Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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“Hypocrites!
I don’t have any plans on ever going to church, because it is full of hypocrites!”
Three weeks ago as I was visiting some homes in the neighborhood a man made this bold statement to me when I asked him “why do most people not go to church?”
It was good that he was honest with me.
I want to know what we can do to make our church more inviting for our neighbors.
This neighbor is looking for people of faith to be real.
I think that the people around us are looking for the real McCoy, the genuine article, the real deal.
We have been studying the book of James and today we get to what I believe is the thesis statement of the book.
The key to the book written by the Lord’s brother is wrapped up in a few words found at the end of the first chapter.
He says in 1:26, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious….”
He continues in the next verse, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:…” James asks, what does a person who has real faith and real religion look like?
What are the tell-tale signs that distinguish the “real deal” from a cheap imitator?
What is real religion, not hypocrisy?
How would you answer that?
Real religion is…?
Some one might say that real religion means going to church, having perfect Sunday School attendance, or being a member of a church.
Obviously, I’m in favor of church attendance and church membership.
But I also know that there is more than that to the “genuine article.”
It is a true statement that “Just because a mouse is in the cookie jar doesn’t make it a cookie.”
Just because you go to church, doesn’t make your religion real.
Maybe you can tell real religion by how big a Bible a person carries.
Maybe it is how a person dresses or how a lady wears her hair.
Some might suggest that real religion sees visions, hears voices, and works miracles.
Folk from James’ Jewish background might have defined real religion by right ceremonies, rituals, or temple sacrifices.
In fact, the word James uses for religion was the Jewish term for temple worship.
James flips this definition and says that real worship happens outside of the church building and happens in everyday life.
He tells us that real worship, or real religion involves three tell-tale signs that you’ve got the right stuff.
What are these three signs that define real religion?
Let’s see if you can catch’em in James 1:26-27.
READ
First, real religion controls the tongue.
READ Vs. 26 That is quite a statement!
Later in the third chapter, James paints a brutal picture of our tongues.
He says the tongue is harder to control than a wild beast.
It spreads like a poison and consumes like a roaring fire.
There is not a single one of us that doesn’t know that by experience—either from the effects of our own tongue or from the receiving end of someone else’s razor sharp words.
We all know about that.
I may be a preacher but I grew up in non-Christian home and worked in every job that you could think of to put myself through college.
I have heard most everything.
Most of you have too.
In fact, some of you probably used to be able to make a sailor blush with the words that popped out of your mouth.
Some of you know how hard it is to change that.
A foul mouth can be habit forming.
But Jesus can change that, can’t he?
One of the stories out of the great Welsh revival in Britain in the early 1900’s would be funny if weren’t so poignant.
It is said that hundreds of coal miners were so converted to Christ that it affected the production of the mines.
The miners worked just as hard if not harder after they became Christians.
That wasn’t the problem.
The problem was that the profanity of so many miners was so cleaned up that their mules didn’t recognize them anymore and refused to pull the coal wagons.
Psalm 39:1 (NIV) - I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.
What’s so bad about a foul mouth?
The problem is that our words are windows to our soul and our mind.
Our words reveal, for good or bad, what kind of person we are on the inside.
The roots of dirty, foul, profane, or blasphemous words grow deep into the human soul.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:18 (NLT) - But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.
That’s why James can honestly say, “when you can’t control your tongue, you are showing what is really in your heart… that is why your religion is worthless.
Don’t be fooled!”
Real religion controls the tongue.
Real religion also puts compassion into action.
Read James 1:27a.
Here is another statement that we wouldn’t connect with real religion – what does taking care of widows and orphans have to do with worshipping God?
James tells us that it has everything to do with real religion.
Two of the most oppressed people in the time of James were women whose husband had died and children who were abandoned.
They had no one to turn to.
There were no orphanages.
AND one of the worst fears of a woman in the first century was that she should become a widow.
Whoever took over the husband's possessions also took over the widow as a slave.
Isaiah 1:17 (NIV) - Learn to do right!
Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
One of the people in our church that you need to meet is Mike and Tammy Connelly.
They both recently were baptized and became members.
I did an interview with them because they took this verse very seriously in their lives.
They adopted two of the coolest kids in Centre County (show picture).
The Connelly Story:
Mike & Tammy were in love, got married, and like many people wanted children.
Everyone has a need to procreate - they want to have children in their lives.
They found out that they had two choices: go through fertility (which was new at the time) or adopt a child.
They choose adoption (and would still choose adoption today if the choice was open to them).
They went through an agency and adopted Sean.
Sean, as he was growing up, really desired a sibling.
So a few years later, they took a different route - they decide to open their homes to fostering with the intention to adopt.
After going through all the training, they then had to wait a whole year before receiving their first foster child named Russell.
But this did not work out as he was with them for only 10 days.
And then a year later, the same thing happened again – a child that they had loved and took care of for 6 months was taken away to be placed with the original family.
After fostering two kids that had to be returned, Matthew came into their lives.
I had an interview with them this week:
• When you fostered to adopt, you had to "give back" two children, how did you deal with that?
o It was really sad, but we knew the kids was going back to a safe place.
o We got busy and knew that God had someone else in mind for us.
o We kept the kid's best interest first - what was best for them?
• Why should a person foster?
o THE NEED IS GREAT!
o There is emotional and financial support that you don’t get with adoption.
o People are there for you and in fact, people are still there for us even after we adopted Matthew.
We always have the assistance we need, even though Matthew is no longer in the foster system.
• Why adopt?
o THE NEED IS GREAT!
o There is a real fear that you will have to give the child back if you don’t.
o Adoption fulfills the need each of us haves to procreate.
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