The Power of Your Words

CELL MATTERS

“The Power of Words

OPENING QUESTION:

1. Let’s get creative as we begin.  Let’s make a list of some of the most powerful words in the English language.  If you were to compile such a list, what words would be on it?
2. What is one of your personal best known “verbal bloopers”?

DIGGING DEEPER:

1. READ James 3:1-12.
2. Given the importance of our words, why is a stricter judgment placed on teachers?
3. What do the three illustrations given here (the horse’s bit, the ship’s rudder, the forest fire) each reveal about the power of the tongue?
4. How is it possible for us to both bless God and curse other people? 
5. Does this passage give us any hope for taming our tongue?  Why or why not?
6. Is it ever appropriate to say something negative?  Must we always be positive?  

GETTING PERSONAL:

1. Evaluating your ability to control your own mouth, would you say that you are a loose canon or a tightly sealed vault?  Why?
2. What have you found helpful in controlling your tongue?
3. What damage is left in your soul from the harmful words of others?  (We can pray for you tonight to find healing from it.)

PRAYER

Pray for each other to receive healing from wounds caused by others’ poor speech.

Pray for your friends who do not yet know Jesus.