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
0.46UNLIKELY
Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
0.69LIKELY
Sadness
0.54LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.58LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.52LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.79LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.51LIKELY
Extraversion
0.13UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.47UNLIKELY
Emotional Range
0.47UNLIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
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Excited
The difference the hope of heaven makes in lives
Concerns
Am I Crazy?
Everyone has an opinion they believe to be fact
Not open to talk about possibilities
Paul, John, and Ezekiel
Paul, John, and Ezekiel
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
Not a theology on heaven
Not trying to set the record straight
Humble approach something real but hard to understand
My goal is to move us as a church towards being people who have a healthy and visible hope of heaven; that people will see that our belief is reflected in our lives.
Reasons for Our Discomfort with the Subject
The world values religion for morality, raising kids, celebrating life, and comforting death
But the minute you say it is real… the discomfort sets in
morality
1843 Karl Marx Quote - Religions is the opiate of the masses
Religion is false
People who believe are decieved
People who believe are the simple ones
Believers have stopped talking about heaven
We want to put it off
We don’t want to miss out on some things in life
We may acknowledge, but we don’t believe
The Church is Best When It Believes
When people know what awaits them in heaven, the greater the contentment they will have at every stage of life.
Helping the sick and dying
Fighting persecution and hate with love (slaves, Roman church, St. Patrick)
Giving up our lives to give life to others (missionaries and apostles)
Pioneer Christians
Fighting persecution and hate with love (slaves, Roman church, St. Patrick)
Giving up our lives to give life to others (missionaries and apostles)
Pioneer Christians
What if Karl Marx was right?
Evidence for Heaven
Unarguable evidence for the reality of heaven - No one disagrees
Death is Wrong
Man was not made for earth
We are unique and vastly different
Art, reason, music, industry, creativity
Humans are the only creatures who don’t settle in to their environment.
We change it rather than adapt to it
Genesis 11:4
The Word does not satisfy
Song from the Greatest Showman
We yearn for more.
We aren’t satisfied without eternity
Carl Sagan’s Cosmos
A true materialistic atheist should not be searching for more
C.S. Lewis quote #1
Every Desire has a real object
C.S. Lewis quote #2
We seek a higher standard
Justice, Equity, Peace.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Romans 2:
Here is the paradox:
The more we try to make earth into heaven, the farther we get from it.
“What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it heaven.”
― Friedrich Hölderlin
The attempt to make heaven on earth invariably produces hell.
- Karl Popper
I considered adding another point
Our Heroes are those who lived for something greater than this life.
We seek a perfect relationship
to be unconditionally loved and accepted
fully known and understood
Pursued at any cost
Conclusion - Opiate or Blindness
So who is deceived?
Before Karl Marx, there was God
Romans gives us a little clear understanding of the motivation to not see the obvious
Romans 1:18-
Jesus’ Witness
And none of the evidence takes into account the words of the eyewitness, Jesus.
The life of Jesus was fully pointed to eternal life; he didn’t try to build a kingdom here, but point people to a kingdom that already existed.
Denial has not ended the search
People who deny heaven are still looking for it.
The reality of God and heaven is as clear as the nose on their face.
In their pride, they are blind
Jesus’ Witness
Most aren’t ready to believe
You can’t make someone see the truth
But what about you?
We, who believe in the reality of heaven, cannot let the world shame us into silence.
The greatest argument for the reality of heaven are people whose lives reflect that reality.
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