James 3:7-10 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, (8) but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
(9) With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. (10) Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

While I am a self-professed introvert my voice seems to clearly resonate above all noise when I get frustrated. Sports events in which my children are involved are the fuel to my frustration.

I really wish it were not true, but I am the loud fan at the games. I am the first to point out a bad call. I frequently yell out instructions to coaches. I embarrass my wife. I often fear I damage my Christian witness.

The tongue is a dangerous beast. James actually says that “no man can tame the tongue.”

I am not sure how to take that. Does he say that to remind us that even good people will use their tongue for evil? Does he say that to comfort those of us who struggle? Does he say that to tell us that the taming of the tongue is a supernatural action? I really don’t know.

Believe it or not, I am better than I was years ago. My only stint as a youth football coach ended with a meltdown of epic proportions. I am better but I still struggle with my tongue.

I have learned a couple small lessons on this journey.

1. Ask God for Help. As with any struggle in the Christian life, I believe you need to ask God for help. Prayer is always a good answer.

2. Ask yourself, “Will I regret saying this later.” Yes, I still get loud, but I do not say ¾ of the stuff in my mind. My filter is getting stronger with age.

3. Count to 10 in your mind. Take a moment to process your thoughts and breathe deeply. Sometimes I like to get up and walk. I find my mouth often works overtime when I am nervous or afraid.

4. Find Something Positive to Say. Move your attention from the negative to the positive.

These are not fool-proof and I still struggle. I did it just last night. I literally have to remind myself of these suggestions daily. My tongue will always be a source of difficulty in my life. With the help of God and enough time to improve, I will get better. Lord willing!

There is a simple principle that I learned many years ago: “Your destination is determined by the path you take.”

If I leave my home headed south I will not end up in Kansas City. If I leave my home headed north I will not end up in Joplin.

This is a simple and very obvious principle in life. For you to end in the right place you need to start the right direction.

This reality is true in our spiritual life too. You will not end up knowing God’s word if you seldom read His word. You will not end up feeling close to God unless you pray to Him. You will never have great Christian friends unless you care for other people.

You will only end up where you are investing your time.

This is also true with our children. They will not know their Bible unless you explain it to them. They will not value the Church unless you take them. They will not value prayer unless you pray with them.

They will only end up where we put the emphasis.

I tell you this because I know some people will set in my office in the future complaining. They will not understand how their life got in this mess. They will not understand how their children could make that decision. They will cry tears of remorse over where life took them. They will cry out in desperation, “Why?”?

The hard reality is that they should have seen it coming all along.

In the future you will only end up where the decisions you are making today take you.

I don’t know how many of you tuned in to watch the Thursday night football game on September 17, 2017 – but a pregame speech was one of the best parts. That is especially true if you were a Chiefs fan like many people around here since they lost. I don’t know who wrote the speech but the narrator was Forest Whitaker. It was one of the better motivational speeches I have heard lately. Enjoy.

How many people in this room –
Have ever had one of those days?

When everything just…
Starts out wrong
Wrong side of the bed
Wrong side of the pillow
Whatever!

Put your hands up!
What is your answer?
That’s what I thought!
Every one of you!

Now when the world pulls that game with me?
I’m gonna tell you what I do…
I savor it!
That’s right!
Savor it!

Now let me tell you why –

Because you aren’t going anywhere
Any time soon
Without a struggle!
Without a fight!
Without people doubting you!
Questioning you!
Trying to keep you down!

Too many of you don’t realize that –
But what’s the point of succeeding
If succeeding is easy?

I never got that!
Never understood people
Who wished they were born rich
Never understood athletes
Who just wanted to join the best teams…
Build you own business!

Start your own dynasty!

A good start to a day is easy…
I want no part of easy!
I want the struggle!
I want the fight!
I want the pain!

And then I want
The best
Feeling
Of all!

The feeling
That the world
Did everything it could
To beat
Me!

But I won!

You can rewatch the speech HERE

This Sunday our Church is kicking off a new sermon series. I hope you can make it and please bring a friend. Oh, and we will be having a lunch together right after the Church program is over. Plan on sticking around for some food and fellowship.

