Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Good morning and welcome!

There was a young man who was determined to win the affections of the young lady who was so angry that she refused to talk to him.

He decided to win her heart by sending her love letters.

He began by writing her a love letter every single day with the hopes of winning her back.

After a week of writing her a letter every single day, he was frustrated that he didn’t receive any response, so he doubled his efforts.

And when that didn’t work he doubled his efforts again.

This went on for some time with no response at all from the young lady, until he eventually learned that she married the postman.

When I met Olga, I was a typical young man in love.

I went out of my way to court her and show her I cared.

She was going through a rough patch at the time and I had the opportunity to be her encouragement.

So with this unique opportunity presenting itself, I took my role seriously and set about encouraging her any way that I could.

She was dealing with some of the greatest hurts and hangups in her life at this time, so I began reading scripture to her (what better way can you think for a young seminary student to express his love to the woman of his affection?).

There was a time in our courtship that she had to travel back to Venezuela.

I knew that I wouldn’t see her much (no Skype, no internet, not even cell phones with unlimited long distance plans in those days).

So I recorded (on cassette tape, mind you) myself reading the passages that calmed and soothed her troubled spirit and I wrote out a series of notes and letters for her to open while she was away from me.

But we’re not talking about romantic love here today.

We’re talking about God’s love for us.

God’s love for us is very different than the kind of love that we are capable of for each other.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 13 – one of the finest passages in the Bible and indeed in all of literature.

[pray]

This is a much loved verse that believers throughout the ages have embraced and literature lovers consider to be one of the best odes to love ever put to the page.

We have hung artistic prints of these verses on the walls and quoted them in marriage ceremonies throughout the ages.

However, I propose to you that Paul did not write a romantic poem teaching us how spouses should treat each other.

Rather, Paul wrote a corrective message to the troubled church at Corinth.

This passage was inspired by the Holy Spirit to correct wrongs that were taking place in that church and to correct wrongs that we still see being committed today.

The Church at Corinth was troubled:

They were impatient with each other.

They were envious of each other’s gifts.

They were prideful and arrogant about what they had.

They were competing for position at the communion table.

They were even suing each other.

Paul’s message to the Corinthian church was actually a rebuke.

Corinth was similar to modern day America:

There was little love for others.

There was a constant, self-centered focus

There was an inappropriate emphasis on sexual gratification.

There was a proliferation of free thought that lacked a foundation in biblical principles.

Much of the very same corruption that Paul saw in Corinth is still very prevalent in our churches today.

Here’s the thing that we need to remember here at FBC Pharr...

Truth: ALL churches have problems.

Especially the ones with people in them.

We see people come and go all the time, because today’s church culture has become like a buffet for people who are searching for the perfect church.

I can tell you that this church is not especially different from other churches.

We have problems.

I don’t expect that people will come here and believe that we’ve found the magic formula to eradicate all the problems in our church.

But I always hope and fervently seek to identify and correct the problems that we have with grace and love for each other.

If I ever give up on that it will be time for me to go find another job.

As your pastor, I must always be leading the march to a positive and life transforming church that will make a difference in the lives of those who call this their church home.

Paul writes this passage, rebuking the Corinthian church in a message of love.

I. Love Enriches

Principle: Anything we do without Love is worthless.

In this totally fictional scenario, let’s say that my beloved wife and I get into an argument—let’s say its over the dirty dishes in the sink [I usually do the cooking in our home].

There are times that I have to wash the dishes and then cook the meal and eat the meal.

When I take the dirty dishes back to the kitchen and find my mess that still needs to be cleaned—sometimes I just don’t want to do the dishes.

I’ll be honest with you that there are times that I hope she’ll volunteer to do the dishes after I’ve been on my feet preparing a meal.

But what if I have that expectation and she doesn’t volunteer, or she says “I’ll do that tomorrow!”

Sometimes that doesn’t sit well with me.

I don’t want to leave the dishes for tomorrow.

I want them done right now, but I don’t necessarily want to do them.

What if I decided to get demanding and tell her that she needs to do them?

And what happens if she refuses?

We have mismatched expectations that could erupt in conflict.

What would happen if I decide to do the dishes with a bad attitude, that I’m doing her work and I’ll just show her by doing the dishes with a bad attitude.

How do you think that works toward solving our conflict?

It doesn’t, does it?

However, what if I decide to do the dishes knowing that she is tired and has no more desire to do the dishes than I do.

What if I do the dishes as an act of service for her? Would that be doing dishes with love?

Paul applied this kind of thing in his letter to the church at Ephesus...

There are times that we have to say hard things to people.

Paul tells us to practice love when we have to do this.

He also tells us that this will lead us to spiritual maturity in Christ.

The truth is that we CAN speak the truth in love.

We can prepare a meal and wash the dishes with love.

We can take out the trash with love.

We can do all manner of chores in the home and in interactions with our spouses and children.

OR we can decide to do them with animosity and anger in our hearts.

Paul is telling us that we absolutely MUST be loving with each other if we are grow together in Christ—if we are to accomplish good works together.

Here at FBC Pharr, we are a diverse church, which is a good thing—a very good thing—but not necessarily an easy thing.

We have Spanish speakers and English speakers.

We have an older generation, a middle generation, and a younger generation.

We have men and we have women.

We have people who grew up in the North and we have people that grew up in the South.

And with all of this diversity, there are times that we get on each other’s nerves.

However, we are working on building a church that shares a unity of purpose that permeates our diverse parts.

We have to learn to put away our nerves and get along better.

Let’s look back at that verse from Ephesians, where Paul tells us something about love...

Love is something that “adds to” rather than “takes away.”

I think there is a principle there that we can apply...

PRINCIPLE Love enriches everything it touches rather than destroying and tearing down.

Paul’s message to Corinth was not a message of...

phileo love – a spontaneous natural affection based in feelings that friendship displays.

storge love – a Greek word that describes the love that a parent has for his children or that family members share.

eros love – a passionate love between lovers.

romantic love – some lofty, unreachable ideal that cannot be maintained beyond courtship.

It was agape love is God’s love.

ἀγάπη - agapē - love, goodwill

Agape Love is a love of action rather than feeling.

A love that requires a strong will, a deliberate choice.

Agape Love tells us how to love our neighbor, our family, our enemies, and even our fellow church members.