Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Wrath

In one paragraph

This message worked through James 1:17-27, using the image of a man studying his own face in a mirror as a way into the question of honest self-evaluation before God. Pastor Gary drew a sustained parallel between that mirror passage and the life and letters of Vincent Van Gogh, arguing that Van Gogh's story illustrates what it looks like to look hard at yourself, see the truth, and let God's word...

Read together

1. Psalm 92:1-2 read aloud before the opening prayer as a call to praise
2. James 1:17 every good gift is from above, the father of lights with no variation or shadow of turning
3. James 1:18 God brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits
4. James 1:19-20 swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God
5. James 1:21 lay aside filthiness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls
6. James 1:22 be doers of the word and not hearers only or you deceive yourself
7. James 1:23-24 hearer but not doer compared to a man who observes his face in a mirror then forgets
8. James 1:25 he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it will be blessed in what he does
9. James 1:26 if anyone thinks he is religious but does not bridle his tongue his religion is useless
10. James 1:27 pure and undefiled religion is to visit orphans and widows and keep oneself unspotted from the world
11. Psalm 19 day after day night after night the heavens are telling the glory of God, quoted in connection with Van Gogh painting outdoors at night
12. Romans 5:1-5 justified by faith we have peace with God, tribulation produces perseverance, character, and hope, read as a closing benediction

Talk about it

1. Pastor Gary described two kinds of people who look in a mirror: one who studies himself carefully but walks away and forgets what he saw, and one who looks into God's perfect law of liberty and acts on it. Which of those two do you recognize more in yourself right now, and why?
2. James says the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God, and the sermon pointed out that you cannot force faith on another person no matter how good it is for them. Where have you seen that play out, either in your own life or in watching others?
3. The sermon described Van Gogh giving away his possessions, wearing shabby clothes, and living among the miners he served because he believed that was what the perfect law of liberty called him to do. How do you personally work out what God is actually asking you to do when you look honestly into His word?
4. Van Gogh wrote late in life, 'I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God's help I shall succeed.' The sermon connected that to the biblical idea of repentance as turning toward God and agreeing with Him about what needs to change, trusting Him to work that change in you. What does it look like practically to trust God with that process rather than trying to fix yourself?
5. Tanya shared that families in Togony lost their homes in a fire and that her first instinct was to fix the situation, but she felt God calling her right now to pray and wait to see where that led. James calls believers to visit orphans and widows in their time of trouble. How do you decide when putting feet to a calling means acting immediately and when it means praying and waiting?