Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Emotion Tone
Anger
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Fear
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Analytical
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Anger
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I. Introduction
Prayers
Memory Verse
The Forerunner Foretold
2. Catch-
Something similar happens whenever any great person makes a public appearance; there is always someone to announce his arrival.
When a star athlete takes the field, an announcer introduces him in the starting lineup.
When the president makes a speech, someone says, “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.”
When a celebrity receives an award, another celebrity makes the presentation—the greater the honor, the more famous the presenter.
Jesus was introduced by none other than John the Baptist, whom Jesus himself regarded as the greatest man who had ever lived (Luke 7:28).
Where we’ve been:
We are in the Advent section of Luke still, trying to get ready for Jesus
And if the goal is to be sure of what we believe, how does the beginning help us?
I. 4 faith building examples in the lead-up to Jesus
1.
The righteous example shows the kind of people who honor God (5-7)
2. The honorable people serve God (8-10)
He entered the temple on the greatest day of professional carrier
he would go into the holy place, just shy of the holy of holy beyond the big sheet
3. Doubt can reign in even the most righteous (11-20)
i.
The good gospel (11-17)
1. Explanation
Who is he surprised by in the temple?
An angel, Gabriel (here is a relief from the 6th century AD)
What is an angel?
They are messengers as the word normally implies
The TV show series, the chosen got that right when Joseph and Mary talked about how their messengers came
The word is often translated angels
But the word should commonly be just translated as messengers such as:
I always love to hear about people who see visions angels dancing around, and I know they did not see real angels because that does not fit with the bible’s description
People always fall down when they see angels, like Daniel
So Gabriel had to calm him down by saying, “don’t be afraid.”
Why might he fall down?
What did he have to be afraid about?
There is a famous incident of incense being burned and priests dying
There is not clear understanding of what this strange fire was
But their judgment from was clear.
And now a terrifying supernatural being shows up
How should this affect our discernment when we hear stories about angels
We told one of my kids “You looked like an angel!
Her response was: Uhhh…angels are really scary looking.
People just look at pictures in the children’s bibles, and they think that’s what angels really look like.
But that’s not real.”
The angel says…Do not be afraid & your prayer is heard… verse 19 lets us know instead he has good news
The tense of the greek words can lead us to believe it a singular prayer than ongoing prayers
Does the text say what he prayed for?
What do you think he prayed for?
Does the text actually say your prayer for a son?
Our first thought is that he had prayed for a child.
But, even allowing for the lack of faith with which we so often pray, Zechariah’s blank incredulity when told he would have a son is hard to reconcile with this.
Moreover a priest might well have thought it unseemly to make his private concern the object of prayer at such a moment.
It is more likely that he prayed for the redemption of Israel.
Now he was told that this prayer would be granted.
And notice the grammar.
You prayer has been heard AND you will have a son, saying these things are connected, but he does not say, so you will have a son.
(it’s not completely clear, but a possiblity)
his son will be named John (= ‘The Lord is gracious’)
How does the angel describe John and what do you think his father would think that means?
John will be great
The Promise-Plan of God: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments (John the Baptist: The Call to Repentance and Preparation for the Kingdom of God)
The record of John the Baptist found in all four Gospels amounts to 194 verses: 47 are found in Matthew, 28 in Mark, 85 in Luke, and 34 in John’s gospel
The angel says not only will Zechariah have joy, but other people will because he will be great
But then they are in awe of who he will be
He was the bridge between the two testaments.
Old and New
The requirements of his greatness
Because he is great, he must not drink wine or strong drink (things other than wine at the time)
Like Samson’s mother (Judg.
13:4), he was to abstain from wine and strong drink
wine= fermented juice of grapes
This is Philistine beer jug from Ashdod, 12th–11th century BC
Strong drink= beer or intoxicating liquor.
Probably just a more general term.
You can get drunk by either as
This was part of the Old Testament vow taken by the Nazirites (Num.
6:1–4).
Under ordinary circumstances, moderate drinking was permissible, but John was set apart for the holy service of God.
But this does not say anything about the nazarite hair growing long like Samson
Instead of being filled with alcohol, what does the text say he would be filled with?
John is the only person said in the New Testament to be filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb; this emphasizes the fact that God chose him and equipped him from the very beginning.
So, is drinking forbidden for christians?
Psalm 104:15 says wine is a gift from God “and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.”
What then is the problem?
There are many warnings there are in the Bible about alcohol.
I will just bullet a few here.
Ephesians 5:18, “Do not get drunk with wine.”
Romans 14:21, “It is good not to . . .
drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.”
Hosea 4:11, “Beware of wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding.”
Ezekiel 44:21, “No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.”
Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”
Proverbs 21:17, “He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.”
What is the alternative to being drunk then?
He was an unusual person, called to an unusual ministry.
He would act a little crazy, so to prove he is not drunk, he never drinks.
The purpose of the greatness
This is actually a quote from
This comes at the end of the book, and there is a promise of the day of the lord, when GOd will set everythign right
So John will come in this power showing the end times have come, and he starts this by reconciling God’s people
If two people are at odds, what is the first step to restoring them?
John was sent to preach the conviction of sin… the condemning law was the preparation for the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit,
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