Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning and thank you for joining us this morning.

Coming to you from Orlando, FL where we are just taking a little break.

I’ve been working, along side our contractor at the church building getting it ready to return to in person worship and our grand opening celebration on Sat.

Dec 18, from 12:00 noon - 3:00 p.m.

If you live in the Douglasville, GA area please meet us at 3500 Hwy 5 to celebrate the goodness of the Lord with us.

By whatever platform you may be viewing this message, please go to YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube Channel — you’ll find us at Love Christian Center, Douglasville.

It’s good to be with you on this first Sunday of the last month of the year.

Yes we’ve made it to Dec and I am so honored to share the month we celebrate the birth of Jesus, yesterday was my birthday and I praise God for every day he’s given me.

I certainly don’t take it for granted because there are many who did not made it to 60 on this side, and here I stand.

God is so good to me.

There is a word from the Lord so let us get to it.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

This is your call to worship.

Let us pray.

Turn with in your Bibles to Prov 18:21

Prov 18:21 KJV - Death and life are in the power of the tongue: And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

NLT - The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

The title of today’s message is, “The Power of Words”.

Have you ever run into someone, perhaps you know someone, or you are the someone who loves to talk.

You know, those people who have so many words.

Years ago, there was a song that said, talking loud and saying nothing.

I’m an editor and just a couple of the things I do in my editing is, one, look for redundancy.

Is the writer continually repeating something that has already been said.

And, two, is the writer being verbose or wordy.

In other words, are they using 25 words to say what could be said in 10?

Sometimes your message can get diluted because you’re using too many words.

In our microwave society, you can lose your viewer or listener if your words don’t capture their attention in a matter of seconds.

So if you want your message to be received, you must choose your words wisely.

The power of words.

We see the power of words throughout the Scriptures.

In the first book and first chapter of the Bible, the book of Genesis, we see the words “And God said” eight times, and with each of those declarations, major things were created, until everything was created including man and woman.

When God spoke about creating man and woman, he spoke to the Son and the Holy Ghost and said let us make man in our image then he created man from the dust of the ground and created woman from the rib of the man to walk beside him.

The power of words.

Man and woman lived in a paradise for a while, and then in the third chapter of Genesis there were some words spoken that had a catastrophic affect and would change the world as Adam and Eve knew it.

Satan spoke words of deception, he lied and even though his words were lies the result or the consequence was the fall of man.

As a result of Satan’s words

guilt entered the world

shame entered the world

pain entered the world

sin entered the world

death, entered the world

All because of a lie.

Words have power, even when those words are a lie.

We learn in the first chapter of John that Jesus Christ was the Word and the Word dwelt or lived among us.

That word had all power given to him by the father, so when Jesus spoke,

people were healed

people were delivered

people were raised from the dead

storms ceased

demons feared and trembled

and so much more

The power of words.

Your tongue, that thing James calls an unruly member, that thing that allows you to speak words, words that can bring life and words that can bring death.

Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.

What are you telling yourself.

Even your thoughts consist of words, so just because they remain unspoken…words still have power.

Our country is in turmoil over the unspoken words of police who fear certain people based solely on the color of their skin.

And while they may not speak the words initially, their actions and the words they speak after they have needlessly taken a life, seem to be a mantra for their reckless actions, those words being, “I was in fear for my life”.

Those who stormed the capitol on Jan 6, did so because of words, because of a lie.

That lie changed the lives of many families forever and the full cost of that lie is still yet to be determined.

Those words literally caused death.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived said, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”.

Now you may be saying I’ve never killed anyone with my words.

But let me ask you this, have you ever placed a limitation on someone for any reason?

Have you told them they couldn’t do something because they were

too short or too tall - you just spoke death

too fat or too skinny - you just spoke death

not smart enough - you just spoke death

because they were a girl - you just spoke death

because they didn’t look a certain way? - you just spoke death

Have you ever verbally rejected a person because they didn’t meet your expectation, because they weren’t up to your standard - you just spoke death.

Have you ever shunned a person because of their background, never stopping to discover why they were, where they were - you just spoke death.

Even your words have power.

Companies spend billions of dollars on ad campaigns to get you to spend your money on their products.

They’re telling you how you should look, what you should wear, what you should eat, how you should feel and even what you should do.

The power of words.

Parents, when you tell a child they can’t do something you have just spoken death over their lives.

You are the biggest influencer in their life, or at least you should be.

Yet the internet, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and whatever other platform is out there is what is influencing them.

Teens are taking their own lives because of internet trolls who say things behind the cover of anonymity.

Things they would never say in person, and our children believe it…unless, your words are stronger.

The power of words.

Let’s bring it to the church, after all even though we are not gathered in person, we’re still the church.

The church is the people not the building.

Amen?

You may be saying oh no preacher, words of death are not spoken in the church.

Wellll

For every person who has ever been made to feel inferior at the church, who has heard the words

Your dress is too short, too tight, or too low cut - death.

But the person saying it never stopped to consider it’s all they had to wear

You need to put on a suit - But the person saying it never stopped to consider they don’t own one

You smell - But the person saying it never stopped to consider they’re homeless and they need help

You’re late, go to the overflow - But the person saying it never stopped to consider they just ran out of the house because their partner was abusing them and they need protection

You can’t cook, so you can’t be a part of the hospitality ministry - But the person saying it never stopped to consider they love to clean and would be willing to just wash the dishes

You can’t preach because you’re a woman - But the person saying it never stopped to consider God called her to preach

You can’t pastor because you’re a woman - But the person saying it never stopped to consider God said that is what she is to do

You can’t come into the pulpit, you have to speak from the floor because you’re a woman - But the person saying it never read the Scripture where God said, “… in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.

27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.