Not everyone can be a teacher

September 13, 2015 James 3:1-12 Not Everyone Should be a Teacher Year B It seems that one day a kindergarten teacher was helping one of her students put on his cowboy boots? He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn’t want to go on. Finally, when the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet." She looked down and sure enough, they were. It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. But she managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the right feet. And it was only then that he announced, "These aren’t my boots." She bit her tongue rather than scream, "Why didn’t you say so?" like she wanted to. And, once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they got the boots off then he said, "They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear ’em today." Stifling a scream, she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the ill-fitting boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?" To which he replied, "I stuffed ’em in the toes of my boots." The article ends by saying - Her trial starts next month. My point for today is that not everyone can be a teacher. Trying to teach others is a big responsibility. That is why in the early church – teachers were held in high esteem. A congregation felt truly blessed to have a teacher. A Christian teacher was put on the level of a rabbi in Judaism. Rabbi means my great one. And by tradition if there is a fire, and you have a choice between saving your teacher or your parents, the teacher comes first. Your parents gave you life, but it is your teacher that opened the doors to your destiny. Being a teacher is a great priviledge, because it is a great responsibility. The book of matthew says that there is a special place in hell for teachers who mislead there students. As I was looking for the exact scripture last night, I saw that Jesus had a lot to say about the role of a teacher. He reminds us that we lead and teach others by what we do. And that if we are responsible for the understanding of others, then it is important to we walk the walk. If we tell others that they should be doing something that we should be doing it too. When I read the book of Matthew in college as a young person, I was literally scared straight. Because there are several times when Jesus goes off – and tells everybody off. There are several chapters in the book when Jesus is mad at the Pharisees for taking the honor of being a teacher, but for not being honest in their teachers. I would think that James had those words in mind, when he tells us that not everyone can be a teacher. And he reminds us that teachers will be held to a higher standard. For James, the major tool of teaching is our tongue. People learn by what you have to say. Which is why James explains the power of the tongue. The power of our words. Did you know that you tongue is the second strongest muscle in your body. The strongest muscle is the one that opens and closes your mouth. James and Jesus both tell us that what comes out of our mouth, is actually more important then what we put in it. ABOUT THE TONGUE There's an old story that the Jewish rabbis tell. As the story goes, one day a rabbi asked his servant to go and buy some good food for him in the market. When the servant returned home, he presented the rabbi with a tongue. The next day, the rabbi told the servant to go the market and buy some bad food. Again, the servant returned with a tongue. The rabbi then asked the servant why he returned with a tongue on both occasions. The servant answered and said, "Good comes from it and bad comes from it. When the tongue is good there is nothing better, and when it is bad there is nothing worse." (From a sermon by T. Scott Womble, Careless Speech Sins, 7/27/2010) What we teach others can be beneficial, and it can be hurtful. It all depends on how we use our words. 6380 Power Of Words A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life, A bitter word may hate instill; A brutal word may smite and kill, A gracious word may smooth the way; A joyous word may light the day. A timely word may lessen stress; A loving word may heal and bless. —Author Unknown Our words come from an outflow of our heart. And we have to remember that your children and students can see the content of our heart, based on the words that we use. Life is a matter of building. Each of us has the opportunity to build something -- a secure family, a good reputation, a career, a relationship to God. But some of those things can disappear almost overnight due to financial losses, natural disasters and other unforeseen difficulties. What are we to do? Daniel Webster offered excellent advice, saying, "If we work on marble it will perish. If we work on brass, time will efface it. If we rear temples, they will crumble to dust. But if we work on men's immortal minds, if we imbue them with high principles, with just fear of God and love of their fellow-men, we engrave on those tablets something which time cannot efface, and which will brighten and brighten to all eternity. For all of you who are beginning a new year – this is for you…. Progress Magazine, December 23, 1992. An item in "The Report Card" told of a study done in Colorado in which 3000 high school seniors were asked about their best teachers. From their responses this composite was drawn. The ideal teacher (1) is genuinely concerned and interested in students as individuals; (2) requires students to work; (3) is impartial in dealing with students; and (4) is obviously enthusiastic about teaching. Today In The Word, Oct, 1989, p. 25. William A. Ward has said, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. Morning Glory, July 3, 1993. I have not been reading all of our lectionary text for the summer. But the old testament lesson for the summer has been the book of proverbs, the theme of the lectionary is wisdom. The question is asked where does wisdom come from? True wisdom comes from God. In order for us to be good teachers, we have to be good students. And the master teacher is God. Jesus is the spirit of God, sent on earth to teach us the way. Sowing the Seed Source unknown An angel paused in his onward flightWith a seed of love and truth and right,And said, "Oh, where can this seed be sownThat it yield more fruit when fully grown?" "To whom can this precious seed be givenThat it bear more fruit for earth and heaven?"The Saviour heard and said as He smiled"Place it at once in the heart of a child." The angel whispered the blessed truthTo a weary teacher of precious youth;Her face grew bright with heavenly lightAs she led their thought in the way of right. When we plant to seeds of God’s plan in the heads and hearts of others, we have an awesome responsibility. And as our children begin to grow, what will receive an awesome reward. From a speech by William Graves, editor of National Geographic magazine, Speaker's Idea File Years ago, after a celebrated international career on the stage, the world-famous violinist Jascha Heifetz became a professor of music at UCLA. When someone asked him why he had left the glamour of performing to become a teacher, Heifetz answered, "Violin-playing is a perishable art. It must be passed on; otherwise it is lost." Then he went on to say, "I remember my old violin professor in Russia. He said that (if I worked hard enough) someday I would be good enough to teach." Not everyone can be a teacher. Only those who know the consequences of teaching, are willing to take the job anyway. Today we want to honor and pray for our teachers…… Children’s Sermon: Exegetical Aim: To show how God draws near when we draw near(4:8). Props: A pitcher of water, a large bowl, and a comb. Lesson: Would you like to see a neat trick? (yes!) Who believes that I can make pouring water move without even touching it? (response) This is something that's really neat. And it's so neat that you can even do it at home in your sink. Bring out your pitcher of water and the large bowl. What I'm going to do is pour a steady stream of water into the bowl, Begin to pour a small, steady stream and while the water is pouring I'll make the stream move to one side or the other. Stop pouring. There's only one more thing that I need. Do you know what it is? It's a really good friend of the water named static electricity. And whenever water knows that static electricity is near, it wants to get near it. So the nearer the static gets, the nearer the water gets. Would you like to see it now? The way I get static electricity is with this. Hold up the comb. Now I'll just comb my hair real good, and that will make static in the comb. Carefully begin to pour a small, steady stream into the bowl. Bring the comb close to the water, and the water’s stream will bend towards the comb. You will want to practice this a few times at home before doing it for the children. Wow! Look at that! I told you that water and static were friends. When one gets near, the other one gets near. Application: Did you know that the Bible says the same thing about God? It says "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." That means that God wants us to love him just as much as he loves us. And whenever we are near him, he wants to be just as near to us. So always remember to say your prayers and to love God. Because the nearer you are to him, the nearer he comes to you. Let's pray: Dear God, it is a wonderful thing that when we draw near to you, you draw near to us. Help us to always want to be near you. In Jesus' name. Amen.