Sermon Cloud

Introduction

Today we’re launching a new Series:  Emotion A Force; as I meet with people and listen to their stories invariably I hear about their feelings concerning people in their lives; and  circumstances that their facing.  These feelings drive their behavior, their actions; they dominate or rule their minds...these feelings often define how they live.

Feelings drive the High School kid who’s been abandoned at home, rejected at school and one day decides to show up with automatic weapon to take out his classmates in homeroom.

• •  Actions driven by the Force of an Emotion  - Anger

Feelings drive us to want what others have and sometimes take it.  The add-adage: “don’t wait for it to come to you, just take it.”  It’s a sense of entitlement.  I deserve it...  It’s my right...

• •  Actions driven by the Force of an Emotion - Envy

Feelings drive the woman who called in sick to go to an O’s game with her friends, to duck and hide from her boss.

• •  Actions driven by the Force of an Emotions - Guilt and Shame

Bible

Drama - “Bricks,” written by Joanne Park-Davison

As a counselor in prisons Jim has worked with lots of hurting people; he’s going to help us explore the effects of guilt and shame in the lives of human beings...

In scripture we get glimpses into guilt and the subsequent shame that follows.

Genesis 9:18 - One of Noah’s son’s finds him passed out in his tent after drinking too much wine from the vineyard he’d planted right after the flood.  What makes this story more interesting is that Noah was buck naked.  That son does nothing, but runs out and tells his brothers about.  His brothers, enter into their fathers tent, walking backwards and drape a sheet a crossed their fathers naked body, restoring a sense of dignity to their father.  Their brother’s reaction, too run and hide, is our natural reaction...shame.  You see after we do something wrong, whether it’s perceived or actually wrong we feel a sense of guilt overwhelm us.

• •  Question:  Anyone here ever feel guilty about something they’ve done wrong?
• •  Question:  Anyone here ever been made to feel guilty about something even if you didn’t do anything wrong or after you’ve made it right?

Guilt is normal...it’s part of how God through His Spirit helps us see we’ve crossed the line.

Reading:  Hebrew 10:16 (Ref. Jeremiah 31:33)  There is Right and Wrong, there is a common Truth/Law that we all know, because it’s written on our hearts.  That’s why we feel guilty when we’ve done something wrong.

• •  Guilty Defined:  Guilty means to be under judgement, we are all under judgement when we’ve done something wrong, that’s why we feel a weight or a burden on our souls, people often complain of feeling weighed down, that’s the work of guilt; that’s God’s Spirit saying we’ve done something wrong.

Reading:  Psalm 32:3-4

If we don’t deal with our wrong by confessing it to God and to the one we’ve wronged then that weight of our wrong becomes unbearable; too heavy; it turns into shame.

Shame drives us to run and hide...after Adam and Even ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, they ran and hid from God (Genesis 3:8-10) because they were exposed (naked); caught red handed; knowledgable of their wrong.  And instead of going to God with it, they chose to run and hide.

Challenge

Remember Guilt is God’s way of reminding you that you’ve crossed the line; you’ve committed a wrong; you’ve sinned.  Don’t run and hide!  Don’t make excuses! 

• •  If you’ve really committed a wrong there is a way out.

Reading: 1 John 1:9 - “If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify (heal) us from all unrighteousness.”

Reading:  Psalm 32:2-5

If you don’t want to get bogged down by shame, when you are guilty of a wrong confess that wrong, make it right!

• •  Question:  So, what wrong has come to your mind during our time today?

Lets take a moment, confess it and take action to make it right!