Sermon Tone Analysis

| *TEXT* | 1 Corinthians 14 |

| *SERIES ** * | Freedom to Love |

| *TITLE ** * | “Can You Hear Me Now” |

| *Exegetical Idea* | S - Why does Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 argue that prophecy is of greater value in the church than tongues?C – Because when believers gather as the church two of the main purposes are to encourage one another and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, both of these need clear communication to take place and prophecy is better suited to communication.

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| *Homiletical** Idea* | S – When the two are compared, why is the gift of prophecy of greater value when the church comes together rather than the gift of tongues?

C – Because encouraging one another and communicating the gospel to those outside the church are key purposes for the church meeting and prophecy accomplishes those purposes better than tongues.

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| *Want them to Know?* | * We need clear communication to build one another up and share the gospel

* Christians are to be more concerned about others than about what others think of them

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| *Want them to do?* | * Challenge them to clearly communicate encouragement to other Christians and clearly communicate the message of Jesus to people who have not heard it.

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| *BIG IDEA** * | When the people of God come together we ought to be concerned about lifting one another up and clear communication of the Gospel.

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| *PREACHING IDEA** * | Care about others not what others think about you.

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| *What’s Different?*

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| *What difference does it make?

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| *DATE & PLACE DELIVERED** * |   |

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* As we endeavor to encourage one another and be a voice to those who have not yet given their life to Jesus good communication is a non-negotiable.

* We thank God for tongues they are useful to worship God and for building up personally the believer.

* God is a God of order not disorder.

This statement is made in the context of a church that had so many people speaking in tongues that nothing of meaning for the building up of the church was taking place.

* Paul is telling the church at Corinth that when they are gathered as the church the gift of prophecy is of greater value than the gift of unknown tongues.

The church seems to have viewed the gift of tongues as the supreme mark that someone had reached a new level of spirituality, they were in a real sense as angels since they were speaking in the languages of angels.

They saw this as a goal of the Christian faith and therefore something that was to be lauded and shown off in a corporate setting.

They seem to have had a very individualized view for the purpose of corporate gatherings.

They had a very individualized view of Christianity.

For them Christianity was a personal thing not something that was shared.

The heart of the matter is a belief that Christianity is just a personal relationship with Jesus and does not involve responsibility to or for other people.

* Is there a danger of falling into this same way of thinking today and what biblical arguments can be made against such thinking?

We fall into this thinking today when we get decisions and forget about making disciples.

When we focus on our individual walk with the Lord and forget to ask people about their walk.

When we demand that songs that lift us up and build us up are what the worship team must sing.

When we only give money if it is used for projects that we are personally interested in.

* The people in the church at Corinth are more concerned about what other people think about them than they are about the souls and eternal destiny of other people.

…Than they are about building up other people and effecting their eternal destiny.

Their concern is that other people notice how spiritual they are; in turn they fail to make the connection that the mark of a spiritual person is their selfless love for God and for others.

* Followers of Jesus Christ are focused more on others than on what others think about them.

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*Me *– Communication is often a challenge for me.

Even though I stand up hear and endeavor to communicate the Word of God nearly every week, it is something that I have to work at and something that I think is worth working at.

* Times when our friends will laugh at us because of the things that Wendy and I will not communicate about.

I mean we talk about important stuff, but often everything else will fall through the cracks.

I often tell people there is no problem with confidentiality between Wendy and I because we usually forget it before we get around to talking about it.

* Wendy gets frustrated with me because, and maybe I am the only guy who does this, but she alleges that I ask her the same question 10 times.

Like for example, “Are we doing anything next Saturday?”

Her response will be something like, “Uhhh, sigh” then I know I am in trouble, “I told you five times already that I have an appointment for my nails.”

Oh yeah.

You have to understand, and this is terrible if something does not directly effect my schedule it’s like off my radar.

I think Mary is starting to learn this about me working in the church office.

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*We* – Have you also found communication to be a challenge?

Maybe you have had communication challenges in your marriage or with a friend or family member.

The Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal printed the following questions actually asked of witnesses during a trial.

The responses to some of the questions were given by insightful witnesses:

Now, doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?

The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?

 

Were you present when your picture was taken?

Were you alone or by yourself?

Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?

Did he kill you?

How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?

You were there until the time you left, is that true?

 

Q: She had three children, right?

A: Yes.

Q: How many were boys?

A: None.

Q. Were there any girls?

Q: You say the stairs went down to the basement?

A: Yes Q: And these stairs, did they go up also?

Q: How was your first marriage terminated?

A: By death.

Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

Q: Can you describe the individual?

A: He was about medium height and had a beard.

Q: Was he male or female?

Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?

A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

A: The autopsy started around 8:30 P.M. Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?

A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

Q: Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?

A: I went to Europe, sir.

Q: And you took your new wife?

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*God* – Clear communication is not just important to you and me, it is also something that is important to God.  Think about all the ways that God has communicated with people throughout history and all the ways he continues to communicate with people.

* The Bible tells us that he took walks with Adam in the garden before sin ever entered into the world.

* We know that he often has spoken through dreams and visions that he has given to people.

* Before he talked to Moses on the mountain, he spoke to him through a burning bush.

* He also sent angels to communicate with people.

* For a long period of time he sent prophets to bring messages from him to his people.

Usually these were not well received messages and prophets were not the most popular people in the city, but God used them to speak to people.

In fact I can imagine that being called by God to be a prophet was quite a scary thing.

I mean if you were wrong the penalty was pretty stiff – death.

* What has got to be the most amazing way that God communicated with humanity is by sending his son Jesus who is God down here to walk among us.

Think about it, take for example your pet.

If you want to communicate with your dog and let him know how much you love him there are many ways you can do it.

The actions you take etc., but the most effective way would be if somehow you could become a dog.

* Jesus became a human and we have a record of his communication in the Bible.

* God continues to communicate with us, through the words of the Bible, through the His Spirit that dwells within us, through other people.

Clearly, clear communication is something that is important to the God of the universe.

In fact the great church planter Paul recognized how important clear communication was when he was writing his letter to the church at Corinth.

In the midst of a discussion on spiritual gifts Paul says something that would have sounded very peculiar to the church at Corinth and perhaps might sound very peculiar to you and me this morning.

If you have your Bibles turn to 1 Corinthians 14 with me and let’s read what he says.

He said in 1 Corinthians 14, “He who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues.”

Those two words probably sound strange to many of you this morning and especially to those who may not be from a church background.

Let me explain a little what we are talking about with the words tongues and prophecy.