Sermon Tone Analysis

*prelude*

*Prayer of Preparation            The enemy is Satan not people*

*welcome, announcements, joys and concerns*

*~*Hymn # 77    *O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing

*~*Call to Worship*

L: God’s gift of praise comes to those with ears to hear \\ P: The joyful shouts of children, \\ L: The wishful dreams of young people, \\ P: The persistent hopes of the middle-aged \\ L: And the prophetic visions of the old.

\\ All: Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.

\\ \\ *~*Invocation* ~/ Lord’s Prayer    Reveal to us today those whom you would have us see, those whose private needs are such that we might help.

Grant us the sensitivity to set aside our own needs sufficiently that we might be able to hear with the inner ear, to perceive those calls from friends or loved ones to whom we might minister your love.

Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, at it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever.

Amen

*~*Gloria Patri* \\ *Young’s Peoples Moment *                Place a heavy stone and a large stick in front of the children, and remind them of the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”

Ask the children if that saying is true.

Tell them that you don’t believe it, and explain to them that words can be very hurtful.

Give a demonstration.

In a very mean voice, say, “I hate you!”

In a nasty whisper, say, “I heard that a girl in this church is a cheater.”

In a mocking voice, say, “You are such a loser!”

Ask the children to raise their hands if they believe that words like these can hurt.

Point out that the Bible says that “*no one can tame the tongue *— a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).

Explain that we have to be very careful about how we use our tongues in speaking, because we can spread pain by speaking cruel words, or gossiping, or teasing in a mean way.

Pick up the stone and the stick and remind the children that these are not the only weapons that can hurt a person — the tongue can be dangerous as well.

Call to Prayer               Surely God is in this place.

This is none other than the house of God.

Genesis 28:16-17

Prayer Hymn  #402 Take time to be Holy v 2

*Pastoral Prayer          Our God, we your servants* gather in your presence to be strengthened and healed, inspired and empowered so that our work may make your compassion known.

speak to us, so that we may be a community that celebrates and proclaims your redemptive work.

May we be ever faithful to our call, always acting with conviction.

We ask this is the name of JC, our Redeemer.

AMEN*  *

*Musical response*

*Offertory sentence  What do you usually do, say, think, feel, during the stewardship challenge and offering: something to get through with the least amount of pain; or an opportunity to respond to God's acceptance of you and your call to obedience?*

*offering*           Doxology

*offertory prayer         *We pray, O God, that these gifts be accepted as the symbols of our lives.

For as we dedicate these gifts, so do we consecrate our lives to your service.AMEN

*Hymn # 368    *            Lord, I Want to be a Christian* *

I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord (need words and music)

*Scripture Text            */James 3:1-12/

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

For all of us make many mistakes.

Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.

If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies.

Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!

And the tongue is a fire.

The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.

For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue - a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?

Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs?

No more can salt water yield fresh.

*Sermon                       Did You Hear ?*

*Rumors are running rampant these days, including one concerning Olympic skier Picabo Street.

How can we resist the temptation to spread a good story, whether it is true or not?

\\ *Picabo [peek-a-boo] Street, the well-known Olympic gold medalist in the Super G, is more than a famous skier.

In fact, between training on the slopes and traveling around the world to compete, she managed to get an education and earn a degree in nursing.

Early in her nursing career, she was assigned briefly to work as an ICU nurse in a large metropolitan hospital.

\\ She did outstanding work.

But there was a problem.

The head of nursing had to tell her not to answer the phone in ICU because of the confusion it caused when callers would be connected to ICU and hear Picabo pick up and say in her best professional voice: “Picabo, ICU.”             True story?

No way.

Picabo is not now a nurse, has never been a nurse, and doesn’t particularly want to be a nurse.

But she gets the joke.

Since she was a child, she’s been teased about her name.

Her parents got it from an Idaho town that takes its name from a Native American word meaning “shining waters.”

\\ Picabo, ICU.

It’s a rumor.

Just one of many circulating today.

Another describes a horrible accident involving the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants.

A child is on a cruise ship with his parents.

He finishes breakfast and announces he is going to see SpongeBob.

His parents, thinking that he is going to the cabin to watch TV, have no problem with this.

But in his attempt to visit SpongeBob, who “lives in a pineapple under the sea,” the child jumps over the rail and drowns.

\\ A terrible tragedy - if it had actually happened.

But this SpongeBob story is completely false.

Such stories “reflect standard parental fears, that TV will have a bad effect on kids,” says Barbara Mikkelson, an expert in contemporary legends.

Similar rumors popped up about earlier pop culture characters - kids were said to be jumping off roofs while trying to be like Mary Poppins or Superman.

\\ Picabo has a problem, and so do we: We cannot resist the temptation to spread a good story, whether it is true or not.

In our text, we learn that: “the tongue is a fire,”    • it’s dangerous and destructive,   • its power is far greater than its size,  Never underestimate the power of this particular body part.

\\ Of course, we know this.

We’ve seen what happens to the standing of an elementary school boy when he is labeled a thief.

Or to the reputation of a middle school girl when she is said to be sexually active.

Or to the college prospects of a high schooler when he is rumored to be a cheater.

Or to the promotion chances of a worker when she is said to be lazy or stupid.

\\ It hardly matters whether these charges are true or not.

If they are disseminated, they do damage.

There was a rumor going around recently about a popular hip-hop artist.

The story was that she would rather suffer the death of her firstborn child than have a white person buy one of her albums.

not true.

And yet, the story spreads the stain of racism.

\\ “No one can tame the tongue,” says James, it is “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (v.

8).

~/~/ Did you hear about the kid who ate six bags of Pop Rocks at a party?