Sermon Tone Analysis

Her Strength

Opening:

Can everyone shout, “Strength In Struggle”

This is the title of the series we are in.

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Philippian church encouraging them to do many things, one of those things is to activate strength in their struggles.

Inside every challenge God has given us the ability to get through it.

He gives us tools, weapons, and instructions that if tapped into will give us the victory though Christ Jesus!

(NIV)

27) Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel

27) Whatever happens (no matter what, above all), conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel

28) without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.

This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.

29) For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,

28) without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.

This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.

30) since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

I showed you a clip of one of nature’s most intriguing illustrations of Strength in a Struggle.

Salmon Run.

This is where Salmon travel from the ocean back to their riverbed birthplace in order to reproduce so that the life cycle can continue.

Traveling upstream against powerful currents through lots of dangerous terrain is what it takes for them to achieve their instinctive purpose.

Predators such as bears, lions, and birds make a meal out of the unlucky ones.

But, there are still many who make it to their destination!

Look at the person next to you and tell them, “Someone is going to make, it might as well be me!”

Since it is “Mother’s Day” I thought it proper to look at some particulars of the female salmon and her strength.

The attributes i’ll teach on today are common to many mothers.

Since it is “Mother’s Day” I thought it proper to look specifically at the female salmon and some of their special attributes.

Some of their attributes are common to Mothers!

PP-Today’s topic is, “Her Strength”

A Mother’s strength is not measured by how many pounds she can pick up.

Or how confident she looks when she hides her feelings in a cold world.

A mother’s strength is not measured in how much faith she has for the journey, but a Mother’s Strength is measured in her knowing that it’s in the journey that her faith is made strong.

Her strength is measured by her connection to God and seeking His ways!

And in turn God gives her instinctive abilities and spiritual discernment to see purpose and victory played out through every challenge.

(NIV)

4Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

4Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The same word is used to describe a woman’s natural characteristics.

“Take Delight” ʿā·nǎḡ - effeminate, pertaining to feminine attributes not typical of a man, as soft and pleasing to the touch, or sensitive to be touched.

Swanson, J. (1997).

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.).

Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

She trust God for her life and then he blesses her!

Swanson, J. (1997).

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.).

Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

She trust God for her life and then he blesses her!

There is a woman in the bible that exhibits some of a woman’s vast strength that I’d like to highlight for today.

PP- (NIV)

21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

24Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.

He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.

22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!

My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

25In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet.

23Jesus did not answer a word.

So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

26The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia.

She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

27“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

25The woman came and knelt before him.

“Lord, help me!” she said.

28“Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

29Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

27“Yes it is, Lord,” she said.

“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

30She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

28Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith!

Your request is granted.”

And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Here in Syria, however, Jesus and his band are on alien soil, no longer surrounded by monotheistic Jews who automatically connect morality with deity.

Tyre was a pagan city; its citizens would only understand this healer as one of many itinerant wonder-workers, more on the order of a magician than a holy man.

For the Greeks, and indeed for most of the Middle Eastern peoples, healing had no necessary connection to holiness.

Exorcism in particular was the special province of magicians.

In their eyes, supernatural powers could only be manipulated by sorcerers adept in occult skills.

Beyond Galilee lay Syria, a stretch of coastland settled in past ages by the seafaring Phoenicians.

To this region, homeland of Israel’s ancient enemies, Jesus retreats with his disciples.

They have recently been under attack from the Pharisees for failing to observe certain hand-washing rituals.

Needing a break from these extended and heated controversies, they find a safe haven in the coastal city of Tyre.

Because Jesus hopes to remain incognito while there, he stays indoors so that he won’t be recognized and thus draw the crowds that inevitably congregate around him.

Nevertheless, a native of the region, a Greek woman, discovers his presence in the community and slips into the house.

She’s not there to get his autograph though.

She has an urgent request: A demon possesses her daughter and she wants Jesus to get rid of it.

Beyond Galilee lay Syria, a stretch of coastland settled in past ages by the seafaring Phoenicians.

To this region, homeland of Israel’s ancient enemies, Jesus retreats with his disciples.

They have recently been under attack from the Pharisees for failing to observe certain hand-washing rituals.

Needing a break from these extended and heated controversies, they find a safe haven in the coastal city of Tyre.

Because Jesus hopes to remain incognito while there, he stays indoors so that he won’t be recognized and thus draw the crowds that inevitably congregate around him.

Nevertheless, a native of the region, a Greek woman, discovers his presence in the community and slips into the house.

She’s not there to get his autograph though.

She has an urgent request: A demon possesses her daughter and she wants Jesus to get rid of it.

Many layers of history and culture lie beneath this apparently heartless reply.

Mark’s description of the woman emphasizes that she is Greek both by birth and religion.

Yet she is not the first non-Jew to beg for Jesus’ help.

Already he has healed the Roman centurion’s slave.

But that was back in the Jewish province of Galilee, and the centurion, recognizing his delicate position as an outsider, demonstrated a sensitivity to Jewish religious tradition by forbearing to ask Jesus to come to his Gentile home.