Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

Hey friends, I’m gonna take a guess that most of you know who I am at this point.

My name is Cody…and I’ve been the Worship Pastor here for almost 6 years now…more importantly as it relates to tonight, I’ve been the College Pastor here for the past two years.

And it’s in relation to being Coram Deo’s college pastor, that I’m here to speak to you tonight.

Because…whether you’re going off to college or not…you’re in that stage of life.

The stage of life where you’re moving from dependance to independence.

Where the guard rails and the bumpers are going to be taken down…and you’re really going to see, for the first time, the type of man or woman that you are.

I want to start out tonight with a poetry reading.

I know i know, but just follow me here for a minute.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I’m just curious.

Can anyone in this room tell me what this poem is or who wrote it?

The poem is called “The Road Not Taken” and it is written by Robert Frost, over 100 years ago at this point.

The reason some of you are familiar with this poem is because it’s become one of his most famous poems and has been taught in schools for years.

The true meaning of the poem is debated at times, but in general, here’s what you can grab from it.

This is Andrew Spacey’s interpretation as found in an article on Owlcation.

“Robert Frost wrote this poem to highlight a trait of, and poke fun at, his friend Edward Thomas, an English-Welsh poet, who, when out walking with Frost in England would often regret not having taken a different path.

Thomas would sigh over what they might have seen and done, and Frost thought this quaintly romantic.

In other words, Frost's friend regretted not taking the road that might have offered the best opportunities, despite it being an unknown.”

So what Mr. Spacey is saying…is that this poem has captured the attention of the world because it’s a poem that plays on the idea of regretting missed opportunities.

Regretting what would have happened if you made a different decision.

This type of thinking and regret…is what many of you have experienced this year when it comes to graduating high school.

Many of you, have had many decisions to make.

What college to go to.

Or not to go to college.

What you will do.

Where you will live.

How you will afford it....and so on and so forth, right?

In your life, especially this past year…there have been many times that two different paths of been laid before you…and the reason that it’s been so difficult for you to make a decision…is because you’re not always sure of the outcome.

Because you’re not always sure if the other path that didn’t choose would end up being better.

Just show me a raised hand if you’re tracking with me right now.

Good.

So we can agree that making a choice, sticking with it, and not regretting it is difficult to do because there’s always the possibility that something else was better.

That’s true in so many things in life.

But tonight I want to share with you a time when that is not true.

I want to share with you a situation in life that always has the same outcome.

Tonight, I want to show you two roads that every single one of you must choose between...

I want to show you two roads that each have a guaranteed outcome.

I want to show you these two roads, or paths, or ways…whatever you want to call them…I want to show them to you, and then both challenge and encourage you.

I want to challenge you to pick the right way.

And I want to encourage you to stick to it.

Open your bibles to Psalm 1 with me.

I’m going to read the entire thing, go over how it relates to you, and then…I’m going to give you some practicals for your stage of life.

After that, I’ll open it up to questions you may have and see how I can help you.

So let’s get into it.

So, the word of God…the creator of all things, who knows all things, sees all things, and is in all things....his word…what he says...clearly dictates that there are two paths in life.

The path of the righteous.

And the path of the wicked.

And unlike Robert Frost’s poem about the two roads…the outcome of these paths are very clear.

Verse 6 summarizes it all too well.

Look back at verse 6.

Psalm 1:6 (ESV)

6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Let’s focus in on the word “knows” for a minute.

Don’t overlook it…because it’s a special word.

Because, it has to be deeper than just knowledge.

The word “knows” here has to be deeper than just meaning that God “knows of it”…because God “knows of” everything.

He knows of the wicked too.

He “knows” the way of the wicked just like he “knows” the way of the righteous.

So what is it saying here?

God’s word is saying, that there is a path in life…in which God intimately knows the ones who walk upon it.

He doesn’t just know of the, or what they will do…but he intimately knows them…on a relational level.

The meaning of the two different types of “know” become pretty clear when I ask this...

Raise your hand if you know of Johnny Depp.

Yeah, see…all of you know John Depp.

And if you had a friend who you were talking to and they said they had no idea who you were talking about…you’d like “bro…you know Johnny Depp, the pirate guy that walks weird, willy wonka, mad hatter, a ton of other stuff.

You know him”.

So you guys see where I’m going.

In one way you know Johnny Depp…but in another way you don’t.

You don’t know know him, right?

It’s a one way knowledge.

It’s a factual knowledge.

But it’s an intimate knowledge.

And the idea that God may know people in a general sense but not in an intimate sense is pretty common.

Take one of the scariest verses in all of scripture...

So, Jesus knows everyone.

Because he created everyone..and through him everyone was created.

So he literally knows everyone that has existed or will exist…and yet in this verse he says that there will be a day when he turns people away from heaven, because he didn’t “know” them.

Meaning…he was not in relation with them…they did not walk with him…they did not follow him...

So are you beginning to see, that in Psalm 1 verse 6 here…that the idea that there is a path you can walk in which God will know you…is a very good and blessed thing.