Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Today is the 43rd Anniversary of our church.

Over the past 43 years, Calvary Baptist Church has faithfully followed God’s Word’s promises.

This church is not about these wonderful buildings and beautiful property.

We are thankful for them.

It is about people.

A church is people, not buildings.

Every single person who is a member of this church is the church.

A church is a group of believers who have come together as a called-out assembly to follow, worship, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the past 43 years, this church has held firm in its dedication to God and His Word.

It is something to celebrate.

We are celebrating all God has done, is doing, and will continue to do through this incredible group of believers.

I am excited about the future of our church.

I look forward to what God will do through us as we move into year 44 and beyond.

We must remain faithful to Him through our obedience to His Word until He comes, or we all go home to be with Him.

Amen?

Today I want to share a straightforward message from one of the most known verses of the Bible.

It is football season.

There will be hundreds of games across the nation throughout the next 5 months.

You probably see this verse’s address on display in many stadiums at one of those games.

The verse is John 3:16.

Why John 3:16?

Over the past month, we, as a church, spent an enormous amount of time learning from 1 Corinthians 11 as well as James 4. In my time of study preparing for those messages, God has impressed upon me how much He desires to have a personal relationship with every person.

In fact, He created us for relationships.

The following two verses describe how God gave Adam the responsibility of naming the animals.

After accomplishing this vital task, Scripture records that “for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”

Why was God searching for a help meet for man?

God did not create Adam to live alone.

He created man in His own image.

Thus, God designed men for relationships.

Just recently, I discovered an exciting reality show entitled “Alone.”

How many have seen that show and know what I am talking about?

If you don’t, let me explain the show’s premise.

The producers of this show choose ten people who have wilderness survival skills.

They then take these ten people and drop them off in some remote wilderness areas like Vancouver Island, Upper British Columbian, and even places like Peru.

All ten are placed in locations where they are each alone and completely cut off from each other and the rest of the world, including their families.

It is then a competition to see who can survive on their own alone.

The last person standing wins $500,000.000.

During their time, they fight against the elements, predators, and starvation.

Many do last more than a week.

What is interesting to me is this?

Those who stay the longest survive because of their wilderness skills, such as building shelters, setting traps, fishing, and gathering food.

Yet, the longer they go alone, the worse it gets for them.

Their ability to survive physically is often not the issue.

It is the mental anguish they suffer from just being alone.

It doesn’t take long in the show before all of them contemplate who they have left behind and how much they miss their loved ones.

The Achilles heel of each individual is their own loneliness.

God did make us to be alone.

He made us for relationships.

This show is living proof that God indeed created us.

In creating us, He specifically designed us for relationships.

When we come to Scripture, we learn that God made us for two types of relationships.

We are to have a relationship with Him.

He is our Creator.

Thus, a special relationship exists between the Creator and His creation.

The second relationship is our relationship with others.

If you go back to Genesis and the creation of mankind, God first created a man and, in doing so, established that first relationship.

Later, as we read a moment ago, God knew men could not live alone.

Look what God did next.

Note again verse 24.

God made a woman from man.

He put them together.

They were then to be “one flesh.”

This entire verse deals with relationships.

God designed both men and women to have relationships.

Later, as the earth became populated, men and women produced.

Children were born.

Grandchildren were born as well.

Men became fathers.

Women became mothers.

Through this process, family units were established.

Over time, relationships were born in families, communities, and nations.

Even today, these same relationships remain.

However, one significant problem affects all relationships, even our relationship with God.

It is a problem that Scripture calls sin.

Sin is disobedience to God’s commands.

That is the plain and simple definition of sin.

It didn’t take long for God’s enemy, Satan, to stick his ugly nose into things of God.

Thus, after God created man, Adam, and Woman, Eve, Satan came nosing around.

Remember that God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of one tree.

The garden of Eden was filled with all types of trees with delicious fruit for them to eat.

Out of all the trees in the Garden, God reserved one tree for Himself and instructed them NOT to eat of it.

For a time, both Adam and Eve were content with God’s instruction and enjoyed a beautiful relationship with Him and each other.

It was indeed paradise with no sin.

Satan, however, came to Eve in the form of a serpent.

He subtly questioned the validity of God’s Word.

The next verse describes how Satan’s influence convinced Eve to reconsider the forbidden fruit.

Note what happens.

In that moment of spiritual weakness, Adam and Eve sinned.

They disobeyed God.

As you read the rest of that chapter, you see how it devastated their relationships with God and each other.

Over in Romans, God’s Word describes that moment this way.

Some of you are here this morning looking for something missing in your life.

Many people are missing something.

They are missing that significant relationship with God.

You were designed to have a unique and personal relationship with Him.

It is the very reason for our existence.

However, because of Adam’s sin, our relationship with Him ended.

God, who is Holy, meaning He is perfect and without sin, cannot have a relationship with sinful people.

It goes against His very character to do so.