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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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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Opening Illustration
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy
All you need is love, all you need is love
All you need is love, love, love is all you need
The Beatles!
I loved the Beatles growing up, because I was a weird little kid who only listened to oldies.
Love is all you need, the promise of a peace and love generation, but you get to wondering if that promise was really fulfilled.
War still happens, liberals still demonize conservatives and conservatives still demonize liberals.
Message boards, youtube comments, twitter.
If someone gave me the ability to completely shut down the internet, I know that would cause all kinds of chaos for good people, but would still need lots of restraint just because of youtube and twitter.
When you look at the words of this song however, it isn’t difficult to see why maybe it comes off as a little vague about love.
“Nothing you can do that can’t be done” cool.
“Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung” okay.
That doesn’t really mean much.
It’s kind of just saying love, just do it.
There is an equally vague slogan becoming popular today that just says “love is love”.
Far from telling us what love is, this slogan says quite the opposite.
However you love, whatever you think love is, it’s all good.
Everyone agrees that the world needs more love, but everyone seems uncertain about what that means.
Today we are talking specifically about loving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Like the song, this passage makes a sure point of telling us to love one another.
This is the third passage where John has brought this up, and he specifically commands us to love one another three times!
But unlike John Lennon, John the apostle gives us grounding and reason for our love.
If there is one thing that John wants us to walk away with, it’s that we (as a church) need to love one another with a love that is grounded in the nature of God.
LOVE ONE ANOTHER!
1 John 4:7-
Christian Love is defined by the character and work of God, we do not define it ourselves
God is the source of love (7)
work of God, we do not define it ourselvesGod is the source of love (7)
I. God is the source of love (7)
One thing that John makes clear here is that he is talking about a very specific kind of love.
None of this “love is love” stuff.
It’s specific and real.
Why do we know this?
Because he says everyone who loves has been born of and knows God, but we probably know people who aren’t Christians who have love for their children, or for their spouse.
That’s because God made man in his own image, meaning that he allows mankind to share in some of his attributes in a limited way, that includes the ability to love.
But we also know that mankind is fallen because of sin, and that our ability to love has become corrupt.
We can’t love completely selflessly.
We can’t love completely unconditionally.
Our love often has a selfish twinge around the edges.
But John isn’t talking about the imperfect love of this world that practically anyone can experience.
He’s talking about the love that comes from God, not only the love that comes from him, but the love that he is!
II.
God is the basis of love (8)
Last week Pastor Manny talked about false teachers and the way some people twist Scripture to their own uses.
This phrase, “God is love” is one of those favorited ones.
People twist this one all the time.
Often people will say “God is love” meaning that God is love only, as Manny alluded to.
There is no wrath, or justice, or holiness in God, only love.
Still others will make love and God equal.
Like in math, it doesn’t matter which side of the equal sign you put God or love, it still means the same thing.
That isn’t how language works however.
We’re talking about God.
Love isn’t our God, but our God consists of love.
One final way this scripture gets twisted is that people think that God adheres to the standard of love.
As if there are some standards that God is subject to.
But John isn’t talking about the imperfect love of this world that practically anyone can experience.
He’s talking about the love t
No.
The problem with all three of these views is that it leaves the definition of love completely up to the interpreter.
If God is love only and not just, then the reader has redefined love.
Because God’s love includes justice.
If love is our god, then it is impersonal and is based on a relative experience because love cannot reveal itself on its own like God has revealed himself to us.
If God is subject to the standard of love then how to we know what that standard is.
And for that matter if God creates a standard of love what is the basis of it?
Is it arbitrary?
Can it change?
The incredible thing about our God is that he is neither subject to a standard nor does he arbitrarily create a standard.
He himself is the standard.
Love, perfect and unmixed is simply defined by the character and nature of God.
That’s why John insists that you must know God in oder to love this kind of love.
Because it is derived from his very nature.
So how do we know God? How do we know what the love of God is, which we are supposed to be loving each other with?
By his actions:
III.
God is the example of love (9)
The love of God isn’t just warm feelings.
It isn’t an abstract thing we have to conjecture about.
It isn’t like the love that I love my family with while I’m at work.
Where I just think about them and how much I miss them.
It’s that but it’s also like the love I have for my family when I get home and get to interact with them and serve them.
God’s love is active and demonstrable.
He sent his Son into the world that he might live.
This is how we can know what God’s love is like.
God’s love is selfless and sacrificial.
It benefits us and changes us.
This is how we ought to love one an other.
It isn’t up to us how to love one another, it’s how God loves.
John makes and interesting statement here:
IV.
We do not define love for ourselves (10)
God’s love for us, isn’t like our love for him.
What does our love for him look like?
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