September 20 “There’s Got to Be More?” (Awakening to Longing)
September 27 “I Wish I Could Start Over” (Awakening to Regret)
October 4 “I Can’t Do This On My Own” (Awakening to Help)
October 11 “God Loves Me Deeply After All” (Awakening to Love)
October 18 “Now This Is Living” (Awakening to Life)

I have a photo album of pictures I took as a kid. My parents had bought me a Kodak “Disk” camera for Christmas (did anyone else have one of these?). As a result of this purchase I started taking a lot of pictures. I took pictures of family, friends, sights, activities and lots of fish and wild game. Setting down and looking through my collection of pictures is a walk down all my childhood memories.

There is only one problem with all my pictures … I am not in any of them. As the photographer I was always the one holding the camera. I cannot be found in the pictures of my childhood. There is one picture at Cypress Gardens in Florida where I took a picture of a large mirror that ended with a picture of me taking a picture of me. Does that make any sense?

Anyway, when I hear people complain about the kids these days taking selfies and having selfie sticks I have to laugh. I completely understand the desire to be present in the pictures of your own life. I want to look back at my life and remember the things I was doing at this time and not just random pictures of things I experienced. I want to see myself at 14, 18, 21 and remember it correctly.

Recently I was looking at a picture my niece posted on Facebook of her and a friend out with their boyfriends for a meal. In the picture she is clearly holding a selfie stick taking the picture. While looking at it I got to thinking about the Church. I was wondering, “What would my Church pictures look like if I brought a selfie stick?”

Would you see pictures of me worshiping God each week? Would you see me looking around at other people without singing anything?

Would you see me fellowshipping with other people and building relationships? Would you see me only talking to the people I know and keeping my guard up?

Would you see pictures of me serving the Lord with gladness? Would you see me always sitting in a chair listening to other people?

Would you capture a picture me as a vital part of this community of believers? Would you see me occasionally stopping by for a visit to keep up appearances?

What would it look like if you were able to step back and see yourself as everyone else sees you? Would the pictures you capture look any different that the pictures in your mind?

I don’t mind pictures that are selfies. I completely understand people using selfie sticks to get better pictures. Sometimes a look at yourself is the best way to keep the memories. It is also a great way to do some self-evaluation.

This Sunday our Church is starting a new sermon series entitled “Finding Your Way Back to God.” I am encouraging everyone to bring a friend and use this as a time of outreach. We will have a meal following worship and it will be a great opportunity to connect someone to our Church.

I have spent the last two Sundays talking about sharing our faith. There is one more big issue I need to address: Prayer. I believe that all of what the Church does should be under girded with prayer, especially evangelism. Let me give you a few suggestions about praying and sharing the gospel.

1. Pray for Open Doors. I once worked as a telemarketer. It is a hard business except during the holidays. At Christmas it was easy to sell children’s magazines because people were looking for gifts for their children. There was an open door to listening to our product. The same principle is true with almost everything, including the gospel. There are times and seasons when people are open to hearing about faith. Times of loss, of birth, of tragedy, of triumph and times of transition will open up people’s hearts to the gospel. Sometimes it is just our words that open a door and sometimes it could even be our smile that can make a difference. Pray that God will put you into the lives of people who are open to his message.

2. Pray for a Person or Family. Commit that for 5 days a week for one year you will pray for an individual or family. Pray that God will open the doors of their heart. Pray that God will open a door to the message. Pray that their heart will soften through your positive influence. Pray that God will bless them or shake them. Pray for the same people who need to know Jesus over and over again.

3. Pray for the Outreach of Others. You are not alone in your effort to reach people with the gospel. Your parents, friends, and co-workers are also trying to reach out. Pray that God will use them in their situations. It is like a player on a team hoping his teammates do well so that we can all win.

4. Pray for Your Church Leaders. I have been working and praying about these sermons, the videos, the worship and the children’s area this week. I am asking that God would be present in every word spoken and every person involved. Pray that God will use the leaders of this Church to the greater glory of God.

I want everyone to do the work of an evangelist. We need to be ready to give an answer for why we believe and what we believe. But I firmly believe that God needs to be present in all that we do for Him. That reality brings us back to prayer. So I ask you this week to pray, pray, pray.

