Sermon Tone Analysis

Courage as strength from God

Synopsis

God gives strength to his people.

He enables them to be courageous through his gift of faith.

God proves himself faithful to his promises and enables his people to trust him in everyday life.

Courage through faithful obedience

(NLT) — 11 “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the Temple of the Lord your God. 12 And may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the Law of the Lord your God as you rule over Israel.

13 For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses.

Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!

See also ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

(NLT) — 20 Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work.

Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.

He will not fail you or forsake you.

He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly.

(NLT) — 1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation.

I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.

All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him.

Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

(NLT) — 8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance.

He went without knowing where he was going.

(NLT) — 1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith.

“Abraham!”

God called.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah.

Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3 The next morning Abraham got up early.

He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac.

Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.

4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants.

“The boy and I will travel a little farther.

We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

(NLT) — 17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him.

Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”

19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.

And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

(NLT) — 8 When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim.

And he repaired the altar of the Lord, which stood in front of the entry room of the Lord’s Temple.

(NLT) — 8 In Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests and clan leaders in Israel to serve as judges for cases involving the Lord’s regulations and for civil disputes.

9 These were his instructions to them: “You must always act in the fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and an undivided heart.

10 Whenever a case comes to you from fellow citizens in an outlying town, whether a murder case or some other violation of God’s laws, commands, decrees, or regulations, you must warn them not to sin against the Lord, so that he will not be angry with you and them.

Do this and you will not be guilty.

11 “Amariah the high priest will have final say in all cases involving the Lord.

Zebadiah son of Ishmael, a leader from the tribe of Judah, will have final say in all civil cases.

The Levites will assist you in making sure that justice is served.

Take courage as you fulfill your duties, and may the Lord be with those who do what is right.”

(NLT) — 27 Praise the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem!

28 And praise him for demonstrating such unfailing love to me by honoring me before the king, his council, and all his mighty nobles!

I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the Lord my God was on me.

And I gathered some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem.

(NLT) — 1 While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land.

But in spite of this there is hope for Israel.

3 Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children.

We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God.

Let it be done according to the Law of God. 4 Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight.

We are behind you, so be strong and take action.”

(NLT) — 39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father!

If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.

Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Courage in the face of wrongdoing

The prophet accuses the king of adultery and murder.

(NLT) — 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man!

The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.

8 I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.

9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed?

For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.

See also Azariah and Uzziah; John the Baptist and Herod; ;

(NLT) — 16 But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall.

He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.

17 Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the Lord, all brave men.

18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord.

That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work.

Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned.

The Lord God will not honor you for this!”

(NLT) — 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.”

(NLT) — 7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood.

He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before.

By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.

(NLT) — 24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.

26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.

27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger.

He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.

Courage under pressure

(NLT) — 1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. 3 Let the oceans roar and foam.

Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Interlude

See also ; ; Isaiah’s encouragement of the exiles of Israel; ; ; ; ; ;

(NLT) — 17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.

Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.

(NLT) — 3 Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid.

Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.

(NLT) — 2 See, God has come to save me.

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.”

(NLT) — 22 But take courage!

None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.

(NLT) — 13 Be on guard.