:15* described Him…
§ /He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together./
v This little baby was, is as the Nicene Creed states...
Ø /God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God/
v What humble beginnings…
Ø The God who cannot be contained by the heavens
§ Contained within a little ramshackle barn
Ø The same God who calls the heavens his throne and the earth His footstool
§ *Isa 66:1*
· Contained within a little “feed trough” for cows
v What Humble beginnings…
Ø The Lord of Lord and king of kings not born in the grand halls of a palace full of gold and precious gems
§ But born in a mud and wood hovel full of smelly animals
v What humble beginnings…
Ø His birth was not heralded to the neighboring kings and visiting dignitaries
§ The angel came to declare the most important birth in the history of the world not to the proud, but the humble
· To the lowliest of people
¨ To the shepherds
------------------------
v And isn’t that always who Jesus reveals himself to
Ø To the humble
§ I don’t care if you are a CEO, the President, or emperor
· When you come before the Lord it is always with your hat in your hand
v And when you give your life to the Lord…
Ø It is never with pride, arrogance or self-importance
§ But with a humble and contrite heart
· *Lk 11:14*
¨ /For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”/
v And it is to the lowly, humble shepherds that the second voice speaks…
* *
*2:8-21 ~~ The Angelic Voice*
v An angel of the Lord appears to the shepherds and says…
Ø *READ V. 10-11*
v The angel tells us three very important things about this child…
Ø He is…
§ Lord
· This is a powerful descriptor of who this child is!
¨ Used 9,000x in OT for the name of God
Ø The word here is the Greek form of the word Yahweh
§ “YHWH” ~~ The Tetragrammaton
· Jews revered the name of God so highly that they would not even write it
¨ Name means “the one who is, the absolute and unchangeable one”
¨ This is a declaration of who this child really is
The angels also declare that this child is…
§ Christ
· The “anointed one”
¨ Anointing in the Scriptures always denotes a special task
Ø Prophets, Priests and Kings were anointed
§ *Elisha* was anointed (1 Kings 19:16)
§ *Aaron* was anointed as the first priest (Ex 40:13-15)
§ *Samuel* anointed both Saul and then David to be king
· And Jesus was the one person that came to fulfill each of those anointings in one person
¨ He is our Prophet
Ø In that he came to speak the very words of God
§ For he was the very word of God
· *John 1:1, 14* ~~/ In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us/
¨ He is our Priest
Ø *READ Heb 9:11-15*
* *
¨ and He is our King
Ø In that He has defeated our enemy for us and rules over us
§ And we have to realize…We are not our own!
· We are bought with a price
¨ Ransomed as Hebrews puts it
§ And as Paul states in *1 Cor 6:20*
· /You were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body/
/ /
v And Jesus was anointed for a very special task…
§ To be our Savior
· This is the only time in the Synoptic Gospels that Jesus is referred to in this way!
¨ Jesus came to save us from our sinfulness
A little boy came running into the house after playing outside.
His mother stopped him and asked what was on his right hand.
He replied, "Oh, just a little mud."
His mother then asked if he was planning on getting it off his hand.
He thought for a moment and said, "Sure, Mom.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9