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.
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Anger
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Analytical
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Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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*The Purpose of the Church: To make known the wisdom of God to rulers and authorities *
Loren B. Mead, in the Introduction to his book,
/Transforming Congregations for the Future /writes,
“Everyone I know who works in churches
knows there is trouble.
Churches do not “work” the way they used to.
Roles of Leadership have become more confusing
and frustrating to those who hold them.
What we remember as being crystal clear
in church life a generation or two ago
now seems muddy, uncertain.
“The Church’s vision of prophetic justice
sounds suspiciosly like the latest liberal definition
of political correctness.”
“Church people talk about membership losses
and cast [envious] eyes
at the [growing] membership rolls
of other churches that have a different theological stance
or seem better at reading the market.
Without a clear sense of what they ought to do,
they have grown unsure that what the are doing
is the right thing.
If you are not sure of what you should be up to,
then why not do whatever is selling best?”
“The people I talk to are not terribly confident
as they voice these concerns.
They know that these questions are not in a league
with those about peace and war and justice.
Yet what’s happening to the church
is something that touches them very deeply.
It’s easier to get more [excited] about
and involved in local church issues
than about Bosnia or Somalia.”
There seems to be general agreement
that we live in stormy times.
Religiously, politically, economically, socially,
in fact in every area of life,
we live in stormy times.
And as the boundary lines between all these areas of life
Begin to wash into each other
it isn’t always crystal clear
what the purpose and role of the church
is supposed to be.
In Ephesians 3:10
Paul gets at the heart of the Church’s purpose.
/10//[God’s]intent was that now, through the church, /
/the manifold wisdom of God should be made known/
/to rulers and authorities… /
We often get confused about the reason ~/ the purpose
of the church’s existence.
Some argue that the church is there to make great music
and have inspiring worship services.
Or, we may have a pretty convincing argument
that the purpose of the church
is to keep its young people in church –
because “the youth are the church of the future”.
(Actually, the youth are the church already in the present…
and they often show us, old people…
(“old man” that’s what my kids call me)
they show us that you must wear your faith
on your sleve.
At the other end of the spectrum some people argue
that the church exists to provide comfort and assurance
to those who are approaching the end of their life.
And again others would argue
that the purpose of the church
is to reach out and provide good support groups
for recovering addicts or families in trouble, and so on.
Each one of these areas should be nurtured and celebrated
in the life of the church,
for they add to the blessings and the unique flavor
that each congregation brings to its context.
However, as good and noble as these characteristics may be,
they’re not the essence.
A good music program, or youth or seniors program,
or even the most supportive care groups
is not the essence
of what the church was called to be and do.
At best these are all by-products of a church
living to fulfill its calling.
What, then, is the purpose of the Church?
The story of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Nazareth
hints at the answer to this question.
After his baptism and temptation
Jesus went into the Synagogue.
And he was asked to read these words
from the prophet Isaiah:
/"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, \\ because he has anointed me \\ to *preach good news to the poor*.
\\ He has sent me to *proclaim freedom for the prisoners* \\ and *recovery of sight for the blind*, \\ to *release the oppressed*, \\ 19to proclaim *the year of the Lord's favor*."/
When he was done reading he said to them,
/“This, my friends,is what I am all about.”/
The rest of Jesus’ life testified to this claim that he made.
Whereever he went,
he announced good news…
he acted out good news.
He brought freedom for those who were prisoners of sin,
illness, rejection, oppression,
even demon possession.
For Jesus, good news was always in dialogue with bad news.
For a blind man the good news is that he can see.
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