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
0.1UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.1UNLIKELY
Fear
0.13UNLIKELY
Joy
0.59LIKELY
Sadness
0.21UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.49UNLIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.24UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.82LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.48UNLIKELY
Extraversion
0.2UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.83LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.43UNLIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Psalm 149:1
! Introduction
I read an article by Helen Rose Pauls which was in a church paper.
She talks about music in the church.
She writes:
The “new song” has caused very real debate and ongoing division in our
churches.
It is probably as divisive and controversial as the change from the German language to English was in the 1950s.
I remember an elderly neighbour hearing us children say our nightly prayers in English and asking my mother whether she really thought that God would accept them.
\\ Many churches are coping with “new songs” by having two services, one youth friendly and one more staid, but some mourn that the important intergenerational aspect of church is gone.
Others have lost their youth to churches that sing only the new songs; this occurs quite easily where so many Mennonite churches exist in one geographical area.
Almost four years ago, our two youngest teens, as soon as one of them had his driver’s license, began attending a church that sang only new songs.
Their older brother was in another “with it” church which attracted a huge college and career group; this is where he met his life’s partner.
Our eldest daughter moved to the city to work and found a lively church there, where she also met her husband.
Our parents, when they were still alive, found peace and solace in the familiar songs and worship of a nearby church that was full of gray heads.
We have stayed in our home church, which was founded 25 years ago by people in our age group who speak our language and sing our songs, but which has also tried to adapt to modern worship teams.
We thought our church was “cool” and very comfortable for people of all age groups.
“Sure, Mom,” said our son, “It’s great if you’re 50.”
I’m glad that all of our children have found a place to worship with others who are like-minded.
There are times when I wish we would all be together.
Is compromise possible when we older ones still enjoy what were once our “new songs” and our youth want to sing theirs?”
What she writes about is a conversation that is common to all of us.
We have heard these words as well.
We have heard some who have lamented that we don’t sing enough hymns and we have also heard some who feel that we don’t sing nearly enough choruses.
I know that the music committee takes these comments very seriously and I believe that they are working hard at dealing with them in a good way.
I commend them for what they are doing.
The thing that makes it so difficult is that these ideas and feelings are spoken with great emotion because they are felt deeply.
How can we get along?
What does the Bible have to say about this?
Last Sunday we talked about worship and affirmed that worship arises in response to God’s mercy and that worship is about offering our bodies to God.
A part of that offering is the expression of our worship to God in word and song.
This morning, I would like to talk about this aspect of our worship and offer some thoughts from Scripture on the controversial aspects of music and worship.
We read a number of Scriptures which will form the background for our thoughts.
Psalm 149:1 is representative of these verses and I have used it as an outline for these thoughts.
!
I. Sing
Some of you have attended African~/American worship services when on assignment with MDS.
The other day, we talked to Lillie Bartel and she talked about how when she and George had been in Arkansas, they had attended such a service.
She mentioned that the choir had sung until they were tired.
Their singing was so enthusiastic that they even had to have nurses on duty because people were in danger of fainting.
I have been at these services and I can believe that story.
The enthusiasm and exuberance in worship is tremendous.
It is a great contrast to even our most enthusiastic worship services.
Our background is such that worship is very subdued.
We stand still or sit when we sing.
We sing heartily, but all the emotion is in our voices, which also do not sing overly loud.
What we have learned is that worship must be orderly.
We have read in I Corinthians 14:33, 40 that “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” and that “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”
We have taken these words seriously, as we should.
We have also read Hebrews 12:28 which calls us to “worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”
This scripture coupled with our natural tendency as people from Northern Europe has made us quite comfortable with serious, sober, quiet worship.
However, when we read the Psalms, we learn that exuberance in worship also has a place.
In the Psalms we read before, and in many others, we are invited to sing, to praise, to make music on the “ten-stringed lyre,” to praise and even to shout.
Other Psalms encourage us to other enthusiastic expressions of praise.
For example, Psalm 134:2 commands us to lift our hands.
Psalm 150 encourages praise with the “sounding of the trumpet…with tambourine and dancing…with the clash of cymbals…”
How do we bring these things together?
Is it possible to praise God with great enthusiasm and still maintain order and do so with reverence?
Sometimes when enthusiasm rises high, reverence is forgotten.
Sometimes when reverence is lifted high, worship dies to a boring mumble.
The mercies of God call us to a heartfelt expression of our love for God and our praise of God.
I think we need to find ways of allowing exuberance in our worship.
If someone would shout out of a heart of praise, we should give place to that.
If people wish to raise their hands, we need to rejoice with them and perhaps even join them.
As we show such passion, however, let us not forget to maintain a reverent attitude.
One day David was so excited about God that he danced about in an expression of his love for God.
His wife, Michal, was not impressed and condemned him.
As a consequence, she had no more children, which was God’s judgement on her.
Let us be careful not to condemn those who show some enthusiasm and passion in their worship.
They are on solid Biblical ground.
In fact, I think we need to find ways of also expressing that emotion.
I have been at camp and participated in singing at camp.
Every once in a while, a song is sung, which is a great song, has a fun tune, but whose words are on the edge of being irreverent.
I get very uncomfortable at such times.
We need to watch that in our enthusiasm, it is love for the Lord and respect for Him that moves us in our singing and our worship.
!
II.
To The Lord
That will happen if we remember the second word about singing in this verse, and that is the word “To the Lord.”
This is central and key to our worship.
All the matters of worship - enthusiasm and reverence, order and joy, hymns and choruses will be brought into focus and balance when we remember that our worship is directed to the Lord.
Sometimes in our worship services, we praise people.
It is OK to be thankful for what others have done, but the focus of our worship service must always remain God.
We do not come together primarily to enjoy each other, we certainly do not come to praise each other.
We come together to praise the Lord.
He is the direction of our worship.
Sometimes I have been a part of a worship service in which I felt that the purpose was to stir emotions and to manipulate people so that they would feel good.
It became obvious that it wasn’t about God anymore, it was about how people felt.
I was uncomfortable in such a setting.
Worship is not about trying to stir feelings.
Sometimes we have the mistaken idea that we worship when we feel good.
We can worship just as well when we feel horrible as when we feel great.
Worship is not about the feelings that are stirred, worship is about the direction of our thoughts and emotions.
There must be a God-ward direction to our whole being.
There are some things that people can do very well.
They can sing, they can preach, they can serve.
When people do things well, they ought to be thanked and even praised for the good things they have done.
That is a good thing to do, but that is not worship.
There are some things that only God can do.
Only God can create.
Only God can convict of sin.
Only God can change hearts.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9