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
0.08UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.07UNLIKELY
Fear
0.07UNLIKELY
Joy
0.69LIKELY
Sadness
0.53LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.47UNLIKELY
Confident
0.17UNLIKELY
Tentative
0UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.82LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.91LIKELY
Extraversion
0.58LIKELY
Agreeableness
0.97LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.67LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
It is an amazing privilege to have the opportunity to be here today.
I has been great to hear so many wonderful songs and see new and familiar faces.
It is a great day to be in the house of the Lord!
This morning I want to talk about something that has been lost in our society.
That is, “The Love of God.”
You might think that is silly to say that the love of God has been lost in our society, but I believe this is true for two reasons.
Number one, it has been lost in that most of the time I hear the phrase said, its in used as profanity.
Something bad happens, you stub your big toe, and without thinking, you blurt out, “for the love of...” If I am watching TV and I hear someone say, “the love of God” it is more often than not in that context.
The love of God has been morphed and abused into a curse word.
That’s one way that the love of God has been lost in our society.
The other way it has been lost is through superficiality.
Our society and culture presents a superficial understanding of the Love of God.
We are in need of evaluation, correction, and redemption of our understanding of the Love of God.
Let me be clear here though it is not the Love of God that needs redemption.
God’s love is ever constant and consistent.
However, our conception of the Love of God needs be redeemed.
We need to divorce the Love of God from profanity and superficiality.
One of the definitions of redeem is, “to free from what distresses or harms.”
Profanity and superficiality has distressed and harmed our conception of the Love of God.
So how then can our conception be redeemed?
Through the Word of God.
A few months ago we had 2 Tim 3:16 as our corporate memory verse.
Scripture teaches us and corrects us.
It calls us out and points us to truth.
So through the Word of God we are able to separate the false from the true.
We are pointed to God.
It is through God’s Word that not just our conception of God’s Love is redeemed, but also we are redeemed!
Yesterday, in a men’s discipleship group one of the members reminded us of this verse from Romans:
The Word of Christ, recorded in Scripture, are used by the Holy Spirit to give us the gift of Faith.
We are redeemed, saved by the grace of God through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
God uses His Word to show us our need of a Savior, convict us of our Sin, and point us to the Savior.
As we are exposed to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit works in us, drawing us to conviction and faith in Jesus Christ.
This is the triune nature of our eternal Salvation.
But all of that can seem like a lot to take in so let me make it plainer with an example.
I have been redeemed!
As just a young child, I came to understand that my sin was real.
That real sin goes completely against the perfect, holy God.
I understood that in my sin I stood against, as an enemy towards the Holy God.
The Holy Spirit worked through a conversation with my mother, to point out my need of a savior.
I begun to understand that Jesus died on the cross for MY sins.
At the moment, I was given faith in Jesus.
I have been redeemed!
God worked through His Word to draw a little boy to salvation.
I know that God is the redemption business, because I have experienced it!
I know that many here can give a similar testimony, because you too have been redeemed!
But if you have never truly placed faith in Christ know this, it is not too late.
The Holy Spirit is still working and God is still working through His Word! God is in the redemption business.
This church, Durbin Memorial Baptist Church, is another example of God’s great redemption.
Last year on our 80th anniversary I shard a quote from Miss Maybel Denny’s records on the formation of the church.
She said, “Mrs.
Durbin invited Pastor Walker to hold services in an old store building one mile from the river, in the Clays Ferry community, a place where there was no church and was much needed.
At one time I knew this store building to have a dance each week, and there was whiskey and much sin around.
I believe this was the beginning of a better community to live in, a place that I loved, and where people appreciated a place to worship God.”
Durbin Memorial Baptist Church began in an store building known for whiskey, dancing, and sin, to now being a place of dedicated service to Lord and committed to serving this area.
As we look at the landscape around us, I know the harvest is still plentiful, but I am grateful that God has placed Durbin Memorial right here to reach these people in this area.
God is in the business of redemption.
He redeemed a little boy lost in sin.
He redeemed an old store house known for sin.
And if He hasn’t yet, He can redeem you too.
Redemption is the great expression of God’s love.
God redeems the sinful and profane out of His great love.
God’s love is too great to be misconstrued.
As we look at His Word today, may our understanding of His Love be redeemed.
If you haven’t yet, open your Bibles to 1 John 4. We’re going to walk through verses 7-21.
We’re going to divide this text into four sections and see what the Love of God is truly all about.
Let’s begin with the first section, verses 7 and 8
Here we see that
God is Love
God is love.
This is a statement that you have probably heard before.
On the most basics level, no one has a problem with this.
If I were to take a microphone through the streets of New York and ask people from all different backgrounds to describe God, I think that many people would give this simple explanation.
God is love.
But when many people say that God is Love, what they actually are saying is the Love is God.
They mean that Love is the highest governing force in all of the universe.
The problem with believing that Love is God is that love then defines God.
And when Love defines God, we’re in a big mess because, humans have an awful time trying to define what love is on our own.
A couple weeks ago I mentioned the song, “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” well now we’re all faced with bobbing our heads and singing, “What is Love?
Baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me no more.”
We tie our definition to Love to whatever feels good in the moment.
That is why you see groups supporting all types of ideologies that are contrary to God’s Word, holding up protest signs with “God is Love.”
When Love is God, then we ultimately see self-gratification as the ultimate purpose and driving force in life.
But Jesus said
Therefore, self-gratification cannot be the be all end all.
Love is integral to all things, but the human definition of Love is insufficient.
Human Love is not God.
But as we read in 1 John 4:8, God is Love.
Look back in verse 7
Love is from God. Love does not come from our personal desires.
Love comes from God.
The only way to truly love, is to be born of God and know God.
Any other love one can exude is a weak fabrication of the true love of God.
True, genuine Love for God, His people, and neighbors is a test of true belief.
John tells us that if we do not love, we don’t know God.
God is love.
Being redeemed and reconciled to God produces love.
But at this point we’ve only defined the negative.
That is, we have defined that while God is love, love is not God.
And we have stated that self-gratification is not love.
That still leaves us with defining what true, reflection-of-God-love is.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9