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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We live in a world of drama.
None of us like drama, but many of us help produce it.
Social media has many positive characteristics but can also help to create and sustain drama.
We cannot please everyone.
We try our hardest but it doesn’t work.
I must admit this is a hard lesson I am still learning.
Joseph was a “good” man.
Joseph is a young man, probably only about 16-20.
Mary herself would have been around 12-16 at this time.
Just teens.
But, the greatest moment in history was not given to those who are “old” enough, smart enough, but for those willing and able to follow God.
The dilemma Joseph faces is a reminder that being good doesn’t not make you free from stress, hardship and difficult times.
Matthew paints Joseph as an ideal Jew and a faithful one.
Yet, when God shows up it can cause hardship.
The fear of disapproval.
Regardless of the decision Joseph was going to make, someone was not going to be happy.
He divorces Mary, he hurts the one he loves and possibly disappoints her family.
He marries her and now the community reeks of disapproval, maybe even his own family.
He can do it publically in order to save his skin, prove he is righteous.
But then Mary dies.
He can do it quietly and some will always wonder what happened but Mary is left with less shame, less dishonor.
This fear can lead to shame.
Shame leads to thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, not being good enough.
Shame does not care if it is 100% true, it only needs a little bit and it will go a long way.
Sometimes shame starts with truth, I did _____________ wrong.
Yet, it never stops there, it always assigns value.
Tension: Grace vs Truth.
This is the world of Joseph, and ours today.
We want to be gracious but we don’t want to be known as letting people get by with things.
We want to be truth bearers and give people the truth but we don’t want to be legalistic.
Justice and compassion.
Joseph doesn’t compromise God’s plan.
Jesus came full of grace and truth.
He is our example.
Yet, if I am honest this doesn’t always help.
It actually “muddies” the waters some.
The role of the Holy Spirit in transformation.
In obeying God we may miss the Holy Spirit.
Joseph was a righteous man, doing everything according to the Law.
Yet, until the angel came to him, he was willing to divorce Mary for the sake of the Law.
Thus he could have missed the work of the Holy Spirit because of his righteousness.
Joseph had to decide what was most important, God or God’s law?
How open am I to the Holy Spirit?
How open am I to allowing the Holy Spirit to change things?
I do not think this means every “new” thing or every “change” is necessarily Spirit enabled.
But throughout Scripture it seems that when the Holy Spirit is on the scene something new and different takes place.
New may be the wrong word.
The result is almost always transformation.
How have I have been transformed this year?
Pray/Seek Christ’s direction.
I think is exactly what Jospeh was doing in some regard.
He
Obedience in the midst of disapproval.
Joseph and Mary probably never could really tell their story.
I mean it is hard to believe, even or especially for us today.
Regardless of what they would say, someone would call them a liar or give their look of disapproval.
We are not responsible for how others will react or respond to the story of God in our life.
We are only responsible to obey Christ.
Christmas reminds us shame is not the end.
I don’t know what shame you may be experiencing.
I don’t know what you are telling yourself or someone else is telling you concerning yourself.
But I know this, shame is not the final answer.
Joseph took upon himself the shame of Mary.
Joseph decided God’s truth was more important than man’s truth.
Jesus took upon himself my shame.
He can do the same for you.
Will you trust him?
Will you allow him to redeem you from your shame?
Following Jesus is not always easy.
Sometimes it will make sense but there will be times which will require faith.
Sometimes we will have the disapproval from other Christians.
Live with an audience of One in mind.
The audience of Christ.
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