Sermon Outlines . Volume 01 | Issue 10

Training Ushers and Greeters

The following outlines are taken from Pastor Michael Catt’s sermon series on James.

Training Ushers and Greeters

James 2:1-13

Lehman Strauss – “Jesus Christ is never a respecter of persons. Our Lord’s glory is from everlasting to everlasting,. but never once during His earthly ministry did He favor one man over another on the basis of wealth, class or social distinction.”

  1. Favoritism is Incompatible with Faith. James 2:1-4 “an attitude of personal favoritism”
    1. Favoritism is incompatible with the nature of CHRIST. Luke 20:21
    2. Favoritism is incompatible with the nature of GOD THE FATHER. Ephesians 6:9; Romans 2:11; Acts 10:34; Proverbs 22:2
    3. Favoritism is incompatible with the nature of the GOSPEL. Lewis Smedes – “We put labels on people the way designers sew labels on their clothes. And then we let the labels tell us what people are and what they are worth. If we value intelligence in children. we label them as slow or fast learners and we ask. bow are they doing in school. If we value money, we label people as well-to-do or poor and the first thing we wonder about people is bow much money they make. If we value physical appearance, we label people as attractive or unattractive, and the first thing we ask about a person is what do they look like.” “distinctions among yourselves” v. 4
  2. Favoritism is Indifferent to the Royal Law v. 5-8 Lehman Strauss – “Here is a form of worldliness if ever there was one. Who is worshipped by the world today? Those who are wealthy, successful; those who have achieved great fame in sports, show business and such. When the Christian falls into this snare, he becomes guilty of idolatry.” “royal law”
  3. Favoritism is Ignorant of Future Judgment. v. 9-13
    1. Three lies of favoritism
      1. It’s not a SIN
      2. It’s not a SIGNIFICANT SIN
      3. It’s not SERIOUS
    2. Two truths to remember
      1. The Christian lives under the LAW o f LIBERTY. James 2:12; Romans 13:8b; Galatians 5:14 “so speak and so act”
      2. When we show MERCY, we receive MERCY. v. 13
        Our WORDS will be judged Matthew 12:36,37
        Our WORKS will be judged I Corinthians 3:10-15 Gene Getz – “To what extent am I free from judging others and forming opinions based on improper motives and/or ignorance? And even more important, to what extent do I verbalize (use my tongue) and visualize (use body language) to demonstrate those attitudes of prejudice and cause feelings of rejection and hurt other people?

When Faith Doesn’t Work

James 2:14-26

  1. Assumptions About New Testament Faith.
    1. People can be saved.
    2. People are saved through faith. Paul’s Message  
      James’ Message From God’s perspective  
      From man’s perspective Salvation is an act of God  
      Men give evidence of salvation Root of faith  
      Fruit of faith
    3. People need to be sure about their faith.
  2. Assertions about New Testament Faith. v. 15-25 “claims” – a lip word
    “no works” – a life word
    1. New Testament faith expresses itself in compassion. v. 15-17; James 2:8
    2. New Testament faith produces more than words. v. 18-20
    3. New Testament faith is illustrated in two O.T. personalities. v. 20-25
      1. A Godly patriarch. v. 21-24
      2. A godless prostitute. v. 25
  3. Assimilating New Testament Faith for Today. v. 26 Faith is the root.
    Works are the fruit. 2 Corinthians 13:5

Biblical Word Processing

James 3:1-12

James 1 – Be Patient in trouble.
James 2 – Practice the truth.
James 3 – Power over the tongue.

  1. Pointed Instructions for Teachers. v. 1
  2. Powerful Illustrations for Believers. v. 2-6 Tongue control reveals spirit control.
    Proverbs 13:3; 17:28; 18:2, 21; Psalms 141:3; 39:1
    1. The bit v. 3 – provides the power to direct.
    2. The rudder v. 5 – determines the course/destination.
    3. Fire v. 6 – has the power to destroy.
  3. Pointed Idiosyncrasies to consider. v. 7-12 James gives us several traits of unbridled and uncontrolled tongues that reveal the problem of the heart.
    1. It is like a forest fire. v. 6 Five ways the tongue burns like a fire.
      1. It burns by speaking idle words.
      2. It burns by uttering profanity.
      3. It burns by suggesting evil.
      4. It burns by magnifying the faults of others.
      5. It burns, not only by what it says, but how it says it.
    2. It is like a wild animal. v. 7 “restless evil”
    3. It is like a deadly poison. v. 8
    4. It is like a polluted well. v. 9-11
      1. It is inconsistent.
      2. Which makes it unacceptable. Luke 6:43-46

Practical verses for you to memorize or study to exercise tongue control: James 1:26; Psalm 19:14; Romans 6:11-14; Colossians 4:6