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
0.56LIKELY
Disgust
0.12UNLIKELY
Fear
0.1UNLIKELY
Joy
0.65LIKELY
Sadness
0.52LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.49UNLIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.13UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.82LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.84LIKELY
Extraversion
0.19UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.61LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.72LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
There was a cartoon in a magazine about 20 years ago.
Moses is standing on top of God’s Mountain (Mt.
Horeb/Mt.
Sinai) holding the two tablets of the Ten Commandments.
And Moses is beaming.
“Hey, these are great,” he says enthusiastically.
“From now on, nobody will have any trouble distinguishing right from wrong.”
What makes the cartoon funny is that obviously we still have trouble distinguishing right from wrong.
The problem is not with the Law of God; the problem isn’t with the Ten Commandments.
The problem is with us.
We fail to measure up…and we never will measure up—not on our own.
We lie and cheat and steal.
We worship myriad things that are not deserving of our worship.
We ignore God’s law.
We disobey.
We sin—it’s ingrained in us.
Our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell in the garden, doing what was expressly forbidden by God.
And we fell right along with them.
“These [Ten Words] are great!
No one should have any trouble distinguishing right from wrong!”
Boy, we know that’s not the case.
If we spend any time at all considering the Ten Commandments, we will realize we are sunk.
The commands bellow from the mountain of God.
With smoke and fire and trumpet blast, the Law thunders, commanding our obedience.
We tremble, along with those standing at the foot of the mountain, as we consider the weighty, heavy responsibility of keeping God’s law.
And we rejoice as those who take shelter in Jesus, trusting in Him who alone fulfills the demands of the law.
Jesus, the only One who perfectly obeyed the Law, has given to us His perfect record; Jesus imputes to us His perfect righteousness when we, by faith, believe in Him.
Christianity is not a system of rules and regulations by which we succeed or fail.
We don’t have to hope we make a passing grade.
We only have to belong to Jesus by faith.
He passed the test for us.
He was obedient for us.
He secured our salvation.
We are those who trust in Him, and those who by faith receive from Him everything we need.
So don’t these Ten Words weigh you down.
Don’t falter under the mistaken assumption that you have to obey these perfectly; don’t start to believe that you have to be your own savior.
Don’t trick yourself into thinking you could ever save yourself.
Christianity is not about being perfect.
It’s not even about being good.
Christianity is about Christ.
It’s about Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One of God and all that He has done for us.
Don’t let these Ten Words weigh you down.
When you fail (when, not if)—when you fail, repent and run to Jesus.
Trust not in your ability to do, but in what Jesus has already done.
Don’t let these Ten Words weigh you down.
Let these Ten Words—spoken by God Himself—be your guide.
Let these Ten Words instruct you in the way of loving God and loving people more and more, better and better.
>I pray you spent some time this week contemplating the Ten Words (the Ten Commandments).
It’s a really good exercise and act of devotion to immerse ourselves in God’s Word—to see ourselves, to see our sin, and, then, to see our Savior.
As we look in the mirror of God’s Word, specifically at the Ten Words and realize we have not, cannot, and will not do these well or all the time—but then we see and know and belong to the One who has, and we rejoice.
Our time last week was focused on the big picture, how these verses break down into two categories:
Love God.
Love People.
The first four commandments, the first four “words” focus on our loving God properly.
And then springing from those foundational commandments, we have the last six which focus on our loving those around us—our parents, our spouse, our neighbors.
This week, we are going to look at each of the Ten Words, one at a time, to see what each command means and what each command teaches us about God.
I know what you’re thinking: “He’s going to preach a 10-point sermon?!?!
To answer you: “Yes, I am! Ha ha ha ha!”
I could have preached 10 sermons, one on each of the commandments, but thought I’d go this route rather than dragging it out for the next 2.5 months.
You’re welcome.
So, as we go along, keep these two questions in mind:
What does the command mean?
What does this command teach us about God?
No Other gods than Yahweh (20:3)
No Other gods than Yahweh (20:3)
The first commandment does away with atheism on one hand and pantheism (everything’s a god) and polytheism (there are many gods) on the other.
There is One True God and no other.
This prohibits relating to or believing in anything/anyone as if they are on equal footing with God.
The first commandment sets Yahweh, the Lord, the God of Israel alone as the only God.
This is a good word—prohibiting the recognition of any other so-called god—especially in their day.
Egypt, the country in which they had lived for 430 years and from which they were just rescued, was a heavily polytheistic (they believed that there were gods for everything—water, animals, sun, moon, stars).
So God tells His people, commands them:
Everyone is a worshipper of something or someone.
We call this idolatry—putting someone or something in the place of God; exchanging the glory of the Creator for the creation.
Our worship must be clearly focused on the Only One who deserves it—God alone.
There is no God but Yahweh.
This commandment, like the next, highlights the jealousy of God.
God is jealous.
He will not share His glory with another.
No Idolatry (20:4-5)
No Idolatry (20:4-5)
This commandment warns us against having the wrong object of worship and against worshipping the wrong way.
Carved images were manmade objects for worship.
These idols have no comparison to the true God.
They are impersonal and powerless—deaf, dumb, and dead.
Every sort of idolatry is outlawed here.
Some faithful followers of Jesus believe that any image, even a family picture, can become an idol.
I don’t know about that as a blanket rule, but if it’s something that steals your worship away from God, then it is.
“Nothing from anywhere can be copied and used as an object of veneration.”
Sadly, Israel would fail to keep this commandment really soon, shockingly soon.
God is supreme.
He is over all these things that His people worship.
And, once again, this commandment highlights the jealous God.
“For I, the Lord you God, am a jealous God...”
He is right to want what is rightfully His; namely, the praise, worship, adoration, devotion of His people and all creation.
Notice: there is punishment for those who commit the same sins as their parents and ancestors who worship idols and images, who make objects of worship and give their worship to another.
Speak God’s Name Respectfully and Honestly (20:7)
Speak God’s Name Respectfully and Honestly (20:7)
The command literally says, “Do not raise up Yahweh’s name for no good.”
The focus is on the name of the Lord, Yahweh.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9