Here is a stockpile of the best stuff I have read lately about marriage, parenting, Church and being a pastor. Some good stuff. While I do not agree with 100% of it, I do feel it is some quality material to get you thinking. Don’t miss the movie trailer for the film “Risen” coming out in January. Finally, the video at the bottom is a 17 minute TED talk about living in a culture that loves to shame people. It is scary and insightful at the same time. I hope you enjoy it all!

Stop Running Defense In Your Marriage

Teen Friends: 4 Things Every Parent Must Know

Two Bedtime Prayers for Weary Parents

Three Sinful Things to Say in Conflict

The Theology of Google Autocomplete

Why I Go To Church Even When I Don’t Feel Like It

Ten More Ways Churches Drive Away First-time Guests

Giving Your Pastor Feedback After a Sermon. Some Helpful Tips.

7 Ways To Be A Best Friend To A Pastor

A Pastor’s Reflections: What I See and Hear From the Pulpit

‘Risen’ Trailer: with Joseph Fiennes. A ‘Detective Tale’ about Jesus

How One Tweet Can Ruin Your Life | Jon Ronson | TED Talks:

I really enjoyed this email from Brian Jones:

The Bible assures us in Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”

This makes me think of my final year at Princeton Theological Seminary. In order to graduate, I had certain required courses. “Educational Psychology,” not the most exciting course in the catalog, was one. The first day of class, Dr. James Loder, the professor, cheerfully introduced himself and shared his personal story of faith. Four minutes into his passionate story, he started to cry and I thought, “This guy’s a Presbyterian? I didn’t think Presbyterians cried!” I was instantly drawn to him.

Dr. Loder shared the story of how he, his wife, and their two daughters were driving near Kingston, New York, when he pulled over to help an elderly woman fix a flat tire. Without warning, another car whose driver had fallen asleep at the wheel crashed into the car Dr. Loder was fixing and shoved it on top of his chest. In spite of his injuries, he never lost consciousness. He watched as his wife, barely five feet tall, placed her hands underneath the bumper and miraculously lifted the car off his chest, breaking a vertebra in the process. Dr. Loder later recalled in his book The Transforming Moment:

“As I roused myself from under the car, a steady surge of life was rushing through me, carrying with it two solid assurances. First, I knew how deeply I felt love for those around me, especially my family. My two daughters sat crying on the embankment, and a deep love reached out of me toward them. The second assurance was that this disaster had a purpose.”

With that conviction he was quickly rushed to the hospital where, as he was being wheeled into surgery, he invited the surgical staff to join him as he sang a few lines of the hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus.” With medical treatment and lots of prayer, he fully recovered, losing only part of a thumb.

Dr. Loder described to our class how that incident marked him as a follower of Jesus. Rather than assuming God had left him, it became a moment that enabled him to sense God’s presence in a way he had not experienced up to that point.

Peak vs Rock Bottom Experiences –

Perhaps you recall from your days in high school or college the teachings of psychologist Abraham Maslow and his “hierarchy of needs.” Maslow was obsessed with discovering which situations in life enable someone to become fully alive as a human being. He called such situations “peak experiences.”

Essentially, what Maslow argued is that a person cannot reach a state of “self-actualization” until certain basic needs have been met. He illustrates this with a diagram in the shape of a triangle with food, water, and oxygen on the bottom and self-actualization at the top. Maslow argued that a person can’t really think about personal fulfillment if they don’t have food for the day. However, give that same person a good job and a roof over their head, and they will have the personal energy and ability to think about things such as purpose in life. In order to experience a spiritual or emotional revelation of sorts, Maslow argued, you must address the basic struggles of life first.

The problem is that a three thousand pound Oldsmobile falling on a man’s chest doesn’t fit real well into Maslow’s neat triangle. Nor do tumors, bankruptcy, or other painful scenarios Christians tell me have drawn them closer to God.

Jesus would say that Maslow has everything backwards.

It’s not when you are at the peak that you feel God’s presence; it’s when you are at the bottom.

At what points in your life has God’s presence been the most evident to you?