Sermon Tone Analysis

| *TEXT* |   |

| *SERIES ** * |   |

| *TITLE ** * |   |

| *Exegetical Idea* |   |

| *Homiletical Idea* |   |

| *Want them to Know?* |   |

| *Want them to do?* |   |

| *BIG IDEA** * | When you try to run with your anger it will kill your walk with God.  |

| *PREACHING IDEA** * |   |

| *What’s Different?*

|   |

| *What difference does it make?

* |   |

| *DATE & PLACE DELIVERED** * |   |

* *

 

| What do they need to know? (Information) |   |

| Why do they need to know it?

(Motivation) |   |

| What do they need to do? (Application) |   |

| Why do they need to do it?

(Inspiration) |   |

| How can I help them remember?

(Reiteration) |   |

* *

* *

\\ *Outline*

 

*Introduction*

1996 US women’s Olympic gymnastics team was the first US team to ever win a team Gold medal in a fully attended Olympics.

Amanda Borden, Amy Chow, Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Jaycie Phelps.

But, if you watched the Olympics that night there is one name that sticks out more than any other, Kerri Strug delivered the most dramatic moment of the 1996 Summer Olympics when she completed a vault (9.712) after spraining her ankle; the second vault assured the first all-around gold medal for a US Women's gymnastics team after poor vaulting by her teammates had put the medal in doubt; a poor performance by the Russian team on the beam had clinched the gold medal for the US but Strug was unaware when she made the second vault.

Kerri Strug new exactly what the criteria was that she was going to be judged on.

She knew the number she had to get and exactly what it would take to get there.

Sprained ankle or not she knew that she would have to stick that vault like she never had before and then no matter how much pain she was feeling she would have to straighten herself up and raise her hands over her head to complete the vault.

But, what if the criteria were suddenly changed on her?  What if the judges suddenly said great jump, but I don’t like her haircut so I am deducting a point.

What if the criteria changed in your job?

* Building a house and the inspector comes by, well everything looks in order but wait a second is today Tuesday?

Well all houses inspected on Tuesday need to be built out of 2x6 boards so you don’t pass.

* We know that you hit all your goals and even went above and beyond what was asked, you performed exceptional at everything you were given.

However, we don’t like the color of your car so no promotion and no raise for you.

Thanks for your service.

* Or guys if you are getting ready to take that special girl out on a date.

You dress right and smell right, spend an extra 30 seconds on your hair and everything is in place.

You get to the house and her Dad gives you a geometry test and won’t let you take her out until you complete it.

It is important to know the criteria that you will be judged on.

Martin Luther King Jr. knew this when in his famous speech he dreamed of the day when people would be judged on the content of their character and not on the color of their skin.

We need to know what we are going to be judged on here in this life, but how much more so in the after life when God alone is our judge?

There is a popular phrase on judging that says we judge others on their action while we judge ourselves on our intentions.

In other words when we look at others it is, “Did you get it done?”

When we look at ourselves we allow ourselves to say, “Well I meant to.”

We do this all the time, we can’t believe that so and so didn’t send a card when my mom passed away.

They called and said they had intended to, but things got a little crazy.

Well don’t’ they know things are a little crazy in my world too?

But, when we find ourselves in the same situation, I had intended to is suddenly acceptable.

We intend to help around the house, do our homework, send flowers, but we never get around to it, and we excuse ourselves, but not others.

Jesus says that often when it comes to God we want or expect Him to judge us on our actions, but what if that were not the criteria?

What if what the way we thought God was judging us was much different than how he actually was, then the stakes are much higher than a gold medal.

TEXT – Matthew 5:21-26

 

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her class of five and six-year-olds.

After explaining the commandment to honor thy father and thy mother, she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?"

Without missing a beat, one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill."

*We focus and judge ourselves on our external actions.

*

In many in fact most places in life we will be judged on our external actions and not our intentions.

At work, in school, in relationships we will be judged on what we do and don’t do.

In sports this is certainly the case.

On June 1, 2007, minor league Mississippi Braves baseball manager Phillip Wellman threw a major league tantrum that earned him the national spotlight, if only for a moment.

During a losing game against the Chattanooga Lookouts, Wellman was infuriated over a call made by the home plate umpire.

Wellman charged out of the dugout, stood nose-to-nose with the umpire, and began screaming.

He then framed his hands just outside the umpire's face and shook them emphatically as he blustered all the more.

Wellman then stormed toward home plate.

He knelt on one knee, covered the plate with dirt, and then retraced home plate with his finger, this time about a yard wide.

Then, after a brief altercation with the third base umpire, Wellman stole third base—literally.

He pulled the bag out of the ground, sauntered toward second base, and hurled it discus-style out of the infield.

But it's what happened next that got people talking.

Walking back toward the pitcher's mound from second base, Wellman dropped to the ground and belly-crawled toward the mound, picked up the rosin bag, and, after pulling an imaginary pin with his teeth, lobbed it like a grenade at the home plate umpire.

Then, he headed for the outfield.

On his way, Wellman uprooted second base, picked up the discarded third base, and took them with him.

Just before he left the field via the outfield wall, Wellman blew a kiss to the cheering crowd.

Wellman's temper earned him global recognition—and a three-game suspension.

The response from fans was mixed.

While some appreciated Wellman's theatrics as all in good fun, others were embarrassed by the example such behavior modeled for young fans.

There may have been many managers who wanted to do what Wellman did, but they never acted on it.

*People in Jesus’ day that he was talking to thought that as long as they didn’t commit murder they were pleasing God when it comes to how they relate to others.

*  

We use this criteria today when we excuse actions by saying, “Hey it’s not like I killed anybody.”

Jesus says let’s look a little closer:

* You have resentment toward your parents

* Treat co-workers or employees like machines who are there to serve your interests

* You never let another person forget their mistakes, but you excuse yours

* You treat people you don’t know like objects

* You slander someone behind their back

* Make another person feel foolish and inadequate so you can feel better about yourself

 

But hey, “I didn’t kill anybody.”

Jesus says that’s good, but not good enough.

Not murdering someone is not the finish line, but the starting point.

*If we don’t commit a murder it does not mean that we are not a murderer.

*

* God is more concerned about the intentions of our heart.

* Person is responsible for thoughts, not just acts of violence against somebody.

* Jesus is not just replacing one command with another, but is trying to clarify what God intended to be our posture towards other.

He wants us to live a life that more perfectly reflects the kingdom.

*Are you and angry person?*

* *

You may not have an outward expression of anger and so you may not consider yourself an angry person.

But, it is possible that we have suppressed anger or unexpressed anger.

Anger turned inward may cause hypertension, high blood pressure, or depression.

Unexpressed anger can create other problems.

It can lead to pathological expressions of anger, such as passive-aggressive behavior (getting back at people indirectly, without telling them why, rather than confronting them head-on) or a personality that seems perpetually cynical and hostile.

People who are constantly putting others down, criticizing everything, and making cynical comments haven't learned how to constructively express their anger.