In this message, Pastor Travis continues our study of the book of James and teaches how important it is to give priority to the Word of God in our lives. What does it mean to be slow to speak, quick to hear, and slow to anger? Listen to this message to find out!
Sermon Notes
The Book of James
HOW DO I GIVE PRIORITY TO GOD’S WORD?
“You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.” James 1:19 – 20
“In the most primary sense, the Word of God is simply God’s speaking.” – Dallas Willard
1. LISTEN INTENTLY – WE NEED TO HEAR (CLEARLY) FROM GOD’S WORD ABOVE ALL ELSE
“Billions and billions of words are produced every second, but only a fraction are truly heard.” –R. Kent Hughes
“All of us regularly have ‘conversations’ in which we are speaking, but the vacant eyes of the ‘hearers’ and their body language indicte that they do not hear…sometimes they are so self-consumed they cannot listen, other times they are so intent on what they want to say next that they are not catching a word we are saying.” –R. Kent Hughes
2. SPEAK CAREFULLY – WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL THAT THE WAY WE EXPRESS OURSELVES IS CONSISTENT WITH GOD’S WORD
3. PROCEED PATIENTLY – WE NEED TO TRUST GOD’S WORD IS BEST FOR US
“The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness…” Exodus 34:6
“If I don’t like something I read in Scripture, perhaps I simply don’t understand it. If so, studying it again may help. If, in fact, I do understand the passage and still don’t like it, this is not an indication there is something wrong with the Bible. It’s an indication that something is wrong with me, something that needs to change.” –R.C. Sproul
