Bite Your Tongue
James 3:1-12 – 1 Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness. 2 We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way. 3 We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself. 7 People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Can you pick olives from a fig tree or figs from a grapevine? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty pool. (New Living Translation)
Seven ways our tongue gets us in trouble
1. Our tongue gets us in trouble when we ___________________
2. Our tongue gets us in trouble when we ___________________ other people
3. Our tongue gets us in trouble when we ___________________
a. A gossiper will tell you things that make you want to keep __________________ more
b. A gossiper will betray your ________________________
c. A gossiper will ____________________________ friends
d. A gossiper will keep things ________________ long after things should have ended
4. Our tongue gets us in trouble when we ___________________ or make fun at other people
Proverbs 19:29 – Punishment is made for mockers, and the backs of fools are made to be beaten. (New Living Translation)
5. Our tongue gets us in trouble when we use ________________ or reckless words
6. Our tongue gets us in trouble when we use ________________
7. Our tongue gets us in trouble when we use ________________ and ___________________
Seven steps for biting your tongue
1. Check your _____________________________
2. Check your _____________________________
E – _____________________
G – _____________________
O – _____________________
3. Check your ____________________
2 Corinthians 13:5 – Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ’s presence and power more and more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all? (The Living Bible)
4. Check your _____________________________
5. Check your _____________________________
Ephesians 4:29 – Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (New Living Translation)
6. Check your ______________________________
Matthew 18:15-18 – 15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. (New Living Translation)