"Words Matter: Wise Speech” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

Sunday Worship
Written By New Hope

Wise Speech

James 1:19 is one of those verses that's easy to memorize and hard to live: "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." In this message from the Words Matter series, Rev. Vicki Harrison pairs that command with James 3:13-18 — where James contrasts earthly wisdom (bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder) with wisdom from above (pure, peaceable, gentle, full of mercy). The result is a conviction not just about the tongue, but about the heart posture underneath it.

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More Sermons in this Series

Worship & Sermons Archive
"Words Matter: Wise Speech” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
Sunday Worship
"Words Matter: Wise Speech” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
Sunday Worship

James 1:19 is one of those verses that's easy to memorize and hard to live: "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." In this message from the Words Matter series, Rev. Vicki Harrison pairs that command with James 3:13-18 — where James contrasts earthly wisdom (bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder) with wisdom from above (pure, peaceable, gentle, full of mercy). The result is a conviction not just about the tongue, but about the heart posture underneath it.

Sunday Worship
"Words Matter: Taming the Tongue” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
Sunday Worship
"Words Matter: Taming the Tongue” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
Sunday Worship

James 3 opens with one of the most arresting images in the New Testament: a small rudder steering a great ship. A tiny spark setting an entire forest ablaze. The tongue. In this message from the Words Matter series, Rev. Vicki Harrison opens James 3 to explore why the words we speak are not a minor issue — they reveal the state of our hearts, they wound or they heal, and they cannot be tamed by willpower alone. Only the gospel reaches deep enough.

Sunday Worship

Other Sermons from Pastor Vicki

Worship & Sermons Archive
"Words Matter: Wise Speech” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Words Matter: Wise Speech” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

James 1:19 is one of those verses that's easy to memorize and hard to live: "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." In this message from the Words Matter series, Rev. Vicki Harrison pairs that command with James 3:13-18 — where James contrasts earthly wisdom (bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder) with wisdom from above (pure, peaceable, gentle, full of mercy). The result is a conviction not just about the tongue, but about the heart posture underneath it.

"Words Matter: Taming the Tongue” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Words Matter: Taming the Tongue” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

James 3 opens with one of the most arresting images in the New Testament: a small rudder steering a great ship. A tiny spark setting an entire forest ablaze. The tongue. In this message from the Words Matter series, Rev. Vicki Harrison opens James 3 to explore why the words we speak are not a minor issue — they reveal the state of our hearts, they wound or they heal, and they cannot be tamed by willpower alone. Only the gospel reaches deep enough.

"Let The Lion Roar: Reclaimed and Renewed” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Let The Lion Roar: Reclaimed and Renewed” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

Amos 9 brings the Let the Lion Roar series to a close with a hard word and a hopeful one: judgment is real, but God is not finished. Next Sunday, Pastor Vicki Harrison opens the final chapter of Amos with a message about rebuilding, restoration, and the kind of renewal that reaches all the way into the future.

"Let The Lion Roar: Escape Plan” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Let The Lion Roar: Escape Plan” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

Amos 5 confronts a people who have drifted so far from God that their religious activity has become hollow noise. But the prophet doesn't leave them there — he holds out an Escape Plan. This Father's Day, Pastor Vicki Harrison unpacks what it means to seek the Lord and live.

"Let The Lion Roar: In Pursuit” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Let The Lion Roar: In Pursuit” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

New Hope opens its new series in the book of Amos with a message titled "In Pursuit." Amos begins with God roaring like a lion — not in delight, but in righteous anger over injustice. The big question driving the whole series: does God care about injustice? The answer this Sunday is a clear yes — God is not silent; He is in pursuit.

"God’s Love for Animals” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"God’s Love for Animals” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

What can a glass frog, a blobfish, a whale shark, and a platypus teach us about God? More than you'd expect. Pastor Vicki Harrison invited the kids to stay in the main service for a morning full of wild creatures — and three truths from Genesis, Psalms, and Matthew that touch every person in the room.

"Set Apart: Inner Holiness” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Set Apart: Inner Holiness” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

It's easy to look holy on the outside. Jesus had sharp words for the people who had perfected it. Pastor Vicki Harrison opens Matthew 23 and asks the harder question: what's actually going on inside?

"Set Apart: Personal Holiness” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Set Apart: Personal Holiness” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

Most of us have the wrong picture of holiness. Pastor Vicki Harrison opens 1 Peter 1:13-16 and shows that being set apart isn't about being religious — it's about looking like your Father.

"Journey of Stones: Upon This Rock” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Journey of Stones: Upon This Rock” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

Who do you say Jesus is? Pastor Vicki challenges us to move beyond vague faith and make a bold, personal confession of who Jesus truly is.

"Falling in Love with Jesus: Go Where Jesus Goes” | Rev. Vicki Harrison
"Falling in Love with Jesus: Go Where Jesus Goes” | Rev. Vicki Harrison

To fall in love with Jesus means going where He goes—across the street and to the ends of the earth. Pastor Vicki challenges us to see our neighborhoods, relationships, and the nations through the heart of Christ. Watch or listen now.

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"Words Matter: Taming the Tongue” | Rev. Vicki Harrison