Sermon Tone Analysis

Creation formulae

Let there be … it was good

Revolutionary statement.

Our tendency to see a dark side: for example, in reading newspaper, majority in most of cases choose to read something with a negative headline.

It is as if we are eager to find a venue to which we may able to throw out our hatred, anger, and violent emotions.

We Christians are not much different.

Sin and Justification (Law vs. Lawlessness, Grace vs. Disgrace)

Bible begins with , not with 3 ().

The grand opening of the story of God is all about goodness of creation and blessing in it, not the fall of creation and condemnation in it.

First audience: Freed Hebrew in the desert, who are free but not free yet.

For they didn’t have their land (i.e.: requirement of citizenship of Athens).

And they didn’t form a mentality of free people yet.

Nevertheless, they were delivered from Egypt to form a community of God.

What does it take to build such a community?

First of all, a creative language of affirmation.

In this way, they resemble God (image of God), and will be able to create a nation worthy of the name of the Lord.

However as we know, they failed, indeed utterly failed.

They would see something bad, something imperfect, something not satisfactory to their desire.

Manna: ‘What is it’ with an exclamation of joy, or ‘What is it’ with a sense of disappointment and complaint?

(, ).

Of course, Manna is not a feast like a find dining in the 5 star hotel.

However, what do you ask for in the desert?

The result is?

Case Study: Ephraim and Mannaseh

Find something good first.

Make it better since it is imperfect.

Share it with brothers and sisters in the church, and then with the world.

I emphasize brothers and sisters in the church first ().

C. S. Lewis: We are not seeing ordinary people, but those who will become like God some day.

Sam and Frodo: “There is something good in this world.”

Challenge: Language of affirmation = our rule.

If you cannot talk about something good first, no comment please.

And it must be sincere.

Only after then, gently talk about something imperfect.

And talk about how to make it better ‘together’!

No commentator please!

We are players.

We can and we will build a community of God, which worships the goodness of God with joy, which has a fellowship of the saints centered on sharing the goodness of God, which shines His goodness to the world passionately, and come together to the worship with new found joy in winning the souls back to our Father who is supremely good in His creation and redemption in Christ.

Don’t you think this is a worthy task?