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.
Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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What happens when we — when Christians — begin talking about “sin” in our world?
— People get angry, right?
— They begin to yell about how judgmental the church is… about how even Jesus — the one we say is God — told us not to…
What verse do they always quote?
They use it like some form of “cultural weapon”…
We’ve all experienced it, right?
We’ve all had that moment when we’ve been accused of judging…
Why do people do that?
Why do they accuse Christians — the Church — of being judgmental?
Well… Because of us, right!
We all know those “church” people… those “super-christians”…
You know the ones… They’re “holier than thou”… They have it all figured out, so their job now is to correct you…
(Beacon Heights story)
(That’s not the only story)
(First Church - Allessa)
“Some Christians seem to feel they are on ‘permanent jury duty’...” — Pastor Jerry Shirley
Even Andy Stanley fell victim to this…
He writes that in college… “I found that I had a need to be the ‘spiritual cop’ of my circle of friends.
I was so zealous for Jesus that I felt that I needed to police people’s attitudes and activities…”
He goes on to tell how it got so bad that his friends wouldn’t even tell him what they were doing… because they knew he wouldn’t approve of it…
Look at:
I find it kind of funny that people who don’t know, or have a desire to know, Jesus quote Jesus in an attempt to shut up people who are trying to live for Jesus…
The problem is, they usually get it wrong!
But… So do most Christians!
This is arguably the most misused scripture in the Bible!
Look at it again…
Does this mean that we are to ignore sin… to turn a blind eye to it… ?
Does it mean that we are not supposed to talk to people about the sin in their lives?
That we are supposed to do like the world says and “accept it” because that’s the only way to “accept and love them”?
You know… because acceptance of people means accepting their “sin”…
The truth is… Jesus himself exposed false teachers… He exposed sin issues in people’s lives… and He admonished them to “sin no more”…
Look at what He said to the woman accused of adultery:
Jesus didn’t tell her it was ok!
He didn’t tell her that she was “all good,” … That she didn’t have to change…
But… He didn’t condemn her either…
Look at:
How are we supposed to do this, if we do not “judge” sin as sin?
What does “to judge” mean?
— Judge — “to form an opinion about [something] through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises”
Jesus makes it clear… there are some things that our society… our culture… says are right that God calls sin.
We are told to apply sound “Godly” judgment in determining if something is right or wrong in God’s eyes…
(Now… that means that we have to be in God’s Word!)
But… our concern for today is: (this whole passage)
What exactly is Jesus condemning in this passage?
Look at Matt. 7:1-2
First… Jesus points out an obvious thing that happens…
Look at how “The Message” states it:
Jesus is talking about a “critical spirit”…
A “Critical Spirit” is one that says: “I’m better than you.
I’m a better Christian than you.
I’ve got it all figured out… and I’m gonna prove it… Here are all your faults!”
It’s an attitude that criticizes and condemns rather than lifting up and encouraging…
Luke 18:9–14 (NIV)
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance.
He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Do you see His point?!?
The Church… Followers of Christ… are not supposed to be critical and condemning.
John 3:17 tells us that Jesus didn’t come to condemn…
So, why do we?!?
A critical spirit is a heart that is wrong!
Let me tell you… you can be technically and theologically right… but still have a heart that is wrong!
We are told to “Love our neighbors.”…
to “love our enemies”… to love others with the love God has for us…
A judgmental, critical spirit is the total opposite of that!
I want you to see something…
Jesus is talking about a “Critical Spirit”…
A Critical — or Judgmental — Spirit has no place in the life of a Christian…
When we judge others, not only does the world judge us, but so does God.
There are a lot of people out there… who call themselves Christians… who think they have the right to judge other people…
To judge other Christians… to judge non-Christians… even to judge Pastors…
But that’s not true!
We are ALL equal… We are all held to the same standards… We are all called to the same level of holiness…
We are called to walk together in mercy and love!
Now… That’s a lot right?!?
But… that’s not all Jesus has to say here…
This almost seems like a sarcastic little joke…
Sawdust and planks… splinters and timbers…
Jesus is basically saying “Take the tree out of your life, before you worry about that toothpick in theirs!”
We are supposed to examine our own lives first!
Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all hypocrites!
We all hold a double-standard in some areas… in the judgments we make…
“We are umpires at heart; we like to call balls and strikes on somebody else.” — Michael Green
But…
Before we pass judgment on someone else, we are commanded to look in the mirror!
WHY?????
Because… what we will usually find… is that that fault we see in them… is usually what we see in ourselves!
Our own faults are amplified in others!
(think about it)
Why do we judge in the first place?
— we want to feel better about ourselves…
— we elevate ourselves, our ego, by judging others as worse than us… (remember the Pharisee?)
But…
Look what Paul tells us:
Romans 12:3 (NIV)
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