Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

The first day of first grade was so exciting for me, I got to go to school all day long.

I was starting to be a big kid!

I can still see the classroom in my memory to this day, I can also remember who my teacher was, but we will leave her name out of this story.

First grade was memorable time for me, but it wasn’t exactly the memories that I thought I was going to have when I started on the first day.

First grade was actually the first time that I could remember that I understood that I was not as smart as other people in my class.

It was the first time I can remember quitting something before I ever started because I knew in my heart that I was dumb.

So how did I come to this conclusion?

One day in class my teacher decided that she was going to break up everyone in different reading groups according to how “smart” you were.

Three different groups with one being the more advanced kids and three being the less advanced kids.

I can remember when she was telling us what groups we were going to be in, I was still naive to think that I was going to be in the advanced group.

She named the names and I didn’t go to the advanced group, I was in the bottom group.

I felt so stupid.

Stupid enough that subconsciously I accepted being below average and is started to show.

Later in the year another event happened that reinforced my “below average” mentality.

One day we were at our reading centers, I was wearing those cool blue headphones listening to a book.

I was a young first grader and while I was in my center I needed to go to the restroom.

Not number one either!

So I asked my teacher for permission to go, but she refused and told me to stay.

I actually pleaded with her, but because I felt unworthy I quit asking.

I really needed to go, and I could not wait so I went.

You guessed it, I went in my pants.

Unfortunately this was in the morning and I was way too embarrassed to tell anyone.

So I suffered it out for the rest of the day.

I actually did a pretty good job of playing it off as the smell got worse.

I walked home that day with my pants still filled with “mush.”

I couldn’t wait to get home.

My mom was sitting on the automan in the house waiting for me.

I came up to her and hugged her hopping she would not smell me, but she did.

She immediately reacted and asked me why I have used the restroom in my pants.

I told her the story about how my teacher had not let me go, and then the momma bear came out.

All I remember from what happened next is that my parents had a meeting with the teacher that I am sure did not go well.

I can remember my mom telling others that my teacher had called me “Stupid.”

This experience formed an opinion in me about myself that lasted my entire school career, until my senior year.

My senior year I met another teacher, her name was Mrs. Scot.

She was not an easy teacher, but she really helped me see something different about myself.

Mrs. Scot was in charge of the debate team for the school, she also taught a lot of advanced classes.

Classes that I never thought I could be a part of.

One day we were talking and she said something that forever changed how I saw myself.

She said “Brett you know you are smart enough to be on the debate team.”

This belief that she had on me came at just the right time.

The words she spoke were life to me!

I immediately agreed with her and started to see myself as smart and not stupid.

I saw myself as a person who could dream and offer something to this world.

From that point on I took education seriously, I have studied and read hundreds of books.

Mrs. Scot helped me so much that day with a short conversation, my hope is that this book can do what Mrs. Scot did for me.

She woke up the dream in me, her words changed my entire focus on life.

God brought Mrs. Scot into this world to inspire me with her dream to teach.

I believe God has a dream inside of every person on this earth and that dream will cause the world to see the beauty of God.

So take this journey with me and lets begin to dream again!

Lets begin to believe that God can do wonderful works inside of everyone of us.

Dream God Has Plan

The meeting was going well, the plan was going to be put in motion.

The plan was to expand the kingdom of heaven and create a place that would be heaven on earth.

The plan was Gods plan and it was a good plan.

In just a matter of six days the entire earth would take on a totally new look, and instead of it being a dormant place that was offering no production, it would be place that had the ability to produce and sustain a life that no where in the universe has ever experienced before.

This new life would rule the earth with presence of love that would drive out any form of hatred and darkness.

Earth would be unlike any place in the universe.

For six days straight something new would be added to the earth.

There would be ground, animals, vegetation, light where there is darkness, and finally there would be creatures created that were unlike anything created before.

Nothing had ever been created with such authority and creativity.

Man was going to live on the earth with delegated power to create a world that looked like heaven on earth.

Man had the ability to oversee the earth, to fill the earth, and subdue the earth.

The had the ability to create more humans from one another.

There minds could be filled with dreams of the future, the excitement of being able to build something incredible.

The father spoke and gave them instructions.

Man was given there responsibilities and their boundaries.

However, they became tempted to do what God asked them not to do.

They listened to the reason of the serpent.

God had a plan and that plan was to see man subdue and rule the earth.

He planted dreams inside of man to fill the earth.

However, that day changed when man chose to be disobedient and eat from the forbidden tree.

Man began to see shame and guilt instead of having a purpose in a dream.

God’s plan was not ruined that day.

God was ready for this moment and he made a promise to restore the original plan to the enemy.

This was the first messianic prophesy in the Bible.

The Father told the serpent that “He will strike your head.”

Who is he?

He is Jesus!

He was going to come and strike the head of the enemy destroying his work forever more.

From this moment on man was now looking for the messiah to come redeem mankind and restore him to his original place.

Jesus is the messiah who would come.

The very first message Jesus ever preached was the affirming His own purpose.

The word repent means to turn and change the way that you think.

Jesus was telling them that the time of the restoration of the Kingdom had come.

Its time to dream again!

The original plan was being restored and evil was being overcome.

What the enemy had stolen Jesus has returned to redeem his creation.

His death resurrection as the perfect sacrifice would wash away all the sin of mankind and return them to the place God originally intented for them.

Created to Dream

I can still remember waking up and driving to the church.

I was a little amped up because we were hosting some pastors for a sectional meeting, so we were going to be busy.

We were all gathered in the fellowship hall of the church when suddenly we got some news that would forever change our lives.

Two plans had flown into each tower of the World Trade Center.

I can remember trying to get a TV together so we could watch the news.

Once the TV was setup we saw what was happening.

I could not believe my eyes.

Fear started to grip my mind.

The United States of America has been attacked, and it was one of the first times in my lifetime that an attack on America soil had happened.

The fear of what would happen the next day or the next year began to paralyze me.