Sermon Tone Analysis

Two or three years before the death of John Newton, when his sight was so dim that he was no longer able to read, a friend and brother in the ministry called to have breakfast with him.

Their custom was to read the Word of God following mealtime, after which Newton would make a few short remarks on the Biblical passage, and then appropriate prayer would be offered.

That day, however, there was silence after the words of Scripture “by the grace of God I am what I am” were read.

Finally, after several minutes, Newton spoke, “I am not what I ought to be! How imperfect and deficient I am!

I am not what I wish to be, although I abhor that which is evil and would cleave to what is good!

I am not what I hope to be, but soon I shall be out of mortality, and with it all sin and imperfection.

Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor yet what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was: a slave to sin and Satan.

I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge that by the grace of God I am what I am!”

Then, after a pause, he said.

“Now let us pray!”

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning.

Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life.

… through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

It Isn’t Bragging When It’s True

It has only recently become popular to make our heroes more vulnerable.

Those of you who are old enough to remember can compare the Batman and Superman of the 1960s to today’s edition.

The earlier versions were pure, idealistic, iconic examples of what a man should be.

The present editions are dark, brooding men who seem to differ from their foes only in the fact that they view themselves as servants of their communities instead of working for wealth or power.

We would also like to Photoshop our Church heroes.

The Apostle Paul has been portrayed so movingly by Sir Anthony Hopkins that I hear his voice when I read Romans.

In my mind, Paul is eloquent, mesmerizing, - did I mention that he looks and sounds like Sir Anthony Hopkins?

Apparently, his contemporaries did not see Paul the way Hollywood and I do.

Ouch!

Given the importance of oratory in the 1st Century, Paul should have been consigned to the dustbin of history “The main object of education was the mastery of the art of oratory, and the chief practical use of that art was to enable a man to gain a reputation as an advocate in the criminal courts.”

W. Warde Fowler, Social Life at Rome in the Age of Cicero (London: Macmillan, 1965), p.173

Paul says that God used him like He did for a simple reason: so that you would know that God can use you.

The message of the Gospel of the Kingdom does not depend upon our “sinless perfection,” upon our winsomeness or physical attractiveness, no matter how much televised pseudo-evangelism might indicate otherwise.

It depends upon God working in us, both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

We forget sometimes, in our Photoshopped, Facebook boosted world, that we bear witness concerning the Christ who was broken for us.

In Baptism and Holy Communion we are united with Christ in His death.

As we walk in newness of life by the same power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, we can say, with Paul:

Whatever our past might say about us, whether distant or recent, whatever our physical appearance might present concerning us, the important thing is that we know the promise and power of Immanuel: God-With-Us; it truly is “Christ in you, the hope of glory!”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

That message empowered Paul and the other Apostles, who passed that power on to others, the power of faith that “comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of Christ.”

That power is the word of the cross.

That word turned Martin Luther and it turned me, and it turned you.

By God’s power, it will turn those who hear you.

It might be foolishness to some, but so what?

That word turned Martin Luther and it turned me, and it turned you.

With God’s anointing, it will turn those who hear you.

It might be foolishness to some, but so what

God is for us - He said so, and He showed it on the Cross.

That’s enough for me, that is all I need to tell me that Christ in you is more than enough for whatever comes up against you.

So let the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.