The Anger Mash-Up Sermon Series

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK SERIES

THE ANGER MASH-UP SERMON

JAMES 1:19-20

#JAMESatCCC

READ JAMES 1:19-20 (KJV)

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

THREE LITTLE PIGS SECTION 1

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs named Porky, Porkie, and Wilbur. Porky, Porkie, and Wilbur lived with their mother and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes. Porky, Porkie, and Wilbur had to have a pioneering spirit if they were going to make it outside of the pigpen. The three little pigs got into a three little pigs huddle, made a plan, and left the pigpen into the world.

The first little pig, Porky, built his house out of straw because it was the easiest thing to do. His house was up in no time and he was sipping on sweet tea in a hammock in no time. The second little pig, Porkie, built his house out of sticks and spent a little more time on fashioning his home. Once he was done, he rested in his easy chair drinking a soda. The house of sticks was a little bit stronger than the straw house and he was feeling pretty good about himself. The third little pig, Wilbur, built his house out of bricks and took a long time and a lot of effort to make his home. Wilbur’s brick house also took a long time to build because he made a friend with a spider named Charlotte and went to the county fair. Anyway, all three little pigs made their houses and rested from their labors.

What Porky, Porkie, and Wilbur didn’t know was that they moved into a neighborhood with a Big Bad Wolf. He loved to have little pigs for dinner, not to invite them over for dinner mind you, but to literally have little pigs for dinner. The Big Bad Wolf was quick to anger. He got angry they were in the neighborhood. He got angry that they were different from him. He got angry that they smelled tasty when they walked by. He decided in his anger that he would eat the little pigs, but first, he would scare them by toppling their houses over.

One night the Big Bad Wolf, who had a hankerin’ for little piggies, sat on his front porch and saw one of the little pigs trot by on his way home. It happened to be Porky and he had just gone to the market and had roast beef and then went wee wee wee all the way home to his straw house. The Big Bad Wolf got so angry and hungry and went along and saw the first little pig in his house of straw.

He said, "Let me in, Let me in, little pig or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!"

Porky said back, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.” So the Wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew with mighty breath and he blew the house down in anger and the first little pig escaped and ran to his brother Porkie’s house made of sticks.

BASICS OF ANGER (blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=anger&t=NIV#s=s_refWorks)

Anger is a basic emotion that all of us deal with and we would most likely put it in the category of negative emotions. Anger in the Old Testament is the translation of several Hebrew words, especially of [aph] which means "nostril" "countenance" which in my mind means the feeling when we [blows out air from nose]. Believe it or not, that is what the 😤 emoji is expressing that some of us use while texting. Who knew emojis were based on proper language studies?! In the New Testament, anger comes from a Greek word which means “insides rise up like a mountain” or “insides stretch out” which to me sounds a lot like getting “bent out of shape” to me… which is a phrase that describes anger. Anger is an emotion of instant displeasure on account of something evil that presents itself to our view. Anger doesn’t have to be sinful, but for most of us, it is. It may become sinful when anger is without cause, or excessive, or we are angry for a long period of time. God is described as angry in the Bible and it denotes His displeasure with sin and with sinners.

ILLUSTRATION… https://urbanthesaurus.org/synonyms/angry

Anger is complex even though we all know what it is and deal with it. I know it is complex because there are about 100 or more synonyms for anger and phrases that mean being angry. Some of the phrases are quite descriptive in trying to convey this complex emotion: cheesed off, fired up, fit to be tied, going crook, seeing red, fly off the handle, hacked off, honked off, bitter biscuits, huffity puffity, bee in the bonnet, shouty crackers, irritable fowl syndrome, mad as a cut snake, scarface mode, burning my crumpets, meaniemeaniebobeanie.