Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome/Introduction

Welcome to Celebration Church.

We are so glad that you are with us.

If there is anything we can do to serve you and your family, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

We are so glad you are here.

This is truly an exciting time here at Celebration as we enter our Heart for the House season and series.

We have a Heart for the House because the house had a heart for us.

That simply means, we have all benefited from the grace of God.

Many of us have come to faith in a place like this.

This season, where we discuss stewardship, allows us to remember how we have benefited from the sacrificial stewardship of others and how God invites us to be a part so that it can benefit others and ourselves.

We just concluded our Exodus series.

If you missed any part of it, please go back and listen to it because I believe it tells the story of where we are as a church and it is all connected.

A few weeks back we shared...

The context of this passage was meant to show that everyone plays a critical part in contributing from what God has blessed them with so that others can benefit from the presence of God.

This theme is expressed throughout the entire Bible.

Later, Paul when looking to encourage and help the churches, let’s the other churches know the needs and vision of the ministry because needs determine vision because otherwise our ambition can cause us to create altars to ourselves that God didn’t authorize.

2 Cor 9:7

We see this theme that we aren’t to be pressured or convinced.

We simply use this season to share the burden God has given us as a church and invite you to partner with us so that God can dwell in these designated areas with your willing contribution.

The Heart for the House language comes from...

Matthew 6:

If you want to know what is really important to someone, look at how they steward their resources.

Meaning, time, talent and treasure.

It’s really a matter of stewardship versus rulership.

So many of the teachings of Jesus strategically addressed this very concept.

We have to ask the question am I a ruler the owns everything or am I stewarding what God has given more and will live a life being sensitive and mindful of how I manage what He has given me?

Our text for today is one of the more popular passages within the narrative of Christ.

In fact there are phrases that in it that seem to transcend our beliefs all together.

Today I want to take a unique perspective on the topic of stewardship and I have entitled this message: What Would You Do?

Luke 10:

Prayer

Lord, we are thankful for all that you have blessed us with.

We recognize that you have given each of us something that can make a difference for someone.

Today we invite your grace as we examine your Word and ask for your wisdom and the strength to obey what it is you will say to us.

Give us open eyes, open ears, and open hearts.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Illustration

I have a bit of a confession for you.

I have a very unnatural fear of becoming famous for the wrong reasons.

Mainly an embarrassing moment that is somehow captured and immortalized with a meme.

It’s actually an exhausting way to live when you think about it.

It’s like every moment you have to be camera ready.

I’ve watched shows like Punk’d and Ridiculousness and some of these other shows and though I laugh, it terrifies me.

That said, there is this one called What Would You Do?

And there is nothing funny about this show.

It typically places a hidden camera in a public setting to record how you would respond to SERIOUS matters.

It’s not like watching someone fall off of a skateboard, it’s like hearing someone use a racial slur, when a child predator tries to lore a child to come with them, someone being harassed by their employer…it runs the gamut.

I literally say to myself, what would I do?

I’d like to think I would get involved.

I’d like to think I would speak up.

I am very passionate about injustice.

However, we live in Florida with stand your ground laws and things can escalate quick.

The last thing I want is for them to place a camera in my face and ask, “sir why did you help and it resulted in you getting into a fist fight in the middle of Target…oh and your a pastor of Celebration Church”.

Or, sir, why didn’t you get involved, don’t you care about people, oh…you’re a pastor at Celebration Church.

I literally can’t win.

Transition

It’s a provocative thought, what would you do?

What would you do with these situations.

What do you do when you see a homeless person on the street corner?

What do you do see the person with their car broken down?

Simple question with not so simple answers.

With that understanding, I enter this text and ask myself, what would I do?

What would you do?

From our seat and with the answers we know the answer.

However, in real time…what would you do?

With that understanding, I enter this text and ask myself, what would I do?

What would you do?

From our seat and with the answers we know the answer.

However, in real time…what would you do?

A homeless person on the street, what would you do?

Background/Context

Let’s evaluate the facts.

Jesus is having a conversational teaching.

His disciples have just returned from an evangelistic outing and our Lord was giving them some insight on ensuring their focus is on relationship and not get distracted by how God used them.

Because, we can often get so lost in what God does through us that we stop paying attention to who God is to us and we confuse what God permits with God’s permission.

The conversation of Love comes up.

Ultimately, it was a desire to trap Jesus into drawing boundaries around what God really expects from us.

Whenever you find yourself at a place of asking where do I draw the line, just ask yourself, where did God draw the line with me?

You have your answer.

Jesus then expounds on this truth by illustrating His thought through this parable.

Let me set the scene.

A Man

A great deal of detail isn’t provided about the man, who was victimized in this text.

All we know is he was journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho.

This was a downward journey geographically and spiritually, considering Jerusalem was the center of worship and Jericho had become over run with idol worship and self exaltation.

This journey was dangerous as people could be ambushed.

A group of people were all traveling from Jerusalem and going to Jericho.

This was a downhill trip and the road can be dangerous.

So dangerous that the only difference of the survival of such a journey was really a matter of the timing.

Observations/Points

In looking at this passage, I believe there are 3 things that God is showing us in regards to perspective when it comes to stewardship.

Robbers: What’s Yours is Mine and I am Going to Take It

Robber: What’s Yours is Mine and I am Going to Take It

The robber is waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of the first and most vulnerable person that he comes across.

He looks at what the man has and decides I want to take it.

He strips him and beats him.

Have you ever felt like someone took advantage of you?

They saw what you had and took advantage of it.

Took your promotion.

Took your hope.