Sermon Tone Analysis

Eli loves playing with bubbles (I think Tina or Susan started his bubble obsession in the nursery)

Eli loves playing with bubbles (I think Tina or Susan started his bubble obsession in the nursery)

But you know the problem with bubbles?

There are actually a bunch of problems with bubbles.

For one...

Bubbles are fragile

You can’t grasp them in your fingers

You can’t hold them in your hand

Gravity is constantly pulling them down and as soon as they touch the ground—they disappear

This is one of the few things Eli dislikes about bubbles.

The fact that he can’t hold them and they don’t taste good.

(Yea, he tries to eat them)

But bubbles are so delicate.

No matter what you do to try and protect them, to try and keep them safe, to try and keep them from bursting—they still do.

And on occasion, a bubble will find a place to land where it doesn’t pop instantly.

But then without warning, before your very eyes it will pop and vanish forever.

Bubbles are fragile.

They are delicate.

They are also...

Bubbles are short lived

Not only are they delicate and fragile, bubbles just don’t last.

Their life cycle is so short.

As I said, gravity is constantly pulling bubbles down, just like it does to everything else.

From the moment they come into existence, their clock is ticking.

PAUSE

Bubbles are fragile, they’re short lived and then the last problem with bubbles…

Bubbles die

Even the ones that manage to hang around for a while, eventually, they pop and disappear.

They don’t last forever.

They’re here for a moment and then they’re gone.

PAUSE

Now I’m sure you already know where I’m going with this, but there are a lot of similarities between bubbles and our lives.

Look at

Look at

Look at

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The message of James, as we’ve been uncovering on Wednesday evenings, is that true faith reveals itself in the way we live.

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year.

We will do business there and make a profit.”

14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?

Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.

15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”

16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

The message of James, as we’ve been uncovering on Wednesday evenings, is that true faith reveals itself in the way we live.

The message of James, as we’ve been uncovering on Wednesday evenings, is that true faith reveals itself in the way we live.

The message of James, as we’ve been uncovering on Wednesday evenings, is that true faith reveals itself in the way we live.

If we are true followers of Christ, there will be evidence of that relationship with Jesus in...

Our priorities

Our actions

Our words

The use of our resources

The use of our time and energy

If we are people of faith, then our faith is going to be seen in the way we live.

And James makes this sobering argument, if we’re calling ourselves people of faith, yet there is no evidence of obedience to Jesus or trust in Jesus, we need to stop calling ourselves Christians because if there’s no evidence of faith in our lives, we are not Christians.

And this is what James is calling out here in chapter 4 where he more or less says...

“You guys are calling yourselves Christians, yet I’m struggling to see the evidence in your way of life.”

“You’re calling yourselves Christians, yet you are involved in business practices that have nothing to do with God nor do they bring Him any honor.”

“You’re calling yourselves Christians, yet God has no part in your daily plans or your plans for the future.”

They weren’t relying on God, they were relying on themselves and they were relying on themselves to fulfill their own selfish desires.

They weren’t relying on God, they were relying on themselves and they were relying on themselves to fulfill their own selfish desires.

PAUSE

And I just want to make sure we’re clear on what James is actually rebuking here.

A lot of people misinterpret this passage that James is rebuking making a profit.

He’s rebuking capitalism or hard work in business.

He’s rebuking financial planning and strategy.

But that’s not what James is rebuking here

There’s nothing wrong with hard work, there’s nothing wrong with being an entrepreneur, and there’s nothing wrong with planning for the future.

I mean, good stewardship is something we read about all over Scripture, honest work and effort is something Scripture encourages and planning for the future are things Scripture encourages.

and planning for the future are things Scripture encourages.

There’s nothing wrong with these things.

These things in and of themselves are not what James is rebuking.

What he does rebuke is pursuing these things in a worldly way.

As one commentator put it, James was trying to help these Christians understand that the attitude of their hearts was unworthy of who they really were.

It’s as if James is saying, “You’re not living up to your name.”

Coach Derossett

They claim to be followers of Christ, yet they ignore him with their lives and future.

And that’s kind of what James is saying here...

You’re not putting in the work

You’re not showing up to practice

You’re getting in trouble at school

You’re not doing the things you need to be doing to represent that jersey well

“You acknowledge God with your lips, but you’re not relying on Him, you’re relying on yourselves.

You don’t include God in your business, you don’t include Him in your plans.

You’re relying on yourselves in order to fulfill your own selfish desires.”

And again, there’s nothing wrong with hard work, there’s nothing wrong with making money, there’s nothing wrong with planning for the future.

Where we cross the line is when we take worldly avenues in order to accomplish these things.

We cross the line when we attempt to accomplish these purposes in ways that do not include God or bring Him any honor.

PAUSE

I read something the other day that really struck me.

The author said:

God is either Lord of every area of our lives or He’s Lord of nothing

But the lie that the devil has sold the American church is the lie that Jesus is fine with being Lord of only certain parts of our lives.

He’s cool with sharing the throne of our heart.

But as James would say, “If Jesus is Lord of only certain parts of your life, stop calling yourselves Christians because you’re not one.”

PAUSE

Bethany

And I haven’t been able to get my mind off of that because it’s true that life is short.

Just like bubbles, life is

fragile

Bobby Knox