Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
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Emotion Tone
Anger
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Analytical
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Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Agreeableness
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Anger
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to Oldfield Free Church.
I’m Ian and it’s great to see you here.
We’re going to celebrate with singing
...before a message on being quick, slow, slow.
If you’re new here welcome and please take one of the leaflets on the table at the back and stay for a cuppa after the service and introduce yourself.
[OK.
Show me your mobile phones everyone!
Now that they are in your hands either switch them off completely or put them on silent!
Thank you!]
Let’s pray
Mighty God, everything you do reveals your glory and majesty.
Open our eyes to see what you are doing in our lives.
Let us marvel at your good gifts and your wise provision.
Your acts are amazing Lord.
We can not comprehend the number of blessings you pour out on us from day to day.
As we gather today around your name, we pray that you would fill our hearts, our minds and our souls.
Transform us Lord, and make us more like you.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Hymn: 261 O Lord, our God, how majestic
Song: 106 Hallelujah sing to Jesus
Prayer
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Song: 11 All I once held dear
Notices + Collection + Children to their clubs
Reading and Sermon
Introduction
We are all too eager to speak and give our point of view but we miss out because we do not hear.
To be honest I wish I had this verse imprinted at the front of my brain and heart.
How often I miss it and miss what others are saying to me.
When we learn to hear we will start to hear more of what is going on between the lines too.
It is not always what they are saying but it maybe the symptom of something else.
For instance if someone feels hurt it often expresses itself in anger.
Anger, IS a bane to us for our anger is not a righteous anger, it is an anger that produces more anger, more strife, more sin.
The saying ‘be angry and do not sin’ is about keeping very short accounts.
If is nearly impossible to be angry and not sin.
There is a righteous anger which is about justice for others or against belief systems that take people away from God or an anger against the devil but even then, it is often tainted or taken too far.
Yet, Jesus got angry and did not sin -
If you are angry you have got to ask whether there is any good in it.
And as you have often heard me say, I discover this whenever I am driving.
It is not always good for my soul or for those who are with me, especially Irena.
We have to call it for what it is: Wickedness.
If it is not righteous, it is wicked.
And as if we need to be told more we are told by Solomon:
And in verse 21 we are told to repent of this.
If we recognise ourselves in this is to come to God for a cleansing.
And that is how we would understand these verses, on the surface.
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
BUT with all that said, is that what these verses are really saying?
In verse 18 James speaks of the Word, in verse 21 James mentions the Word, in verse 22, the Word, and in verse 23 the Word.
So, verse 19 is speaking about what?
Is it not the Word?
Context tells us that it is.
The ESV has helpfully called this section of verse 19 to 27 ‘Hearing and doing the Word’.
So, what is it that we should be quick to hear?
What is it that we should be slow to speak?
And what is it that we should be slow to be angry about?
The answer to all three questions is: The Word.
Let’s take each in turn:
Be quick to hear the Word
We should be soaked in the Scriptures.
We should be reading and studying every day.
It is my privilege to do this in greater depth but not one of us is without excuse.
How many here have read through the whole of the Bible?
How many here have read the bible 10 times, 50 times?
How many hours have we watch TV this week?
How many hours have we been on the internet this week?
How many hours is that?
And how many hours have you been in the Word.
Muslims used to call us the people of the Book.
Our attention span is not like previous generations and it is getting shorter and shorter.
Watch TV and the scene changes every 15 seconds.
We have become accustomed to visual changes and affected out ability to hear.
And if you watch TikTok or YouTube shorts the time evaporates with our need to consume.
If we do not control our time these other things will.
And why do you think there is so much compromise in the church today?
They don’t know what God says about any situation.
They import Marxist and other political ideas into Christianity rather than let the Word of God speak and for us to hear.
Faith comes by hearing, right?
How?
By the Word of God.
What faith have we today that is tainted by TV, by the internet, by our political views?
Quick to hear.
We should be eager to listen to the Scriptures.
To listen to the explanation of it.
That includes the sermons, the bible studies and so on as well as our private devotions.
This is one of the first steps to proper discipleship.
The first generations of Christians did not have the New Testament and few could afford to have their own copy of the Old.
They had to listen.
Today, we have it written, we can listen to it too.
But do we?
We don’t stop.
We are so busy.
But what are we busy about?
This life, we are told constantly in Scripture, is but a hairsbreath in comparison to eternity.
We are but dust.
We are flowers to spring up and then die.
The number of our days are few.
If we don’t stop we will hare through this life and not fulfil our potential in God who says: Be still, and know that I am God.
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