Tremendous sermon on the liabilities of our tongue, both in what we say and don't say.
Without Jesus we are doomed to miscommunication at best, enmity at worst; with him our speech is transformed.
MY STUPID MOUTH
Street Level Faith
James 3:3-12
Steve Tamayo
Our stupid mouths get us into trouble
Misunderstandings
Misstatements
Unwise commitments
The tongue is powerful – James 3:5b-6
A single spark can start a forest fire
Our words can have huge negative consequences Those consequences can impact us for a long, long time Whoever controls our tongues controls us – James 3:3-5a
Two illustrations from James: a horse/bit and a ship/rudder
Whoever controls your tongue controls you
Who controls your tongue? A Parable Our struggle for control – James 3:7-8
James claims we can’t tame our tongues
Do we believe him? Switch
Direct the Rider, Motivate the Elephant, Shape the Path
Science can help us control our tongues … but only briefly and unreliably
If changing behavior is easy, why is taming your tongue so tough? The search for single-origin speech – James 3:9-12
Look at the likeness (verse 9) o What does it mean that we’re made in God’s likeness? o
What does God do with his speech?
Commit to the search (verse 10)
Call it what it is (verse 11-12)
The heart of the problem is a problem of the heart How do we develop single-origin speech?
http://www.chathamchurch.org/mediaPlayer/#sermonaudio/433