What sermons are you preaching?

Francis of Assisi’s young apprentice was disappointed when he felt his mentor had not preached a sermon while they visited the locals in the village.

Francis answered his disappointment with this:

“People have watched us, listened to us.

Every word we have spoken, every deed

we have done has been a sermon. We

have preached all morning.”

This story struck me like a battleship falling from the sky with a direct hit to my heart. What am I preaching daily? When I am not in the mood, quite frankly, to be nice? Whether that is inside or outside the house, what do my words and actions convey? Angry, frustrating, and foul language are my sermons at times.

James 1:8 “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

When I read this verse (out of context), I can easily see that my double-minded sermon is so obvious. One sermon is about loving and forgiving others; while the other sermon is the opposite. I believe the verse applies here as well as not believing God will answer our prayers because of the last phrase “unstable in all his (our/my) ways.”

Faith takes work. It takes “words” too. Reading the Bible is a good start. However, we need to be studying it (this is more than simply reading it) and memorizing it to build confidence in our beliefs. As our confidence builds, conviction comes. And when conviction comes, change comes.

You’ve heard that old habits are hard to break. It is true because it takes time and effort. It takes actively practicing NOT doing that habit. What if we change our daily sermons to be more like Christ? Actively speaking grace, instead of harsh words. Actively responding with love, instead of anger.

So what sermons are you sharing daily with others?