Sermon Tone Analysis
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Roe Vs. Wade - Prayer - thank you for Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, for courageous Supreme Court judges, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life!
You guided our laws because you are a God of order.
You said thou shalt not murder because you created us in your image - and that image should be revered and not desecrated.
Our relationships teeter on the brink with every word we speak
Have you ever had someone say to you, “You’d better watch your mouth?”
Yeah, that might have been one of mom and dad’s favorite sentences when I was growing up.
“Boy, you’d better watch your mouth.”
Mostly I was being sassy or dis-respectful.
My parents didn’t think kindly of that very much.
Some kids need to hear more of that on occasion.
Guys, have you ever turned your wife into an iceberg with something you’ve said?
I suspect every man has and if you haven’t, let me help you understand.
The balls on the tee.
It’s only a matter of time before you take a swing and a blast of icy air will enter your life.
Words are important because words convey ideas and meaning.
They can help us.
They can hurt us.
That’s what James is going to share with us today.
Open your Bibles if you will to James 3:1-12.
Let me invite those of you who are joining by live stream, video or podcast, if you are in safe spot, open your Bibles as well.
And as always, if you are in the Jones County area, I promise the experience will be better if you come in person.
As our podcast says, there is nothing that can be a substitute for true Christian fellowship.
So please, come join us.
With your Bibles open, follow along as I read.
Hear the word of the Lord, James 3:1-12
James’ argument here is simply this,
The key to success is being able to control your tongue
How many people do you know that their entire life was put on a different trajectory by what they said?
Some of you might remember a man by the name of Howard Dean.
The word “Yeah” probably cost him the presidency.
He was a dark-horse candidate to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 2004.
He was the first presidential candidate to understand the power of the internet and he had a powerful grass roots campaign.
He didn’t finish as well in the Iowa Caucus as he had hoped so, to rally his troops, he gave a speech.
And he got more and more impassioned, and he started naming off the states they were going to win.
And he got so fired up and people were clapping and cheering and he finished his speech with a very hoarse sounding “Yeah.”
And in an instant - he went from contender to also ran.
When he yelled, they way it sounded, made him sound a little bit deranged.
A careless word.
But what if you are in a profession where your words can’t be few?
Like a preacher?
Or a teacher?
James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”
I’ve told you before, one of the things I don’t like about my job is when I misspeak, make a mistake or plainly just say something dumb.
Lots of people will hear it and now with live stream, it’s immortalized - it will be in the ether for anyone to see anytime.
When I was interim back in 2013, I put a Bible event out of sequence in the message.
Before I got out the door, two people had corrected me - and they were right - and I needed to be corrected.
But I hated it.
Nobody that I know of likes to be called out.
But we who are teachers are going to be.
James says, “we will be judged with greater strictness.”
Why?
Shouldn’t the Lord be happy that we are obedient to follow Him and teach to the best of our ability?
I’m sure He is.
But the Lord loves all of His people and He wants all people to be saved.
And one of the biggest hindrances for any teacher is pride.
We start believing our own press.
That I did this.
That I’m really as good as people say I am.
That my words matter.
And the Lord says, “No.”
1 Peter 1:25 “but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
Not my words.
Occasionally the Lord calls preachers and teachers out because we stray into our words giving our word equal weight to scripture.
That’s a bad place to be.
I’ve said many times, without the scripture, I’ve got nothing to say.
And you know what the killer is?
As a teacher, even if you are diligent, even if you prepare meticulously, even if you pray 100 hours before you speak.
At some point, at some place, you’re going to slip and say something that’s not right.
And because you are called by God to teach, your words are going to hurt somebody.
And it is bound to happen.
I remember vividly as a young pastor giving a mother some really bad counsel - thought I was standing on the Bible but I wasn’t.
And it cost her and her son dearly.
God was merciful and he fixed it.
But not because of me - He did it in spite of me.
In verse 2 James 3:2 “For we all stumble in many ways.
And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”
There is James theme: If you are able to bridle your whole body by bridling your tongue, you can be perfect.
But James knows the truth.
“For we all stumble in many ways.”
There is no perfect person.
There will be a time when your whole body isn’t bridled because you open your mouth and foolishness comes out.
And the Lord hears.
Does he really?
Does the Lord really care about every word that comes out of my mouth?
Ok now wait a minute.
When I pass from this life into eternity, do you mean Christians are going to be judged?
There is a difference in our judgment day.
Our names are in the Lambs Book of Life.
We are saved.
We are welcomed into the presence of God.
And we are judged to see what rewards we will receive.
The Bible refers to them as crowns.
But when’s the last time you thought about standing before the Lord?
Or being judged at all?
But we will be.
It won’t be a beat down - that’s the Great White Throne judgment.
But we will be held accountable for every careless word we speak.
Now think back - it’s humbling isn’t it.
In fact, if everyone knew the careless words we’ve spoken, it would be humiliating.
Thank the Lord He is merciful.
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