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
0.08UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.02UNLIKELY
Fear
0.08UNLIKELY
Joy
0.7LIKELY
Sadness
0.11UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.56LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.5LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.82LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.95LIKELY
Extraversion
0.12UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.95LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.77LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
INTRODUCTION:
*Open your Bibles to Luke 2
Pray, ask the church to be seated
*Listening Guides Out
In just a few short days, the wait will be over: Christmas will be here
Tonight we’ll have our children’s program
On Friday, we will have a Candle-light service at 6 pm
And then the Peace of Christmas will be here
For some, it will last but for a moment, as the work of unwrapping, cooking, and greeting guests will whisk it away as quickly as it came
For some, it will seem as though it never came, being robbed of peace by
a world of loss,
difficult relationships
and/or hard circumstances
But, for a blessed few, God’s peace will renew and restore them though the celebration of Christmas in a way that cannot be quantified
Peace on earth…is that even truly possible?
Peace from War between nations...
Peace between political parties and rivalries...
Peace between ethnicities
Peace between those who look and think differently than you do
Peace between neighbors & friends...
Is there even peace in our own homes?
How could there be peace on earth?
How could there ever be peace between men and God?
Peace is not what the shepherds expected in the presence of glory
Isn’t fear the right response of sinful man towards the glory of God?
Isn’t this the response we see from the prophet Isaiah,
In the presence of holy God, what fills man is fear, not peace
With our sin and brokenness laid bare, how can we do anything but fear?
“Peace on earth among men with whom He is pleased”-what man is God pleased with?
How can there be peace on earth among men?
Why is it that we wait for peace that we cannot make and do not deserve?
What is it about Christmas that gives us the audacity to hope for such a glorious thing as peace?
Yet, peace is the great promise of Christmas!
In the birth of Christ we find peace we could not have hoped for!
But how?
How is it that Jesus brings us God’s peace?
How can this child in a manger be the key to peace that all men hope for?
Let me show you three ways that He is exactly that, the first is this:
Peace betweenmen and God took the loving act of God
How is Jesus the key to peace?
Because of the love of God.
We could not bring peace with God to ourselves-We had sinned against Him
God is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin
For man to be at peace with God, God had to act
This was true for Isaiah
Isaiah could not purify Himself; God had to act
This is true for us as well-
We were unable to do anything to pay for our sins
We stood separated from God, His enemies in defiance to His law
For us to have peace, God would have to act: but why would God act to bring us peace?
God loves us.
Not because He needs us
Not out of any obligation
God loves us simply because He chooses to
And because God loves us, He acted to save us from His wrath
While God is loving, He is also just:
no sin can go unpunished
Someone had to pay the penalty for our wrong doing
For there to be peace, judgment had to come first
This is the great proof of God’s love for us
That He acted when we hated Him
That He brought peace to children of wrath
Yes, for us to have peace with God took the loving act of God, and secondly
God’s loving act to bring peace took the sacrifice of Jesus
It was sacrifice for the immortal, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, always-present King of the universe to wrap Himself in human flesh
It was sacrifice for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords to take on our humility
In human form, Christ Jesus experienced the only need or want God ever felt
And yet all of these pail in comparison to the sacrifice of the cross.
In the cross, Jesus experienced the most torturous death imaginable
Yet, that wasn’t even the worst part-for He felt the wrath of the Father
For the only time in eternity, God the Father was separated from God the Son because of our sin
In the His death for your sin, Jesus experienced that separation so that you and I don’t have to.
Our peace with God took the loving act of God, in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
This baby born in a manger was born in the shadow of the cross
There is no greater act of love, humility, and sacrifice that could ever be made
Jesus said as much Himself, that
In the peace of Christmas, we learn the true cost of love from God Himself
God loves you so much that He gave you His one and only Son
Jesus loves you so much He took on humility, sacrificed His life for your sins, and endured separation from the Father
It is this love that we are called to imitate in Christ, and it is through His sacrifice in love that Christ is exalted
Our Peace with God takes the loving act of God in sending His Son
It takes the loving sacrifice of Jesus in becoming man to die for our sins,
And finally...
Peace between men and God takes your reception of the Savior
The fear of the shepherds was the right reaction at the site of heaven’s glory,
And yet the angel told them not to fear,
for the Savior had been born
God was dwelling with His people
And the separation caused by sin would end for those that seek Him
There can be peace on earth in the hearts of those that know the Savior
For those that seek Him will find Him-
Be they shepherds or wise men
young or old
broken or shamed
Rich or poor
All that is needed is for you to come and receive your Savior and King
At Christmas, you can find the peace we’ve waited for
Find peace in God’s true act of greatest love in sending His Son
Find peace in the Child born to die as a willing sacrifice
Find peace in a world without peace in the Savior we have been waiting for
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9