Sermon Tone Analysis

After sermon is written, ask these three questions to edit

What do my hearers NEED to know?

What is NICE for them to know?

Where CAN they go (if they would like to know more)?

Keep it to 45 min which is 3000 words.

(Murder the Darlings)

What is the “Elevator Speech”?

Make sure you have a compelling hook!

Why should they listen to you?

Introduction

Attention

Greet everyone (be in front of the pulpit)

Attention (Why should they listen to you?) - What... Is... Truth?

Truth, is it malleable?

Is it something that we can change to meeting our own needs and demands?

Is it based on our emotions?

How do we define, TRUTH?

Quote from Geisler and Turek on Truth...

For example; We demand the truth from:

loved ones (no one wants lies from a spouse or a child)

doctors (we want the right medicine prescribed and the right operations performed)

stock brokers (we demand that they tell us the truth about companies they recommend)

courts (we want them to convict only the truly guilty)

employers (we want them to tell us the truth and pay us fairly)

airlines (we demand truly safe planes and truly sober pilots)

We also expect to be told the truth when we pick up a reference book, read an article, or watch a news story; we want the truth from advertisers, teachers, and politicians; we assume road signs, medicine bottles, and food labels reveal the truth.

In fact, we demand the truth for almost every facet of life that affects our money, relationships, safety, or health.

On the other hand, despite our unwavering demands for truth in those areas, many of us say we aren’t interested in truth when it comes to morality or religion.

In fact, many downright reject the idea that any religion can be true.

As we’re sure you’ve noticed, there’s a huge contradiction here.

Why do we demand truth in everything but morality and religion?

Why do we say, “That’s true for you but not for me,” when we’re talking about morality or religion, but we never even think of such nonsense when we’re talking to a stock broker about our money or a doctor about our health?

Although few would admit it, our rejection of religious and moral truth is often on volitional rather than intellectual grounds—we just don’t want to be held accountable to any moral standards or religious doctrine.

So we blindly accept the self-defeating truth claims of politically correct intellectuals who tell us that truth does not exist; everything is relative; there are no absolutes; it’s all a matter of opinion; you ought not judge; religion is about faith, not facts!

Perhaps Augustine was right when he said that we love the truth when it enlightens us, but we hate it when it convicts us.

Maybe we can’t handle the truth.

Geisler, Norman L.. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Foreword by David Limbaugh) (pp.

35-36).

Crossway.

Kindle Edition.

Truth is true at all times and in all places for all people.

Geisler, Norman L.. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Foreword by David Limbaugh) (pp.

35-36).

Crossway.

Kindle Edition.

This goes for the things listed as well as morality and religion.

Something cannot be true and false at the same time...

Just at 2+2 is always 4 and can’t equal 5 ever, so Islam and Hinduism can’t both be right simultaneously.

They can both be wrong at the same time but they can’t both be right.

And this is the challenge we face as Christians in a pluralistic, relativistic world.

We deal with a culture that asks the same question Pontius Pilate asked of Jesus 2000 years ago.

“What is truth?”

Well, I’ll tell you, we know intrinsically what truth is because God has built it into us.

We know what is right and wrong because God has placed it our hearts...

We all, the unbelieving and the believing alike across the world know truth.

The real question is do we like it or not?

Why do we say, “That’s true for you but not for me,” when we’re talking about morality or religion, but we never even think of such nonsense when we’re talking to a stock broker about our money or a doctor about our health?

Although few would admit it, our rejection of religious and moral truth is often on volitional rather than intellectual grounds—we just don’t want to be held accountable to any moral standards or religious doctrine.

So we blindly accept the self-defeating truth claims of politically correct intellectuals who tell us that truth does not exist; everything is relative; there are no absolutes; it’s all a matter of opinion; you ought not judge; religion is about faith, not facts!

Perhaps Augustine was right when he said that we love the truth when it enlightens us, but we hate it when it convicts us.

Maybe we can’t handle the truth.

Geisler, Norman L.. I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Foreword by David Limbaugh) (pp.

35-36).

Crossway.

Kindle Edition.

So, my friends, I will not argue for truth this morning.

Truth does not need my assistance.

You know intrinsically, emotionally, experientially and intellectually that truth is true.

Otherwise if truth were malleable like play-dough, I could come and take your wallet with all your money and you could say nothing about it when I do so because I believe what I am doing to be true.

And who are you to say any different because truth in the moral realm is up for debate?

Of course not!

Need - What we do need to process is what to do with truth.

How do we handle truth?

Truth is very real!

Truth is alive!

Truth demands a response.

Need

Need - Folks, the reality is, we need truth, for without it, we wouldn’t exist.

But also we need to understand that we can KNOW

Bridging Sentences

This is exactly what we see in this morning.

We see three different types of people interact with the truth.

And there is much we can learn from these interactions.

Perhaps you will see yourself in these interactions?

Or perhaps you will learn how to minister to those with these reactions?

Subject:

Subject:

Modifier:

Modifier:

Textual Idea:

Main Textual Idea: The TRUTH was standing before the Sanhedrin, Pilate and the crowds and they had interesting responses.

Main Idea: What Will You Do With The Truth?

Sermon Idea:

Interrogative: You do have a choice...

Interrogative:

Transition: There are three choices in this text and the first is...

Transition:

Body (Satisfaction)

Body

Division 1 Statement:

1.

Some People Avoid the Truth (vs.

28-32) - We all do this...

Explanation -