Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Emotion
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Anger
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When I was about 15 or 16, I owned some goats and thought it would be a good idea to grow my own corn to feed my goats.
So, I grew two big fields of corn, picked the corn, and stored it away.
That fall, I decided I might want to grow corn or another crop on those fields so I started trying to clear off the grass and stalks of the corn the summer before.
In that process, I figured it would be easier if I just burned the grass and stalks off.
So, I set fire to the field and everything was going well… Until a puff of wind came.
Now, my field was right beside a pine forest that was covered in brown pine straw.
When that puff of wind came, a small little ember from my fire landed on that pine straw.
Before I knew it, the pine forest was set ablaze.
I ran and got bucket of water to throw on it.
Bucket after bucket I poured water on the fire and it did no good.
So, I just stood there, helplessly watching the forest burn down.
The situation became bigger than me.
Try as I might, there was nothing I could do to fix the situation.
And we find the same situation with Jacob in .
The last time Jacob had spoken with his brother Esau, Esau vowed that he would kill him
And now Esau was coming towards Jacob
Jacob was certain He was going to die by the hands of his brother
There is a play on words here in the story of Jacob wrestling God at the Jabbok river
But we miss it in English - we have to look at the Hebrew
Jacob, in Hebrew, is Ya’aqob
Jabbok, in Hebrew, is Yabboq
The Hebrew term for “wrestle” is Ye’abeq
This play on words is to emphasize what had to take place before Jacob crossed over into the promise land
The Jabbok river was the threshold of the promise land.
Ya’aqob (the man) Ye’abeq (wrestled) God at the Yabboq (the river)
Jacob had to have a transforming and life-altering experience with God
God had to transform Jacob into the man he wanted him to be
Jacob had lived his entire life on his own and got whatever he wanted by trickery and scams
If He was going to be the Father of Israel, God had to change that
So, God broke Jacob
He brought him to a breaking point
And just like Jacob, God brings all of us to a breaking point to save us.
Because human beings are too prideful to see their need for God
God has to show us how much we need Him
And God did this in a very strategic way:
The man had to wrestle before crossing the Jabbok
Jacob was Alone
Genesis 32:22-
God makes us feel lonely so that we see that all we need is Him
And people don’t have to be absent for you to be alone
Sometimes the most lonely times in life are when you are surrounded by people.
The story of Magid alone
Jacob was Injured
:24
Genesis 32:
God wanted Jacob to be crippled so that he could not depend upon himself to defeat Esau
God did this many times through the history of Israel.
Gideon’s army of 300 in
We dont glorify our caretaker by refusing their help
Jacob was Renamed
Anytime someone is renamed in the Bible, you should pay attention because something big and important is about to happen.
Abram was a pagan from a foreign land and renamed him Abraham
Genesis 32:26-
Here Jacob is renamed Israel
Jacob (Ya’aqob) means “heel-catcher or trickster”
Israel (Yisrael) means “God strives”
This name change signified what God did to Jacob in transforming Him
And He does the same with us
Salvation is not simply a creed we sing, but a life we live
When the Holy Spirit comes and lives within us, we are transformed, renamed, and become a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:17-
Conclusion:
And Jacob was a transformed man
He brought him to the point where all he had to trust in was God.
And with each step, each limp, Jacob was reminded that all he had was God.
And so, Jacob went to meet his brother, uncertain of what would happen.
When he saw his brother approaching from across the horizon, he was certain that death was only minutes away
But when Esau came near, he ran to his brother, embraced him, and he wept
When Jacob got out of the way, God took care of his situation
When I stood there watching the forest burn up, I realized there was nothing I could do, so I called the fire department and they put the fire out in minutes
They did in minutes, what I could never do on my own
That is what the God of the universe is waiting to do for you and me
2 Corinthians 12:7-
Lean into your weakness and trust in an almighty God
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