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.
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Analytical
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Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Tone of specific sentences
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--- Title Slide
Scripture Intro:
Scripture Reading (“Please stand…”)
---
--- Title Slide
Pray...
Intro:
“The Rescue”
On Disney+
The story of the effort to rescue a boys soccer team Thailand.
12 boys and their coach were exploring a cave system,
but were trapped when water levels in the cave rose rapidly
due to intense rains.
The cave system completely filled with water,
making ordinary search operations impossible.
The Thai government called in help from all sorts of countries in order to help.
Since most military divers were not trained for cave diving,
a group of guys who did cave diving for a hobby were the main search team.
9 days after being trapped.
The boys and their coach were found on an elevated shelf...
2 miles into the cave.
It took the divers 6 hours to go that far on the initial dive.
They found the boys,
but how would they ever get those boys out.
I won’t ruin the rest of movie of the heroic rescue.
Except that all 12 boys and the coach were brought out of the cave alive.
In watching that story unfold,
it was obvious that the boys could not save themselves.
They were completely trapped...
utterly hopeless...
in their own strength.
FCF - In salvation,
we all know that we are completely dependent.
We didn’t save ourselves.
But salvation doesn’t free us from dependency...
in order to bring us to independence,
where we can take care of ourselves now that we are saved.
NO!!!
God’s salvation RESTORES us to a life of dependence.
More often that not,
after salvation, God’s people drift back into doing life independently.
Think about the prophets… specifically Joel.
They were sent to speak to a people who were living life independently from God.
They endured a locust swarm...
and the destruction of all of their livelihood.
And yet....
they needed to be COMMANDED to cry out to God.
You talk about living life independently.
Their lives were shattered...
Yet, they were not moved to come back to God.
The prophets are speaking to an absolutely self-reliant people...
who learned to do life WITHOUT God.
So God moves against their way of life.
You would think that total destruction would get their attention,
But it didn’t.
Chastisement and Restoration
Chastise - to correct by suffering (discipline)
to prune something of excess, pretense, or falsity (to refine)
to cause to be more humble or restrained (to subdue)
Covenant Love
Joel 2:13 (ESV)
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
LORD (all caps) - “Yahweh”
The covenant name of God.
This is the same quote as in Jonah.
This is the covenant faithfulness of God declared to his people.
Loving Father would never leave his children to destroy themselves...
He would gently speak to them.
Correct them.
Warn them.
Warn them again.
Send his messengers (prophets).
Send Difficulty.
Why?
To restore them to their rightful place...
In relationship with him.
Living all of life dependent upon him.
Sends Difficulty...
Locust Swarm.
Now, what is Joel talking about?
Is it an actual swarm of locusts?
Or are locusts used as a metaphor of enemy armies?
Then, later in chapter 2,
there is another attack.
Is it an army of men or another swarm of locusts?
Solid commentators are on both sides of locusts or a metaphor using locusts.
Wording in the text can take you in both directions.
My take:
Chapter 1 - actual locust swarm
chapter 2 - an army of men
All pointing to the greater Day of the Lord...
when the judgment of God will come.
Locusts:
Swarms
Swarms 2
Eat Everything
Tree (before) - 1915 locust invasion in Israel
Tree (after)
Total devastation.
So how is this expressing God’s covenant love for his people?
Chaism
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