Balms and Bombs

April 3, 2022   /   City On A Hill Community Church

JAMES 3:1-10 New Living Translation

Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses 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!

 


 

Proverbs 16:24 New Living Translation

Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

 


 

TODAY’S FOCUS: our words are incredibly powerful— they can and

 


 

Today’s Text: Proverbs 18:21

  • New Living Translation: The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.
  • The Passion Translation: Your words are so powerful that they will kill or give life, and the talkative person will reap the consequences.
  • The Message: Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.

 


 

: an explosive device designed to detonate

: an aromatic ointment used for healing

 


 

see Matthew 12:34

A changed = a changed

see Ezekiel 36:26

as a follower of Jesus, do you sound any  than nonbelievers?

 


 

FOUR ENVIRONMENTS WHERE WE CAN SPEAK LIFE:

 

[01]    let us speak life to our spouse and our children

  • Does your home sound like people filled with the Holy Spirit live there?

 

[02]   let us speak life to our coworkers and customers

  • Based on how you talk, what would you coworkers and customers say about who you are as a person?

 

[03]   let us speak life to those in our family of faith

  • Are your words uniting and strengthening the church, or dividing and weakening it?

 

[04]   let us speak life in the various places God takes us every day

  • Are you looking for opportunities to speak life in your everyday moments?

 


 

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

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