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
0.15UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.1UNLIKELY
Fear
0.11UNLIKELY
Joy
0.6LIKELY
Sadness
0.55LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.63LIKELY
Confident
0.5LIKELY
Tentative
0UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.82LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.97LIKELY
Extraversion
0.22UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.59LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.85LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
The Gospel according to Nehemiah
What do we need to know about Nehemiah...
Here is what scripture has to say about him
The mission of Nehemiah is to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
But it was much more than that…
He needed to rebuild the people of God
Really after being in this their 3rd captivity, they needed to rebuild what it was to be a Jew.
The worst thing to happen to the Jews was not the captivities, It was not the slavery (There was some slavery going on… Also some of the Jews did very well running businesses.
What was the worst was the loss of of culture and commitment to God, to Yahweh.
Yes there was a remnant and there were 500-600 Thousand people who somewhere in their past was this faith in a single God.
Not to the many hundreds of small ‘g’ gods but to one to Yahweh
But at that time it was mostly gone.
Does that sound anything like our world today?
It seems as though our faith is waning and in some instances in gone.
They ended up in captivity because of years and years and generation after generation of neglect and sin.
Dear God… we know that our own community is suffering, we know that we have neglected our relationship to you.
For that we ask for forgiveness.
They ignored the goodness of God over and over.
Instead they went their own ways and consequently God punished them.
Question #1 - How are we doing as the Bride of Christ?
46% of 21-26 year olds don’t even believe there is a God
Church attendance is at a low; crisis point for 100’s of ministries across our country
2021 - 2000+ “churches” closed every month.
We now live in a post-Christian America.
It’s not only Washington and Oregon that are the least churched states in that nation.... It’s all of the states who have seen dramatic drops in church attendance.
Here is the place that we are coming to...
We are clearly in the end-times.
But this should not be a surprise to us.
We have been here waiting and watching and preparing ourselves for God’s return, for about 2000 years.
I’m not sure that I want Jesus to see us like this… We have a long way to go in following even the most basic of his commands.
Here is the most basic for “asks” from God...
What are we doing individually to see this come to pass?
What are we doing corporately to “see His kingdom come?
I’m just going to leave that up for a 1/2 minute...
This abandonment of God is NOT a surprise to God.
It is His church here at First Baptist and it is His church around the world.
He is begging us to come back, he is begging us to make Him #1 in our lives, He wants us to make the center of what we do in Christ.
This is NOT so different from what God wanted from the Jews
Question #2 - What can we do about it?
There a couple of pre-questions that need to addressed first
Do you want to do something about it?
Do you see that God’s Kingdom and His ways is inconsistent with our lives and our world today?
What sacrifices are you willing to make to see God’s Kingdom come?
The best way that we have to answer these and many other questions is to look at the past and see what happened.
So we are back to the Book of Nehemiah...
In 597BC the Babylonians took the first exiles.
This was 60-80,000 Jews.
They settled among the Babylonians, inter-married with them and diluted the whole Jewish race.
God lost His influence among the people.
Even after God commanded them to not intermarry… They of course intermarried.
Question #3 - What happened to the Jews after their captivity?
From these returning Jews there was a resurgence and dedication to the law of God, isolated from foreign influence and centered in Jerusalem.
They returned to correct their wrongs and to lay down another “right.”
The people had to start somewhere in reclaiming their identities… It has to start somewhere!!!
They tried to come under God’s Grace… for good.
It would not last
We, as the remaining members and attenders here at FBC, in our community and in our world.
Partakers of God’s Grace and Mercy.
Relying on the finished work of Christ as our only entrance into Heaven.
But still The Law remains...
Why the Law?
The Law came to INCREASE our transactions
Roman 5.20
Finally the law has only a shadow of the GREAT THINGS to come
The law is not for the righteous
BIG QUESTION: What good is the law anyway?
The remnant that returned to Jerusalem knew that they had to take the law to heart
How did the Jews get back in God’s favor?
Well it had to start somewhere
Ezra Reads the Law
Ezra is reading the Law
Ezra and Nehemiah are one book in the Jewish Bible.
The people have returned from captivity, they are rebuilding the temple and the gates of the city.
The people knew that it was God that delivered them from Babylon and so they at least for a time, returned to worship and obedience of Yahweh.
And a part of verse 3
Nehemiah 8:3 (ESV)
3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand.
And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
What was the results of this effort?
They returned to their first love… God and His ways.
You see the people as a group were forbidden from worshipping Yahweh and could only worship the “gods” of the Babylonians.
They were given FREEDOM...
Now I want to return to our BIG QUESTION
BIG QUESTION: What good is the law anyway?
The law brings wrath — Romans 4.15.
The letter of the law kills
Ah… finally we realize the effects of the law on us
So it seems that Nehemiah is a recounting of the Jews return from captivity and the rebuilding of the temple and of Jerusalem.
At least for a time they followed the Law and the loving and guiding that God has provided to them.
How is the Book a Nehemiah… The Gospel!!!
We know that no one will be justified by works of the Law
If righteousness was through the Law...
And FINALLY the law made nothing perfect
The Spirit did not come by works but by faith
I do want to return to my very first statement
The Gospel According to Nehemiah
The purpose of the Law was to keep the people in a relationship with God… Through laws!
Nehemiah and Ezra re-introduced the law, allowing Christ to come and replace this LAW with Grace… Listen
Finally… The perfect law, the law of liberty
The “PERFECT” Law
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9