Sermon Tone Analysis

Back to the Basics

INTRODUCTION

I love baseball!

It is probably my favorite sport followed closely by football.

I just love to watch, as my grandfather would say, men playing a boys game.

It was so fun growing up south of Atlanta and getting to root for the Braves.

I cheered them on in 1990 when they battled for the worst record in baseball.

They lost almost 100 games that year.

My grandmother would say that she never saw a team work so hard to lose a baseball game!

Then, 1991 rolled around.

The Braves hit the field, and it seemed that they could not be beaten!

They went from worst to first!

That was the start of a bit of a baseball dynasty.

There were a few seasons along the way when they would slug it out with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They won some and they lost some.

When I moved to Pasadena in April of 2016, we faced some real culture shock!

The cost of living was and is astronomical.

There are so many people!

There are so many homeless!

There are so many liberals!

Worst of all, there were so many Dodgers fans!

When I moved to Pasadena in April of 2016, we faced some real culture shock!

The cost of living was and is astronomical.

There are so many people!

There are so many homeless!

There are so many liberals!

Worst of all, there were so many Dodgers fans!

I had a pastor give me a piece of advice.

He said, “Don’t try to turn Californians into Georgians, and be from the place where God calls you.”

As I thought and prayed, it hit me - I need to be a Dodgers fan!

The transition has been difficult, but it helps that they are really good!

Through my years of watching baseball, I noticed something.

Even the best pitchers practice throwing the ball and the best hitters practice swinging the bat and hitting the ball.

That is the same thing little league players do.

It does not matter how proficient they get, they still practice the basics.

In the Christian life, we must be intentional in doing the right things and for the right reasons.

We must, as Jesus said, “observe to do” as He taught us.

We need to get back to the basics.

In , Jesus gives John a message to write to the angel, or the pastor, of the church at Ephesus.

Notice what He said.

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;  2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:  3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;  2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:  3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

No matter how long you have been saved, you need to do the first works.

If we are going to reach the world with the Gospel, we need to do the same things we did when we first got saved.

We need to get back to the basics.

Using an acrostic of Basics, we will look at six areas of the Christian life to which we need to return.

BASICS

BASICS

Bible

It cannot be stressed too much that you and I MUST be faithful to the Word of God.

Whether you use a leather bound, paper back, hard back copy or whether you read it on an electronic device, you need to read the Bible every day.

Do not stop there.

Don’t just read it; do it!

Obey it!

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

23  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

When you read the Bible and do what It says, you will find that you are more aware of the traps the enemy sets for you.

You will find that you are experiencing victory more regularly in your life.

The Bible will not make you sinless, but It will help you to sin less!!!

  BETH.

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

Read It!

Obey It!

Study It!

  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Meditate on It!

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Keeping God’s Word on your mind and heart will help you to remember the principles by which you should live.

This will lead to blessings.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Memorize It!

  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

tells us that the Bible is a sword to use in our battles with our enemies - the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The Greek word for sword used here speaks of a short sword, a little longer than a dagger that is used in hand to hand combat.

It was used when fighting the enemy up close.

When our enemies come with temptations, attacking us, we can use our Sword to fight as Jesus did in .

Satan brought specific temptations, and Jesus fended him off with specific verses.

In order to know what verses you can use, Read the Bible, Obey the Bible, Study the Bible, Meditate on the Bible, and Memorize the Bible!

Accountability

Accountability is an area of our lives that is so vital, yet so neglected or rejected.

We need our brothers and sisters helping to hold us accountable!

We need to allow them entrance into our lives and be honest with them in order for the accountability to work!

We need to care enough for others to provide accountability for them, and we need to recognize that if someone cares enough to check in with us, they are not being nosy busybodies.

They CARE!

Another reason people get depressed is hyper self focus.

Did you know there is a selfie museum where you can go in and take selfies with all kinds of fun and crazy backgrounds?

Instagram and Snapchat is all about telling everybody how awesome you are.

So we constantly check to see if anyone has liked our posts.

If there are not enough likes, we feel worthless.

There are people who battle depression because of some tragic situation where someone has abused them.

Sometimes, there are real physical issues that leads to depression.