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.
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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Suffering is not Optional
Gods call is always difficult
Suffering is not optional
God speaks
Intro:
Hey everyone my name is Steven Montgomery
I am blessed to have the opportunity to hang out with you guys two weeks in a row!
I help plant this church as part of the original core team and served as the original pastor to students.
In 2015 God called my wife and I to plant another church in central Austin.
With the blessing of Scott and the support of the Grove we embarked on that mission.
The Grove was only a year old and had already planted its first church which I think is pretty cool.
We set out to plant a church while working full time and having just had our first child
For those who dont know me and for those who do, I thought I would fill you in a little on what is going on in my life.
Austin Chapel started with my wife and I, we just had had our first child Lincoln who was only 3 weeks old when we started the church and I was working full time running my painting company .
By Gods grace the first year we grew from my wife and I to over 70 people and four community groups.
We met in a small comedy club which we outgrew and moved to a larger comedy club.
I was the original Youth Pastor here at the Grove
We were seeing new faces every week, un believers were attending our community groups and our Sunday gathering and people were getting saved.
Our church was full of mostly young singles, and some newly married couples.
At the end of 2015 my wife and I set out to plant a church in central Austin.
We called the church Austin Chapel
The second year we started to have a more difficult time.
What began with my wife and I grew, We met in a small comedy club that we eventually outgrew.
We could not seem to bring on mature leaders.
We had a lot of young 20s singles and newly married couples.
And in many ways Austin Chapel was a very effective young adult ministry.
During the three years 21 people made decisions to follow Christ
However we met all lot of trials, disappointments, discouragements and closed doors.
At the end we really lacked the ingredients that make a church sustainable long term.
Our trailer full of equipment was stolen.
Additionally as my wife and I sought the Lord we felt he confirm to us through prayer and scripture that the season of Austin Chapel had come to a close.
Year three we had even more difficulty, leaders we did manage to bring on had to step down for various reasons.
So we closed down the church at the end of the year.
A number of people moved out of city and state
Closing down the church was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do.
We were nearly given a free building from a baptist church which then fell apart at the last minute because of gossip and lies, not from our church but the other.
Church planting was rough and in many ways I felt like I got beat up.
Meanwhile my wife and I had had a second kid and I was still working full time.
For me the only thing harder than planting the church was shutting it down.
I am confident the Lord called us to do it, And I am confident when we he spoke to me that it was time to close it down that it was the right thing to do.
I have no regrets.
I and I am 100% percent sure that he used our church for those three years to expand his kingdom.
It simply was just for a season and now God wants us to move in to a new season.
It was difficult and it was hard but it was worth it.
Transition:
We were short on leaders, had dipped in attendance and finances and we were all around discouraged, and tired.
My sermon title is “Suffering is not Optional”
One of the reasons I have not wanted to share the story with people is because it is not easy to share and I dont want people to think I am making excuses or complaining.
I share all this not to complain I am in no way complaining or making excuses, I knew what I signed up for and I knew it was going to be difficult.
My sermon title is “Suffering is not Optional”
Ok maybe I didn't know it would quite be this difficult.
But
I loved our time planting Austin Chapel and I have no regrets in it.
I am also not sharing this to make excuses.
I dont owe any one an explanation for why it didn't work out.
I sought out to do what God calls men and women throughout history to share the gospel and make disciples.
I did that and am proud of what we accomplished.
In three years we saw 21 people receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
We saw many young people expeience real life change.
We discipled a number of people who grew so so much during that time.
Additionally Myself and my wife both grew during the whole process so so much.
Austin Chapel in many ways was a successful endeavor, we reached many young adults.
We had difficulty getting some of the elements that make a church sustainable long term.
But we did not close our church down because of that, or the dip in numbers, the failure of our supporting leaders, or because of the discouragement.
In fact I had every intention of continuing.
I had plans in place to revamp and move forward.
The honest truth is that God very clearly spoke to me in the China Airport on my way to Nepal.
God told me as a was praying and reading scripture that the season he had called me to had come to its end.
And that he had a new season for my wife and I.
That was not an easy thing to hear.
I had put blood sweat and tears in the Church literally.
I cut my hand several times unloading that trailer.
i had invested so much time into the church and into so many relationships.
I wanted to keep going I wanted to make it work, but God wanted me to move on to the next season.
He has not yet shown me exactly what the next season entails.
But I came back from Nepal and shared with the church what God told me.
We switched to Sunday nights and helped people find new churches in the area.
We had our last gathering in January.
Everyone you know, is either just finished suffering, is suffering, or is about to be suffering.
Life has never promised anything other than suffering.
Humanity has always suffered and everyone of you will suffer.
I know this sounds like a Negative Nancy message and everyone really wants a Positive Peggy sermon.
Thesis:
Positive Peggy sermon
Today I hope we will all walk away better prepared to handle suffering.
S
Today I hope we will all walk away better prepared to handle suffering.
Learning to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives rather than fear.
The gospel is centered on sufferring
the main event in the bible is that Jesus suffeerrd on the cross for you and me
Recap:
Saul was a Pharisee a religious leader on mission to persecute and eradicate Christianity
He hated Christians and had murder on the brain, slaughter on the mind
But he winds up encountering a man named Jesus on the road to Damascus.
And in a moment he is changed in an instant he is a new person.
Saul who was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians meets Jesus on the way and Jesus sends him to Damascus as a missionary to await further instructions.
Saul is now Fasting, he is praying.
And that is where we pick up.
Who is Ananias?
Not the Ananias who had lied about selling property.
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