Sermon Tone Analysis

Hey guys!

You have no idea how excited my family and I are to finally be here at East!

It seems like it’s been FOREVER since we preached in view of a call here.

But it was just back on November 24.

And we are now here in 2020 and we get to begin a new chapter in the history of East.

But listen don’t panic… It’s the same book.

Just a new chapter!

I need you to know that I have no intention of changing everything you know and love about this church!

I hope to convince you of that through three of the next four weeks and Andy John’s coming back next week to preach in that same vein.

If I could sum up what I would love to see God do here in the coming days is for us to SEE CLEARLY.

For us all to SEE CLEARLY the next steps God has for us.

For us to SEE CLEARLY why in the world God planted this church here in Harvest.

That’s why I’m focusing the next few weeks on this very thing: 20/20 SEEING CLEARLY.

I want to let you know where we are going the next few weeks in our messages.

Our goal over the next four weeks is to put your hearts and minds at ease about this transition stuff!

Yes, I am the new Campus Pastor here at East.

But I need you to know that I have no intention of changing everything you know and love about this church!

I will do that through three of the next four weeks and Andy John’s coming back next week to preach in that same vein.

We as pastors hear lots of strange requests, comments, and questions.

That’s why so many pastors write books.

Y’all give us great material!

I have served in two other churches through my 11 years of ministry.

In both of those I was coming into a pastoral position that didn’t exist prior and my purpose was to create systems and ministries that didn’t exist prior.

I was coming in with a blank slate and had to design things from the ground up.

That can be greatly rewarding but at the same time, it is a lot of work!

But there is one honest question that I have gotten over and over again in my ministry...

PRAISE GOD, that is not the case here!

I recognize that this church is a healthy one.

I believe there are lots of really good things going on here, and I have no intention of trying to “shake things up” just because I’m the new guy.

I simply want us to take the healthy gameplan that is already in place and keep running the race!

In both churches I have served in previously, I got one recurring question from people in the church...

How can I get plugged in here?

That is a question that honestly most churches don’t have an answer to!

They might lay out 75 different Bible Study options for each week and Sunday morning worship, Sunday night worship, Tuesday morning fellowship, Wednesday night prayer meeting, Thursday night visitation, and the list might go on and on.

It can be a great thing to have lots of things going on, but it can also be confusing for those just coming into your church.

I simply want us to take the healthy gameplan that is already in place and keep running the race!

We want everyone to be a part of the Gathering, a Groupand the Movement of God

We have a simple process here at East that I love and you will hear me say it over and over and over in 2020.

We want everyone to be at the Gathering, be in a Group and be a part of the Movement of God

I love that simple, yet deeply profound process!

Over the next three weeks, I am going to talk about each one and lay out how we should think about each one moving forward.

So, in light of that… I want to remind you of what we are about here at East through my first three messages.

We are calling it “Seeing Clearly” because we want to help you see clearly what we are seeking to see happen here.

For a while now, you have heard your staff define what it looks like to be a part of East as

We want everyone to be a part of the Gathering, a Groupand the Movement of God

Gathering

Group

Those are three simple, yet deeply profound steps.

Over the next three weeks, I am going to talk about each one and lay out how we should think about each one moving forward.

Over the next three weeks, I am going to remind you of what those three things are and how we should think about each one moving forward.

Be a part of a Group

This morning, we will look at the Gathering.

And by “gathering” I’m talking about this Sunday morning time mainly (though it would also include any church-wide events like fellowships etc).

Through this message I hope that you see the emphasis that we make to center each and every worship service around God and who he is.

We aren’t throwing darts at songs on the wall and snagging sermons off the internet.

Your staff has been and will continue to be GREATLY INTENTIONAL in what we do in this hour plus time together each week.

Be a part of the Movement of God

Those are three simple, yet deeply profound things that I am going to take one week at a time to walk through.

This morning, we will look at the Gathering.

Through this message I hope that you see the emphasis that we make to center each and every worship service around God and who he is.

We aren’t throwing darts at songs on the wall and snagging sermons off the internet.

Your staff has been and will continue to be GREATLY INTENTIONAL in what we do in this hour plus time together each week.

This morning, we are going to look at two desires that are at the heart of your staff as we prepare each week for our worship services.

By knowing these two things, I believe you can SEE CLEARLY what we want this time together each week to be about.

These two desires are actually from the heart of Moses in the book of want to read verses 12-17 of chapter 33 aloud, then I’ll pray, and we will come back and start studying this guy together.

Sound good?

Look with me at

PRAY

The interaction Moses has here comes at an important time in the history of God’s people.

If you are unfamiliar with the Old Testament, a majority of it tells the story of God leading a group of people who become known as Israelites.

Though God continued to help them and protect them, they found themselves enslaved in the largest empire of that time which was Egypt.

Moses was an Israelite that God used to lead these people out of Egypt and slavery.

God leads them out of Egypt in some crazy miraculous ways that you can read about in the previous chapters in Exodus.

And now, God has called Moses to climb this mountain called Sinai.

There, on that mountain, God speaks with Moses.

God begins to reveal things about Himself to Moses and explain to him how this newly freed group of people are to worship him.

He explains things like the sacrifices they will make, what the temple will look like, what sin is, and things like that.

There is one very important thing God gives Moses here…

The Ten Commandments.

God gives Moses the Ten Commandments to pass along to the Israelites right here on Sinai.

The verses I read earlier are towards the back end of that conversation.

So, Moses has just had detailed plans spoken to Him about how to inlay walls with gold and where jewels need to be in the temple.

He’s heard how to cut the throat of certain animals as sacrifices for their sin, how to divide each one up, and which parts are to be burned, eaten by the priests, and destroyed.

If I’m Moses and I’m getting all that, I’m gonna be like Trixie the dinosaur from Toy Story 4...

God, “I have a question.

Um, well actually not just one, I have all of them.

I have all the questions.”

But instead of asking about all those things, Moses inquires of two things… Moses asked them for him personally.

I’m going to make them for all of us and not individual.

1. Help Us Know You

Moses had just had a wild and overwhelming interaction with this God, but what was he really like?

Who was God on a deep level?

What is his character like?

What makes him tick?

What does he do and what does he desire his people to do? WHO IS GOD?!

Moses asks God in verse 13 “please, teach me your ways!”

In that question are all the questions I just asked.

And what is the outcome of learning God’s ways?

“AND I WILL KNOW YOU.”

When we learn the ways of God, we come to understand him deeper!