Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Image – Family/Sibling Encouragement

Need

I think we’ve all be there, discouraged and despairing, and longing for encouragement from our family.

Life is hard.

Pain is real.

Discouragement will come.

Everyone needs encouragement through the peaks and valleys of life.

A family should be a place where encouragement flows!

I trust many of you grew up in a home where you were loved and encouraged by your family, and yet that’s not always a reality, for many people grow up in a home that not only lacked encouragement but was filled with emotional, physical, and verbal abuse.

Encouragement is needed in our biological family and in our church family as well.

Today we return to “The ONE ANOTHER Series” that is teaching us how God has called us to live as a church family.

When we open the NT we discover that the church is a family!

The church is not a building but a body of believers, the new covenant community of the Spirit, people who have been reconciled to God and to one another.

Our faith in Jesus Christ unites us with other believers and we are brought together to be God’s family.

Are you a member of God’s family by faith or merely a church attender?

Everyone who has trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Savior are members of this family—it’s a really large family in that we are brothers and sisters in Christ with every believer around the world—and yet we are a local family of believers who assemble as Monument Bible Church in order to worship God, encourage one another, and fulfill our divine mission of developing dedicated followers of Jesus Christ who worship, grow, love, and share all for the glory of God.

Since we’re a family, it’s vital for us treat one another as family and it’s essential for us to live out our responsibilities to one another as members of a family.

Each week we’ve looked at a specific “one another” passage in the NT.

different “one another” passages in the NT that reveals how to live as a church family.

Let’s review (Quiz time)

· Love One Another

· Forgive One Another

· Serve One Another

· Comfort One Another

· Be devoted to One Another

· Pray for One Another (“Family Prayer Guide” with names – how are you doing?!)

· Encourage One Another

Everyone needs encouragement in their life.

The Scriptures contain countless examples of people who encouraged someone or were encouraged by someone—in the OT we read about King Hezekiah encouraged the nation of Israel to be “strong and courageous in the threat of war” (), King Josiah encouraged the priests (), and Nehemiah encouraged the people of Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem—and in the NT reveals that Judas & Silas “said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers” (), Tychicus was sent to the Christians in Ephesus to encourage them ( & ), Timothy was sent to “strengthen and encourage” the believers in their faith (), and we can’t forget about Barnabas who was called “The Son of Encouragement”().

The Bible is loaded with examples of personal encouragement in the life of God’s people.

We should follow in their footsteps and be a church family that is committed to encouraging one another.

Preview

Today we’re going to conclude our summer ONE ANOTHER series with the call to Encourage ONE ANOTHER.

We’re going to review the Biblical definitions of “encouragement” and then turn our focus to three truths about “Living a Life of Mutual Encouragement” from .

I) REVIEWING THE MEANING OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Let’s begin by reviewing how the Bible defines encouragement in the NT.

A few weeks ago we considered several Greek words that are translated “encourage” and “comfort” in our English bibles when we addressed the call to “Comfort ONE ANOTHER.”

We have a lot of different ideas about what it means to encourage one another as a family—“cheer someone up,” “build someone up,” “make someone smile,” “cheer someone on” (Cross country race), or “lift someone’s spirits.”

Let’s review three of the Greek words for encouragement found in the NT in order to have a clear definition of encouragement.

1) Encourage (parakaleo) – “Parakaleo” is the most commonly used word for encouragement in the NT.

Encouragement means “to come alongside someone to urge, exhort, comfort, or help someone verbally or non-verbally.

The Holy Spirit is called “Parakaletos”—the “Counselor,” Helper,” or “Comforter” who would reside within us and be with us forever

2) Comfort (paramutheomai) – Encouragement also speaks of coming alongside to console.

Therefore “comforting” and “consoling” the discouraged, weak, hurt, & fainthearted ( & 5:14) is a form of encouragement.

3) Build up (oikodomeo) – The Greek word “oikodomeo” means “to erect or construct.”

Therefore “to come alongside to “build” one another up ( & ) is another form of encouragement.

We can encourage one another by building each other up verbally ().

I can use my words to encourage you (build you up) or discourage you (tear you down).

With that as a backdrop, if you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn to the book of Hebrews.

If you don’t have a Bible, there is one in the pew, feel free to use that to follow along as we listen to God speak to us through His word.

Today we turn to to consider life-changing truth about “Encouraging One Another” as a church family.

(Read )

II) LIVING A LIFE OF MUTUAL ENCOURAGEMENT ()

highlights two incredible privileges Christians have because of Jesus’ sacrifice—Unhindered Access to God and the ministry of a Great High Priest (10:19-21)—and the response to those incredible privileges (10:22-25).

~ Live a life of unhindered communion with God - “Let us Draw Near” (10:22)

~ Live a life of unwavering perseverance – “Let us Hold Fast to your confession” (10:23)

~ Live a life of mutual encouragement - “Let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds and let us not stop meeting together but encourage one another” (10:24-25)

Our focus this morning is on the call to live a life of mutual encouragement in the family of God in ).

We find the call for “Mutual Encouragement in the Family of God” in two ONE ANOTHER statements.

We learn three vital truths about living a life of mutual encouragement in the family of God in .

1) We must think about how to mutually encourage one another (10:24)

First, We must intentionally think about how to mutually encourage ONE ANOTHER.

Mutual encouragement in the family of God requires careful consideration.

We find this truth highlighted in —“Let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds” (10:24)—the exhortation invites us to carefully “consider” how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

We’re invited to literally “take thought,” “take notice,” to pay attention to,” and “consider closely” the various ways we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

We must carefully consider all the ways (“how”) we can “spur” one another on to a life of love and good deeds.

When I hear the word “spur” I think of cowboy on horseback with “spurs” on his boots used to “goad” the horse to get moving.

This word in the Greek text is typically used for intense emotion (mostly anger) but in this context it’s used positively and means to provoke (positively), and to stir up one another to live a life of love and doing good deeds—it’s the act of positively stimulating one another to exhibiting love and doing good deeds as followers of Jesus.

The spurring on of one another to love and good deeds is an expression of mutual encouragement.

Like the rider of the horse that uses “spurs” to provoke the horse to move we’re called to spur one another on to expressing love and doing good deeds.

This expression of mutual encouragement (spurring one another on to love and good deeds) doesn’t happen by accident or automatically.

Remember the opening invitation—“Let us consider how to spur one another to love and good deeds”—mutual encouragement requires careful consideration from every member of the family.

Application

Have you carefully considered “how” you can spur one another to love and good deeds?

Really?! Are you giving intentional thought to the variety of ways you can motivate a brother or sister in Christ to love and good deeds?

Will you invest time pondering how you will provoke your fellow believers to a life of love and good deeds?

1) Set aside time to think about how to spur on your brothers and sisters!

– I know this sounds crazy for some of you.

Life is busy.

Life is hectic.

You’re going 80 mph in your household.

I get it.

I know there are some seasons that are busier than others.

Nonetheless, you control your own calendar and can make time if it’s important to you.

I hope it’s important to you to set aside time to “carefully consider” how to spur on your brothers and sisters because it’s important to God.

His word calls us to do it.

Are we goin to actually do it?

Set aside some time (15 minutes) this week to “carefully consider” how you will spur on others in this family.

It won’t happen if you don’t invest the time and aren’t intentional with you thinking.

Ask the HS to guide your thinking.

I know this

2) Put your thoughts on paper!

– Make a list of the different ways you can spur (provoke) on your fellow believers to live a life of love and good deeds.

· Hug

· Card

· Text

· FB message

· Invite them to join you in doing a good work

· Gift