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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Anger
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Analytical
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Introduction
You ever have one of these conversations with someone where you can tell they are trying to entrap you...
you know, get you to say something that you they are trying to get you to say..
A number of years back there was a man who was bringing his daughter to our church...
told me that in a legal agreement during his divorce he agreed to not take his daughter to a “born again church.”
Well, her mother caught wind of her coming to our church, so she started to listen to my preaching.
It didn’t take her long to find my preaching rubbed up against her worldview...
So she didn't’ like that she was going to our church and started to ask for all the material that spoke about what kind of church we were...
Then one day in the office I got the most interesting call...
The voice on the other side of the phone asked this VERY specific question: Hi, I am looking for a new church, would you say your church is a born-again church?”
I said “I’m sorry what do you mean when you ask if we are born-again church?”
She said “Born-again…you know…born-again…How you would normally use the word”
I replied “do you want ot sit down and have a conversation about what it means to be born again?”
But is our church type “born-again” i’m not sure if I follow
After a short time I could tell the lawyer-oh i mean the church seeker
Got frustrated with me and hung up the phone...
Months later they fought about coming to our church in court…and he won...
But here’s the thing…I’m no lawyer…BUT he had a very weak case...
Because she had all the evidence on her side...
If she just took some time to see what Jesus meant to be born again...
She could look around and the lives of those around her would have been evidence.....
She actually came to a testimony night where people shared their stories of what God had done in their lives...
Those who shared...
Of their broken beginnings of drug or alcohol abuse...
Or those who were born into a religious family...
They shared how they still needed to experience a new kind of birth…
Like the first one…
It brings life, brings experiences, brings identity, and brings a family...
But unlike the first one...
Was…uniquely…different...
Though the symbolism may have some parallels with their physical birth...
This birth…was in every way…NEW...
Transition
Even with how new it was…and how evident it was in the people...
She just…missed it...
But I don’t mean to be so hard on her...
Because she’s certainly not the first person to have ever seen this kind of transformation, this kind of new birth...
and miss it...
and not see it clearly for what it is
----
Transition To Text
it was actually over 2,000 years ago we have this event recorded for us in the Gospel of John...
One where a religious leader…a Pharisee....a member of the sanhedrin, a group who was in charge of Jewish affairs in Roman Palestine…who would meet to decide on legal matters
Came to Jesus…under the cover of darkness..
There’s more to this than just the setting...
But this man of religious significance came to seek out Jesus....
And where hear this conversation...
even this deeply religious man...
seems to miss it...
Turn with me to John 3:1-15 on page
Notice the whole basis for his approaching of Jesus...
You must be from God...
(vs.
2) “No one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him”
He came with a focus on the signs...
While Jesus wants to speak of the evidence in another way...
The evidence of a new birth… the evidence of what happens when you are not born of natural means but of supernatural ones...
So Jesus makes the first point here:
(in vs. 3)
This word “again”, can be either from Again…like translated here...
Or it can mean: “from above”...
What I believe may be going on in this whole conversation…is that Jesus was saying “born from above” and Nicodemus heard “born again”
So Nicodemus was stuck here…on earth...
While Jesus was inviting him to a new kind of birth that was not from here...
Not in the same way as he once was born...
But one that was
From above
New Birth Is From Above
This New Birth Jesus describes is not something that is done in an earthly way....
It is not something you find by trying to change some of the behaviors you are doing...
Because he is saying “you can’t SEE the kingdom of heaven” unelss you are “born from above”
Far too many people see the foundation of what Christianity is, is some sort of behavior modification...
Now behaviors change, yes, but this new birth Jesus invites all people to...
Is not about behavior modification…It’s so much more...
think of it like this:
What if you had a ford Focus...
It’s a nice car…maybe you love it…but you always wanted a Tesla
If you go on Amazon…you can find a tesla badge for like $8.99 (free shipping with prime)
If you go to your ford focus and you slap on a tesla badge...
It doesn’t suddenly make this thing a tesla...
It takes so much more than just an emblem change to do the work to change your ford to a tesla...
Oh but what if I change over the seats, doors, windows, etc. to be like a tesla...
But it still won’t be…the heart and soul of a tesla…is so much different than a focus...
There’s no way to change a ford focus into a tesla
But...
Theres’ a way to trade it in...
And when you trade it in..
You hand over the keys...
Transition Back
So Jesus was speaking of this radical new kind of birth…one that was not like the one before but one that would be from above...
Yet, Nicodemus, was missing it completely...
How could one be born when he is old?
Someone can’t go back to be born again...
So Jesus goes another round with him...
And he makes this statement:
Born of Water and the Spirit… (vs 5)
This phrase is debated over what exactly he is referring to here in the water:
One idea, which I held for a long time, is to say this “water” must be the physical birth...
The water breaking
The problem with this is, this is our modern reading backward.
This is not how birth was ever spoken about in Jewish literature.
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