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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Tone of specific sentences

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Anger
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Fear
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Analytical
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Openness
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Anger
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! Grappling with Guilt
Jesus is my Advocate when I am overwhelmed by the guilt of my sin.
Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit
When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord"—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you
should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord's unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Psalm 32
A story is told about an interesting prank pulled by the famous playwright Noel Coward many years ago.
It is said that he sent an identical note to twenty of the most famous men in London.
The anonymous note read simply:
"Everybody has found out what you are doing.
If I were you I would get out of town."
Supposedly, all twenty men actually left town.
What if you opened your mail one day and found such a note?
What would race through your mind?
Even though you've probably done nothing, it's a safe bet that, for a brief moment, your heart would beat a little faster and your palms might get a little sweaty.
If you doubt it, think back to the last time you saw a police car in your rearview mirror.
When the police car finally passed you, didn't you breathe a sigh of relief, and chastise yourself a little for those crazy, unfounded guilt feelings?
We all live with a great weight of false guilt and anxiety hanging over us.
I don't mean the real and necessary sort of biblical guilt that helps us realize we're sinners and leads us to repentance.
I mean the kind of guilt that dogs our lives, and that comes from who knows where and makes us feel miserable.
Some people never marry and feel guilty that they didn't; some marry and feel guilty that they did.
Some never have children and feel guilty about that; others feel guilty about the poor parenting job they are doing with the children they have.
Some sick people feel guilty over the care they are forced to receive from others; other healthy people who have sick people in their family feel guilty they aren't caring for them as they should.
We all carry around little guilt and big—about phone calls not answered, letters we /have/ answered, books we've read, books we haven't read... and on and on.
The other day I listened to the actual recording of a psychologist's scheduled therapy sessions.
One by one, several people came in and unloaded the guilt they felt.
One Jewish man shared his feeling of guilt because he was the only member of his entire family to survive a concentration camp during World War II.
In another case, a woman expressed her guilt over being unable to appropriately care for her aged mother.
She even felt guilty that she'd had to institutionalize her parent.
But we "normal folks" aren't much different, If I were to ask you to identify your guilty problems, you could probably list several things.
And so could I.
Some of our feelings would probably be well-founded, while others would be totally unfounded.
Yet guilt can keep us from ever experiencing the fullness of life we as spiritual people should daily know.
It can cripple us emotionally, mortally hindering our spiritual growth and keeping us from experiencing our full potential as people of God.
That sounds quite serious, doesn't it?
Well, it is.
So, how can we get rid of this awful, draining guilt?
We must begin to believe what the Word of God tells us about the reality of the Christian life.
And a good place to start is Psalm 32.
!! Relief and Release
Of all people, David had good reason for feeling guilty.
As we know, his sins were immense.
Scholars believe that Psalm 32 was written by David as a twin to the 51st Psalm.
Psalm 51 was written in the white-hot heat of David's cry to God for forgiveness over his double sin of murder and adultery.
Most scholars believe that Psalm 32 was written sometime following the events which occurred after David had experienced the forgiveness of God.
He had internalized that forgiveness, God had set him on his feet again, and the psalm reflects that experience.
Relief and release from guilt are written all through it.
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered ~/ Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him...."
It's easy to see why Psalm 32 is called a penitential psalm.
It was written to give the reader words to take to God.
As New Testament Christians, we have something even David, "the man after God's own heart," didn't have.
John gives us a promise that can break the stranglehold of guilt on our lives: "If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One" (1 John 2:1).
These two scripture passages hold the secret to overcoming guilt.
Any of us can experience freedom from guilt if we do two things: 1) tell God like it is, and 2) turn to Christ as our Advocate.
!! Telling God "Like It Is"
Every Bible reader is familiar with David's amazing, terrifying, exciting story.
It reads like fiction—but it's all true.
David, the sweet singer of Israel, author of Psalm 23, chosen by God as king to replace Saul over Israel, aborted all that promise and potential in one sinful act—an act that led to more sin and more sin.
One day he lazed about on the roof of his palace.
Below him he saw a woman bathing, and he took her in adultery.
Later on he had her husband killed to cover up his guilt.
And then he covered his sin for more than a year.
Finally at the end of that year, he came to himself, with the help of Nathan, and confessed his sins of adultery, murder, deceit, and dishonor.
Why would such a story be included in the Bible?
It shows us God's unconditional power to forgive.
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