Sermon Tone Analysis
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We are introduced to a woman who’s name was Tabitha.
Actually, Tabitha was her name in Aramaic.
Dorcas was her name in Greek.
It was common in that day for Jews who had social or commercial contact with Gentiles to use two names.
We might say that she was The Woman With Two Names!
Like Dorcas, Mother Goodlow was also a Woman With Two Names, and both of her names carried great significance.
For example, the name “Dorothy” means gift of God.
(‘Dorotheos’ is similar to ‘Theodore,’ which means the same thing, God-given, but in reverse!)
She was known by ‘Goodlow.’
The name “Goodlow” means good lad or good servant.
(It was a nickname given to a trusted servant.)
Like Dorcas, Mother Goodlow was a woman with two names, and both carried great significance.
For example, the name “Dorothy” means gift of God (Dorotheos).
(It’s similar to ‘Theodore,’ which means the same thing [God-given] but in reverse.)
We also knew her by ‘Goodlow.’
"Goodlow” means good lad or good servant.
It was a nickname given to a trusted servant.
Like Dorcas, Mother Goodlow was also a Woman With Two Names, and both of her names carried great significance.
For example, the name “Dorothy” means gift of God.
(‘Dorotheos’ is similar to ‘Theodore,’ which means the same thing, God-given, but in reverse!)
She was known by ‘Goodlow.’
The name “Goodlow” means good lad or good servant.
(It was a nickname given to a trusted servant.)
By using the word “this” the author brings our attention away from where she lived or what she was called, to what she did!
And what she did was good works.
In a day where great emphasis is placed on having the right name or brand, it’s good to be reminded that, in the end, what matters most is not where we lived or what we were called, but what we did.
She was full of Good Works
Dorcas wasn’t just full of dreams or plans of doing good; she was full of the actual work of doing good.
And she did these works continually.
(When the bible says, “She was full of good works,” it’s equivalent to saying, “she was continually doing good works.”
Dorcas wasn’t just full of dreams or plans of doing good; she was full of the actual work of doing good.
Therefore, the author includes the words, “…which she did!”
She didn’t wait for someone to give her an opportunity to speak.
She used (she gave) what was in her hand!
The same can be said for Dorothy Goodlow.
She continually did good works.
No one gave of themselves and their possessions more than Mother Goodlow.
She didn’t wait on opportunities to speak.
She used what was in her hand.
When the bible says that she was “full of good works” it’s equivalent to saying that “she spent all her time” or “she was continually” doing good works.
She didn’t just evangelize with her mouth.
She used what was in her hand!
Ecclesiastes 9:10
The same could be said of Mother Dorothy Goodlow.
She used what was in her hand.
I believe her ‘gift from God’ was to serve, and she served God with her gifts (resources).
No one gave of themselves and their possessions more than Dorothy Goodlow!
The same could be said of Mother Dorothy Goodlow.
She constantly gave and served others with her gifts.
No one had a bigger heart, and no one gave of themselves and their possessions more than Mother Goodlow.
She was Sick and Died
Although, Dorcas was “full of good works,” she still got sick and died.
Doing good and living right won’t guarantee that you will live long or never get sick.
In other words, sometimes things happen to good men what should happen to wicked men.
Why?
Is it because the righteous are unjustly punished and the wicked often escape punishment?
Does this mean that the righteous are sometimes unjustly punished?
No, when the righteous suffer they’re being chastened, not punished.
No, it means God has given this life to the wicked as their portion.
This is all the good they’ll ever receive.
This life is not the portion of the righteous.
It means that this life is by and large the portion God has given to the wicked.
This is all the life they will ever have.
On the other hand, this life is not the portion God has given to the righteous.
The disciples had hope
They could have placed her body in a tomb, but instead they washed and laid it in an upper room.
In addition, they sent for the man of God ().
Were they hoping that Peter would come and perform the funeral?
No, they were hoping that God would raise her from the dead!
What about us?
Do we still have hope that the dead will one day be raised?
No, I don’t mean resuscitated like Dorcas.
I mean resurrected like Christ!
,
I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled to understand what Jesus is rerally promising.
Is He promising we will be raised to life when we die?
Or, is He promising that we will never die?
Both.
He’s promising to raise us up from death AND He’s promising that there’s a death we will never experience.
I used to struggle to understand what Jesus was meaning when He said, “Whoever believes on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live…he that believes in me shall never die.”
What is He promising?
Is He promising to raise us up when we die?
Or, is He promising that we will never die?
Both.
He’s promising to raise us up when we experience death and He’s promising that there’s a death we will never experience.
We haven’t come today to raise Mother from the dead, but that doesn’t mean that we’re without hope.
John tells the saints in Smyrna that though some of you may die, you will not be hurt by (experience) the second death!
Knowing this should give us hope.
Such a hope will help us to maintain good works.
Revelation Even if we succumb to death, we believe (and are confident) that the second death shall not hurt us!
Moreover, this hope will help us to maintain good works and combat the temptation to be idle.
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It’s easy to see a person give their entire life to the work of the Lord, get sick and die, and think, “What’s the point?”
1Corinthians 15:5
Even if we succumb to death, we believe (and are confident) that the second death shall not hurt us!
We should work hard (labor) in everything we do for the Lord, because we know that what we do right now will last forever.
Nothing we do is useless when we do it in the Lord (for His purposes).
Men may not appreciate or discount what we do, but we can be sure God won’t!
Hebrews
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