Judging Others

Short Talk (SHT036) Judging others © Jane Hulme 2015 Aim of Short talk: Main themes: Biblical references: Props: SHORT TALK: “JUDGING OTHERS” (SHTO36) To encourage people to not judge others, but rather to deal with their own sins. Judging others, sin Luke 6:41-42 One piece of wood approximately one metre long. One piece of A4 paper with the large word “ENVY” written across it. At the top of the A4 paper are a couple of holes through which is looped a piece of string for hanging on the end of the wood. ........................................................................................................................ I need two people to come and help me this morning.  Please come and stand in a line along the front here. (Arrange people in a line along the front facing the congregation) N1 please could you shut your right eye.  Here is a piece of wood (Give the person one of the pieces of wood)  Can you hold the wood against that closed eye? (Please don’t try this at home!!)  Now I am going to attach something to the wood. (Hang off one end of each piece of wood the sign “ENVY”)  Great......stay like that until I tell you. What if I told you this morning that I am struggling with ENVY?  When I looked at my neighbour’s brand new sleek black Ferrari sitting in his drive way on Monday morning I thought to myself, “I wish I had more money so I could buy a car like he has. I really want that car” I haven’t been able to get that thought out of my head all week.  It is like having a tiny speck of sawdust in my eye.....  It is really bothering me. Now I need one of these two people to help me with my envy problem;  to help me remove this tiny speck of sawdust from my eye.  But who should I choose? This person here (point to the first person in the line who is holding a piece of wood out of their eye) has got a massive envy problem.  It’s a plank of a problem as you can see.... He is envious of anyone who has something that he doesn’t have....  He is envious of his neighbour’s job,  his sister’s house and  his mother’s art collection,  his colleague’s skills and  his home group leader’s brains! © Jane Hulme 2015 2 But I’m not sure that he could help me.  You see, he really told me off on Thursday when I shared with him that I was feeling envious about my neighbour’s car. He told me that church leaders shouldn’t be envious.....  that they should be better than that....  and how disappointed he was in me....  I felt really judged. This person here (Point at N2) had a massive envy problem once,  but they, with the Lord’s help, have removed the plank from their eye....  They have dealt with their envy.....and got rid of it. Which person do you think can help me best with my envy problem?  It’s N2 isn’t it? So often we like to criticize and condemn others for the sins that we ourselves struggle with.  Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” (Luke 6:41-42) Let’s choose this week to remove our own “planks” of sin so that we can then help others deal with their “specks of sawdust” of sin.  Thank you helpers.....do go and sit down. © Jane Hulme 2015 3