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
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Emotion
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Anger
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Reading: James 1:1-8 \\ /because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
/James 1:3-4 (NIV)
!! I. Consider it Joy?!
A.
Is this Crazy?
1.
Was James a masochist?
a.
We wonder about people who like pain
b.
Some Christian people seem to do that
2.
Is this about enjoying pain?
a.
We wonder in reading this about that.
b.
It sounds sort of deep or spiritual.
c.
It’s really crazy.
3.
Should we seek out pain?
a.
Some have, some do: ascetics, pole sitting, flagellation, bloodied knees.
b.
Should we go looking for trouble?
c.
No!
James is looking past the pain.
B.
Testing is a Spiritual Workout
1.
A good workout means getting to the limits
a.
Training for a sport, or in the gym means pushing oneself to the limits.
b.
One builds strength and skills this way.
2.
Sometimes growth only happens when we have our limits pushed.
a.
This is obviously true in athletics.
b.
It’s also true personally and spiritually.
3.
Most folks don’t choose their workout!
a.
What James is talking about are the difficulties that come to us in life.
b.
Sometimes the intention isn’t our good but our destruction.
c.
Don’t worry, God uses that too!
C.
This joy is Results oriented
1.
Have you ever felt really good about a workout that made your muscles ache?
a.
It just feels good, doesn’t it.
2.
This joy isn’t about the suffering but about the results of the workout.
a.
James tell us that when our spiritual muscles are tired and sore, look ahead!
b.
Everything, even testing, make us better
c.
Joy is possible when we see that the present points to a better future.
!! II.
Let perseverance finish it’s Work
A.
Perseverance Isn’t the goal
1.
Perseverance is /what/ we need to get us /where /we need to go.
a.
To go some where we have to get there
b.
You won’t get far without endurance.
2.
Just “sticking to it” is just the beginning.
a.
To last is a good start, and a good way to go, but it isn’t the destination.
b.
Resolve is a foundation that God builds on in our lives to deepen our faith.
3.
You can’t grow up without it.
a.
People who choose to always take the easy way out don’t grow.
b.
Part of growing up is deciding not to run away when it gets hard.
B.
Perseverance makes us Mature
a.
We can’t be broken unless we let God take us to our limits.
b.
Unless we are broken, we can never be make whole.
2.
Growth is change.
a.
To grow is to change.
No way around it.
b.
But not all change is growth!
c.
In a way the Church is always growing and so always changing.
3.
We change when the pain of change is less than the pain of things the way they are.
a.
We prefer what we know.
b.
So God /blesses/ us with difficulties to grow us out of our complacencies.
C.
Perseverance makes us Whole
1.
“Going the distance” makes us complete
2.
Unless we face difficulties we can’t be all of who God has made us to be.
3.
We are supposed to be complete: “not lacking anything!”
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