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
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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‘Cause it’s a Bittersweet Symphony this life’.
Song by The Verve resonates with our experience.
Which explains why it has been covered and used in films and is the song used by ITV before England matches.
Ironic!
Don’t remember much sweetness!
We have grumbling hearts
Whether or not you know the song, you’ll recognise it’s a good description of life: bittersweet.
That’s your life, isn’t it?
More bitter than sweet, perhaps?
Chart the last few years or decades and it feel like it’s been one trial after another.
For some of you there’s been so much bitterness that it’s hard to remember much sweetness at all.
So if you’ve reached a period of relative calm you’re always looking for the next storm on the horizon.
The theme tune of your life isn’t B-S Symphony but There may be trouble ahead.
We have a gracious God
When a person becomes a follower of Xt life can often go from bad to worse.
The Xn life is no beach but a battle.
If you become a Xn there will be trouble ahead.
Many of you know that.
At least, you know it now.
Israel have just been rescued by the LORD through the Red Sea.
They’re standing on the beach as they watch their sworn enemies drown under the waves.
They sing and celebrate.
We would be tempted to stretch out and catch some rays upon the golden sands.
But the LORD doesn’t rescue people for the beach.
He has a much greater blessing.
We get a picture of it at the end of the passage in v27, Elim.
Elim is the Oasis, the place of blessing, a mini Promised Land.
It’s stands for the NH & NE in NT currency.
But here’s what Israel and what we need to know: Marah is on the way to Elim.
Marah is on the way to Elim.
Elim is the place of blessing, it’s a mini Promised Land, it stands for the NH&NE.
Marah is the place of bitter trial.
And the Lord leads us to blessing via bitterness.
Elim is the place of blessing.
Marah is the place of bitter trial.
And the Lord leads us to blessing via bitterness.
Marah is on the way to Elim.
Oh we wish this were not true.
We wish we could do a re-direct on the spiritual SatNav and avoid this part of the route to heaven.
But here’s the truth we need to know:
The LORD will Lead you to Bitter Waters
It is not many days before birds are pushed out of their nests and learn to fly.
And it is not many days before the LORD pushes his newborn children into trials and difficulty.
And Israel have barely laid aside their tambourines and they are led into trial.
The quickly exchange songs for suffering, and find themselves in the Desert.
Early trials.
Get out of nest and fly.
So Xn… (Ill: Camp: Make it easy.
No!)
Sometimes in the Prayer Meeting at summer camp someone would pray, ‘Dear Father, thank you that dear Tilly has trusted Christ.
As she goes home, please may her first few weeks as a Xn be easy.
Amen.’
Well, I’m not at all sure I can add my amen to such prayers.
Invariably the LORD leads people into trial just as soon as they submit to him.
Think of Israel here being thrust out into the desert.
Think of the man born blind in , immediately thrown into confrontation with the religious authorities.
I think of my own experience, having to step out of my comfort zone to tell my friends I was a Xn and invite those in my Chemistry Lecture to come to the CU.
Early trials.
Get out of nest and fly.
Trials come early and come in varied forms.
For the 1st 3 days no water, and then they find water, but it’s bitter, undrinkable, brackish water.
Which worse?
We say to the LORD, deliver me from this trial of singleness.
We may get what we want, a partner, but find they don’t care for us and make our lives a misery.
Please Lord, we say, give me this new job, this promotion.
And we find ourselves money rich and time poor.
And we are left asking why am I working such long hours - I never see my family!
And we crave a bigger, better house.
And when we move in we discover the neighbours have parties til 2pm every weekend!
If you’ve ever followed an exercise class and wished for the exercise to end.
Well, it does, and you find that the next one is more painful!
Well, trials take various forms, and sometimes it’s better to learn to endure the one we’re in.
Some trials are massive.
Huge.
Travelling 3 days in the desert with no water is about as big as it gets.
Ever been stuck in a traffic jam on a hot day with nothing to drink?
You even consider the backwash left in the Coke bottle that’s been sitting there 8 months!
Now imagine, 3 days in the desert.
And then you at last think there’s water and it’s a mirage, and is undrinkable!
Imagine.
Do you ever watch those SAS programmes?
The ones where they have to complete a course to see if they’re tough enough?
Running for miles with a burgeon on their backs.
Fighting in mud.
Sleep deprivation.
Interrogation.
I love it!
Pretty quickly the instructors put their finger on their weak spots and try to break them.
‘OK.
They’re scared of heights.
Let’s make them abseil down a 1000ft dam’.
‘Right.
They don’t like water.
Let’s chuck them out of a helicopter into the sea.’
All great stuff.
Great entertainment.
But at the same time, many of those involved grow as they overcome their fears and trust their team and instructors.
For some, it’s life-changing.
When God leads his children into trials he doesn’t play games.
Sometimes things get very serious.
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