Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Intro:
I’m an underdog fan.
I love a good underdog story.
I love when the person who isn’t supposed to succeed wins!
Here in New England - I’m going to gag as these words come out of my mouth - we’ve had the privilege of watching the greatest QB of all time play: Tom Brady.
That tastes awful coming out of my mouth, but hey, truth is truth.
That being said, I really loved watching my New York Football Giants beat Tom not once, but twice in the Super Bowl - both times as underdogs!
I love underdog stories.
It just connects with me as a person.
Maybe that’s because I feel like I’ve always been the underdog.
In school, I was never picked first.
Even to this day, I’m never picked first for anything.
It’s cool.
I’ve come to embrace it.
I’m an underdog.
I like it.
I like it so much that I pass it on to my sons as if it is part of our heritage.
My middle son Kade plays football.
He’s a good athlete but he’s one of the smaller kids.
Last year was his first year playing,.
So, he wasn’t just small, but he was also new.
Many times Kade was the underdog.
Sometimes, the kids wouldn’t pick him or give him the ball.
Therefore, after many practices, I’d encourage and build into Kade this resolve to “prove people wrong.”
I’d tell him, “Lims are underdogs.
We aren’t picked first, but we are hard workers and don’t give up.
You keep practicing and show the other kids they were wrong for not picking you!”
And he did!
By the end of the season, Kade won the “For the love of the game” award.
Basically, it was an award for the hardest worker.
And this year, the coach already told him he has big plans for Kade.
He calls Kade his “Wes Welker.”
That’s a smaller football player who made a huge impact on the field.
He was an underdog.
Kade is an underdog.
I love underdogs!
At the end of the season, Kade won the “For the love of the game” award.
Basically, it was an award for the hardest worker.
And this year, the coach already told him he has big plans for Kade.
He calls Kade his “Wes Welker.”
That’s a smaller football player who made a huge impact on the field.
He was an underdog.
Kade is an underdog.
I love underdog stories!
Maybe my love for underdogs is also connected to my perspective on faith.
I love seeing the impossible happen.
Isn’t that a large part of our Christian worldview?
But while overcoming the impossible is an important part of the underdog story, there’s another major aspect I’d like to mention...
I’ve found the underdog story also involves “readiness.”
Typically, the underdog is “more ready” than their favored opponent.
They’ve prepared more.
They’ve worked harder.
They are ready!
Rocky is always a huge underdog.
He’s the street raised fighter who time and time again does the impossible in the boxing ring.
But every once in a while, Rocky loses.
Most of the time, it’s because he’s not ready.
Either he took his opponent for granted; or, even as the underdog, he still isn’t ready for the challenge in front of him.
So really, underdog or not, the principle of readiness is important.
Last week, we started our summer sermon series titled “Ready.”
And it’s a introductory study of the book of Revelation.
And “readiness” is going to be major theme presented in this book.
So far, the apostle John (the one who wrote this book), has briefly presented us with this in his introduction.
And as he continues here in chapter one, we’ll see it even more.
If you have your Bible/app, open up to and look at what John says...
Exegesis:
Somebody say, “Get ready.”
In this passage, John is beginning to tell us about the revelation He received from Jesus.
He starts by connecting with his audience relationally.
He says, “Hey, we’re family and we’re all in this together.”
Next, he moves onto to tell us where He is and why is there.
Then, he describes his initial experience and what was first said to him.
I believe all this shows us something important: That John was ready to hear Jesus when He spoke.
I see this in two ways:
First, John listened to Jesus.
John listened to Jesus.
Before the cross, Jesus said:
When Jesus told John that in this life, he was going to face hard things, John listened.
And when Jesus said, “Take heart, because I have overcome the world,” John listened.
That’s why 60 years later, John can say...
I am your brother and partner in tribulation.
John embraced the hard things he was going through.
Why?
Because he’s some weirdo who likes going through hard things?
No! Because he listened to Jesus when He said, “You WILL go through hard things.”
Christianity is not the removal of hard things in our life.
That’s hard for us to process here in our blessed country.
A country where we’ve had men and women sacrifice their lives for us to have the great freedoms we have, including freedom to worship.
Something we are remembering this weekend.
Here’s the thing… while this freedom may be ideal, it isn’t the norm.
The norm is what Jesus said, “You will have tribulation.”
It was for John (and really the rest of the world).
That’s why John says, “your brother and partner… in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus.”
Based on the language, the sense is tribulation, the kingdom, and patient endurance are all normal parts of living “in Jesus.”
They belong together.
And that’s why when John also says that he’s been banished to the island of Patmos for preaching the gospel, he’s okay with it!
He’s like, “I’m ready.”
He’s ready because He listened to Jesus who told him what to expect.
2.
He not only listened TO Jesus, he continued to listen FOR Jesus.
Although he’s suffering, going through tribulation, patiently enduring - waiting and praying - for God to help him, he’s still worshiping.
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