Sermon Reflections from Taming The Tongue | Alex Hardt  | July 9, 2023
  July 16, 2023

James is such a practical book as it is filled with advice and admonitions about how to live our best Christian life.  A life where our walk and our talk line up with scripture and are pleasing to God. Pastor Alex took this Sunday to walk us through James Chapter 3 gleaning important truths for us to remember and put into practice.
James starts with the admonition to be careful if you are a teacher.  At first glance most of us would say- I don’t teach.  But all of us are teachers of spiritual truths by the way we speak and act.  Our children, spouses, family and neighbors all hear and see our ‘teaching’ each and every day.  I know James was talking about teaching spiritual truths and the need for them to be accurate so that we give out the Word of God correctly.  We do not want to cause others to deliberately stumble by what we say and do.  Take a few minutes and think about a spiritual truth- God is love, God desires us to be just and righteous in Christ, etc.  How have others seen these truths in your life?  Are you giving a true picture of Christ and His love?  James reminds us that we need to be mindful of the messages we give to others and be sure they are aligned with scripture and show who God is.
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Next James talks about the power of the tongue.  It is a small member of our body but used improperly it can do great damage.  We only have think about a time we said something to someone that was unkind or hurtful.  I’m sure we have all experienced the repercussion of those types of remarks.  Pastor Alex talked about the tongue being a container that we carry around with us that can greatly affect everyone and everything.  He wanted us to remember that the power of the mouth has the ability to give life to those around us- positive, hope filled encouragement or to give death with putdowns, discouragement, slanderous, and even evil thoughts.  We can praise God or curse God with the same tongue.  It holds a lot of power and we need to be mindful of how and when we speak. When we are speaking ill of something, it is like using deadly poison or pouring gasoline on a fire.  David describes a poisonous person in Psalm 140:1-3 “Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers;   protect me from the violent,
2 who devise evil plans in their hearts
    and stir up war every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
    the poison of vipers is on their lips.    I know we all agree with David that only the Lord can rescue us from such people and their vile tongues! 

I love the way James 3 concludes.  He talks about 2 kinds of wisdom.  Wisdom from God and wisdom of the world.  We know we cannot all be perfect but we can seek God’s help, wisdom and guidance to live as best we can for Him.  He empowers us through His Holy Spirit to stand firm and resist the devil and his enticing desires.  Worldly wisdom is described in James 3:14-15” But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”  Worldly wisdom causes strife, bitterness, selfish desires and untruth to grow in our lives.  The root of this type of wisdom is unspiritual and of the devil.  It is filled with evil desires and leads to chaos.   The wisdom of God, by contrast, is described in James 3:17-18 “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”  God’s wisdom leads to peace, hope, living well with others, showing others about Jesus and His righteousness.  What a contrast- chaos vs peace!   Pastor Alex reminded us that God’s Wisdom produces good fruit.  James calls it a ‘harvest of righteousness’.  Isn’t that what we all truly desire? 

So how do we get there? 

1. Watch what we say and try to align our words and deeds with scripture.  Pray- ask God to help you ‘mind your words.’
2. Take measure of our words. Examine- are they ‘poisonous’ in nature or do they lead to good feelings and encouragement.  My Mom use to say, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.’  Seems to fit here with James.
3. Look for the fruits of the Spirit in your life.  Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  As we walk the Christian walk and seek to glorify Jesus in our lives, we should see more and more of this fruit. 

Not seeing fruit?  Pray about it and seek God’s help and wisdom. Just as David did, call upon the Lord and seek Him.  Remember our memory verse for this week from John 14:1 ““Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”   Be comforted, God is greater than anyone or anything we can face.   He knows the way; seek Him and He’ll guide you.

Linda

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Sermon Reflection from January 8, 2023 | A New Prayer
 
       As we begin a New Year, Pastor Alex is challenging us to look at the ‘old’ ways were have been doing things and seek a New way which through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit will produce a New You!  Last week, he looked at God’s Word and challenged us to dig in, dive in and immerse ourselves so that our Newer You would be pointed to God through His Word.  This week he is challenging us to talk to God and establish a firm and lasting connection to carry us through this New Year of 2023.
     
To start this New journey we need to have a conversation with God.  That sounds easy enough but in reality it can be difficult.  Finding and taking the time to stop the distractions that surround us and focus on communicating with God and be a challenge.  There are some tools that might be helpful in this:  your Bible is a great resource of how to talk with God, what to ask of Him and why you need to talk things over with Him.  For example in Psalm 23 the psalmist, David, point us to God’s ability to provide, calm, guide, eliminate fear, protect from evil, provide tools for me to use, has prepared a place for me to be and will always have my best in mind.  As you read the psalm you can pray for these things to be manifested in your life or the life of someone you are seeking to uplift.
 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Another idea of how to start this conversation with God is to use the ACTS method.  A- adoration.  Start your prayer time with praise and adoration for who God is.  A way to do this is to use the alphabet and pray an attribute of God with each letter, thanking him for his character that sustains you. C-confession.  Over and over in scripture we are told to repent, which is being sorry for our sins.  Tell God your failings and ask Him to help you over come through His Holy Spirit which dwells within you as a believer.  T- thanks.  Before we ask God for more, we need to be aware and thankful for all He has done for us.  It puts things into perspective as nothing else can.  Lastly, S- supplication which is talking to God about your needs and the needs of others.  Hopefully, you will find scripture, the alphabet or ACTS helpful in starting that conversation with Almighty God.

     How does one create a connection with God?  Through prayer certainly but also reading His Word and fellowshipping with other believers helps us to see the importance of family, hope, relationships and strength that comes from linking ourselves together by faith.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we join God’s family.  He is our Father and we belong to Him and with Him.  That is a connection that cannot be severed.  I love John 10:28 “ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”   Through faith in Jesus, I belong to and with God for eternity, and no one or nothing can remove Him from me or me from Him! Praise God!

     Why wouldn’t you want to have the Newer version of yourself?  You can talk with God anytime or anyplace.  You can be assured of your place in His family and will always have brothers and sisters in Christ to share in your hopes, joys and sorrows.   You have a permanent relationship with God that no one can take away from you, ever!  You belong to God and He desires a relationship with YOU!
     Take time in this New Year to cultivate this God provided relationship through faith in Jesus and let the benefits spill over into each and every day of 2023!
 
Linda

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A New You | A New Prayer
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Sermon series, "A New You" Today Alex Hardt share how Prayer Transforms the Heart

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​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.