Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger

James 1:19-25

About the Sermon

Anger is a real problem. It looks different for each of us. Some of us are venters burning off our anger with many words while others are volcanos that erupt after a long period of build up. There are many other unproductive ways to handle our anger. In the moment we feel justified and righteous in our anger, but with some reflection we're often willing to admit that anger is indeed a problem for us. Our justice antennas are broken and biased. We are provoked by many wrongs, yes, but we also commit many wrongs ourselves. What help does God's Word offer us in our anger? This is the subject that James turns to next in James 1:19–25.

About the Series

The book of James is beloved of Christians for its famously practical wisdom and instruction. But James is no less painful as it is practical, addressing our many problems with a simple diagnosis: double-mindedness. Our fractured relationships, James says, are symptoms of our fractured souls, souls in a fractured relationship with our Father. But James offers more than this searing diagnosis but a program and prescription for wholeness: “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” The message of James is this: God offers double-minded people the possibility of wholeness through repentance and faith. Our God “yearns jealously” over us and “he gives more grace.”
The book of James is beloved of Christians for its famously practical wisdom and instruction. But James is no less painful as it is practical, addressing our many problems with a simple diagnosis: double-mindedness. Our fractured relationships, James says, are symptoms of our fractured souls, souls in a fractured relationship with our Father. But James offers more than this searing diagnosis but a program and prescription for wholeness: “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” The message of James is this: God offers double-minded people the possibility of wholeness through repentance and faith. Our God “yearns jealously” over us and “he gives more grace.”

Sermons in the Series