Scripture for October 28th: Matthew 5:21-23

Sermon Title: Overcoming Angry Outbursts

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

“He made me so angry.” I’ve often heard this excuse to justify an angry outburst. Of course I got angry and hurt others, they will say, because something unjust was done to them.

W.F. Haley writes about how common it is for people to display this attitude: “Most of the people that I’ve counseled who are perpetrators of angry outbursts don’t see their anger as a serious problem in their marriage. As far as they’re concerned, the real problem is their spouse’s behavior that they think triggers their angry outbursts. ‘If she’d just stop being so annoying, I wouldn’t get angry.’ ‘If he’d be a little more thoughtful and considerate I wouldn’t lose my temper.’ In other words, most of the people who have angry outbursts feel that the other person made them do it.”

The Scripture above tells us that God does not blame others when we hurt people with our angry outbursts. No, instead He holds us accountable for our actions. Notice that Scripture does not deny that we will get angry from time to time. Anger is a human emotion and everyone feels anger from time to time. But what God will hold us responsible for is what we do with anger and when we hurt others with our anger, we are “subject” to His judgment.

So how do we overcome angry outbursts? On Sunday, we will give 4 concrete ways to stop angry outbursts as we continue the sermon series, “Lovebusters.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for Oct. 21st: Luke 18:9-14

Sermon: Overcoming Disrespectful Judgments

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

We often think we know about what others intend to do. The key word in that sentence is: “think.” We assume what their thoughts and intentions are, and then we act or react accordingly. Unfortunately, many times our judgments are incorrect and because they are, we often inflict damage on our relationships, especially those closest to us.

Dr. W.F. Haley best describes what a disrespectful judgment is. He writes, “A disrespectful judgment occurs whenever someone tries to impose a system of values and beliefs on someone else.” This is exactly what the Pharisee was doing in the parable that Jesus told. The Pharisee wrongly believed that God was impressed with him because of all the good things that he had done. He also wrongly assumed that the tax collector could not receive forgiveness from God. And he was wrong in thinking that God was more pleased with him than He was with the tax collector. Because of his wrong assumptions, he treated the tax collector with contempt and had no meaningful relationship with him.

How often we do this in our own lives. If we are going to have strong, healthy relationships with others, we must learn to overcome our own tendency to inflict others with our disrespectful judgments. To do this, we must treat others with respect, look out for the best interests of others, test our opinions and be willing to admit we can be wrong. We will talk more about each of these as we continue the sermon series, “Lovebusters” this coming Sunday. Hope to see you then!

Scripture for Oct. 14th: I Corinthians 13:1-7

Sermon: Overcoming Selfishness

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

One of the greatest hinderances to living life the way God intended is selfishness. Our need to please "self" has destroyed more relationships and has brought more pain and destruction to lives than almost anything else humanity has done. I know those are strong words and some might think that it is an oversimplification of the struggles of humanity. However, think back to the story of the Garden of Eden - why did Adam and Eve disobey God? It was to please themselves - they thought first and only about themselves and not their relationship with God. This sin has since been repeated over and over. And one of the primary reasons relationships are broken? At least one person is overly focused on themselves, or in other words, selfishness.

W. E. Gladstone observed, “Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” Dr. J. Mason has written this about selfishness: "Self-interest is a fire that consumes others and then itself. Almost all of our unhappiness is the result of selfishness. Instead, think in terms of what the other person wants, not just what you want. It is absolutely true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others succeed. The measure of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. Everyone can be great because everyone can serve." And the great chaplain of the US Congress, Peter Marshall, once said: "When you are serving others, life is no longer meaningless."

This coming Sunday, we will talk more about overcoming selfishness through being love focused, honoring others, demanding less and requesting thoughtfully as we begin the sermon series, "Love Busters." Hope to see you then!

Scripture for October 7th: Luke 5:12-16

Sermon Title: Touch

"While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

One way God shows us His love is through the power of touch. We see this in the story of Jacob, wrestling with God, and receiving His blessing through the touching of his hip (Genesis 32:25-30). Moses was also physically touched and his body responded with a great glow that surrounded his face (Exodus 34:29-33). And we certainly see the power of touch in Jesus ministry, as He healed a blind man through His touch (John 9:11), blessed children through touching them (Mark 10:15-16) and the healing of the leper in the Scripture above.

God can use us to bless others through our physical, loving touches. Through our touches, we can connect with others in a powerful way. And by connecting with them in such a way, God can use us to help transform their lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our physical touch can be used by God to not only connect others to us, but also to connect them to Him. Do not forget to convey your love for others through this very powerful means of communication - today, there are people in your life that need a loving, physical touch. You can provide that and ultimately connect them to the love of God.

This coming Sunday, we will talk more about the power of touch and its ability to connect, change and charge our lives as we conclude the sermon series, "Love Languages: Five Ways to Give and Receive Love." Hope to see you then!