The Osteens (Joel and Victoria) are powerful leaders in Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Their sermons at their church are broadcasted on TV. I’ve seen Joel Osteen’s sermons before but I have always had a critical opinion on their view of God and what he put us on earth for and so on. So I was intrigued when I found a YouTube video of Victoria Osteen called Little by Little because I had never seen any of her sermons.
It is a 10 minute sermon about how to use God’s strength to persevere through every situation. She mentions how we suffer so we turn to God for his help for comfort and that every person on earth goes through the same challenges/struggles. She said that God provides everything and everyone to do everything that is a part of his plan. She also said that we give up on things or miss opportunities because we don’t feel like we are good enough. But, God opened the right doors for us to do what he wants so if we are feeling too scared to do something we should use God’s strength to get it done. People will never measure up to God and his comfort towards us. If we always depend on a person to give us the strength God gives us we will always be disappointed in that person.
In her sermon she spoke in their church in front of thousands of people, it is an absolutely massive church, and she uses multiple rhetoric techniques. She uses a nice posture and comforting voice so you feel comfortable when listening to what she says. In the church she preaches in, everyone is well aware of who she is so she uses ethos to establish trust with the audience just by being who she is. In her appearance, she looks well put together and confident in God’s word when preaching. She also used a story about Joel Osteen’s father’s shoes they bought him when they went to Italy as a gift. And how Joel wore them the first time he preached at that church to get his father’s strength, not to try to fill his father’s shoes and how we should draw strength from God in the same way. That created a personal connection between her and the audience by sharing a personal story.
It is a 10 minute sermon about how to use God’s strength to persevere through every situation. She mentions how we suffer so we turn to God for his help for comfort and that every person on earth goes through the same challenges/struggles. She said that God provides everything and everyone to do everything that is a part of his plan. She also said that we give up on things or miss opportunities because we don’t feel like we are good enough. But, God opened the right doors for us to do what he wants so if we are feeling too scared to do something we should use God’s strength to get it done. People will never measure up to God and his comfort towards us. If we always depend on a person to give us the strength God gives us we will always be disappointed in that person.
In her sermon she spoke in their church in front of thousands of people, it is an absolutely massive church, and she uses multiple rhetoric techniques. She uses a nice posture and comforting voice so you feel comfortable when listening to what she says. In the church she preaches in, everyone is well aware of who she is so she uses ethos to establish trust with the audience just by being who she is. In her appearance, she looks well put together and confident in God’s word when preaching. She also used a story about Joel Osteen’s father’s shoes they bought him when they went to Italy as a gift. And how Joel wore them the first time he preached at that church to get his father’s strength, not to try to fill his father’s shoes and how we should draw strength from God in the same way. That created a personal connection between her and the audience by sharing a personal story.
Very well written and enjoyable to read. Just wondering if she preaches the gospel similarly to Joel.
ReplyDeleteDarcy- You did a great job on your blog post! I really liked the way you organized it and started with what it was, what it was about, and then how rhetoric was used within the sermon. I also liked the way you gave examples of how to actually grow with God that were seen in the sermon. You made really good observations. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteGood job Darcy! I agree with your example of how ethos was used. When people get to know someone more they tend to trust them more and find them to be a credible source, therefore developing the desire to listen to them. Great job pointing out the use of pathos as well.
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