You’ll need:
· ?A metal trash can, paper, lighter, and bucket of water?
· Movie clip of fire from Backdraft
· A piece of ripe fruit (Apple)
Don’t Talk with Your Mouth Full
Today, we are going to continue to think about the words that we choose and the impact that our words can have on other people. We will be looking at both destructive words and words that build others up. Ultimately, this will be a challenge to think about the status of our own hearts. The true issue isn’t words but the attitudes and values those words represent. Destructive words flow from a troubled heart, and positive words flow from a heart centered on Christ.
The Opening Act:
Before we get started, the following products from other countries were all considered for distribution in English speaking countries. But they were dropped because their names translated s poorly. I will read for you what the translated word would be, and I want you to guess what the product is:
Alu-fanny? – French Aluminum Foil
Atum Bom? – Portuguese Tuna
Bull? – French Computer Company
Crapsy Fruit? – French Cereal
Happy End? – German Toilet Paper
Mukk? – Italian Yogurt
Zit? – German Lemonade
More than 600,000, that’s how many words the Oxford English Dictionary says are in the English language. If you add in scientific and technical terms, it’s well over a million. That’s a lot of words! Enough that we should always have the perfect word to say to other people. So why do we seem to choose the wrong word so often? Do you ever find yourself choosing the wrong word and wishing you had said something else? Well the Bible gives us some helpful advice on this! And that is what we will be looking at today. Before we do that though, allow me to open our time with a word of prayer. Let’s Pray!
The Main Event:
1. Words easily become instruments of destruction.
Have any of you ever been hurt by someone’s words? If so, explain?
Okay, have any of you ever seen a fire raging out of control? When, where, and what?
Well, take a look at this clip from the movie Backdraft, and we will see the destructive power that a fire can have.
Well, as we see in scripture, the tongue, or our words are compared to a fire as well. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn with me to James 3:5-6. Here in this passage, James is talking about the power that the tongue possesses. James 3:5-6 says, “1”
You know, a lot of time, we use our words intentionally as a way to hurt people. Other times, we don’t mean to hurt someone, but they are hurt all the same. I’m sure that we can all think of times, when we have allowed our words to both intentionally hurt someone, as well and accidentally hurt someone with what we have said. So, words can easily become instruments of destruction.
2. Words are supposed to build people up, not tear them down.
It’s easy to use words to hurt people, but God wants us to use our words to help people, to build them up, to meet their needs. I’m sure that you have experienced this in your own life. Just a few encouraging words from one person can be a life-changing experience for someone else.
What are some of the encouraging things that people have said to you that really built you up?
Well, in Ephesians 4:29 it says, “2”
So, words can easily become instruments of destruction, but as we learn here, words are supposed to build people up, not tear them down.
3. Words flow from the heart, not from the mouth.
Sure, your brain has a lot to do with choosing words. But how we use words is usually a reflection of what’s going on in our hearts. If your heart is bitter and angry, your words will probably be bitter and angry also. If you’re insecure you might tear others down to try and make yourself feel better. But if your heart is full of goodness and godly thoughts, your words will follow suit.
Go ahead and turn with met o Luke 6:43-45. Here in this passage, we are reading about how people are recognized by what they produce. Listen to this passage. Luke 6:43-45 says, “3”
- Object lesson: Ripe Fruit
Ripe fruit:
Pull a piece of fruit out of a bag. Take a few bites in front of your group, savoring the taste
and making it overly obvious that the fruit is luscious and juicy.
Now, fruit this good must come from a healthy tree. A bad tree can not produce healthy fruit. The Bible says words come in the same way. Fruitful words come from a full and healthy heat. And destructive words come from a destructive kind of heart.
The Grand Finale:
Now, if you can remember back to when you were young children, or if you are a parent today, your parents probably told you something like this, “Don’t talk with their mouth full.”
What is so bad about talking when you have a mouth full of food?
Well, obviously it is disgusting when people are talking with their mouths full of food. Stuff that shouldn’t be coming out of our mouths does, and it is a real mess. Well, in the same way, when we talk with our hearts full of junk, it can have a similar effect.
When you came in, I gave you a pencil and a heart shaped piece of paper. I want you to take that out and do something with it. I want you to write down words representing any negative attitudes and feeling that you might have in your heart. For example, you might write bitter, selfish, or angry. Also you can write down words that you have used that have been hurtful to other people. I am going to give you a few minutes to write those down. And be honest, no one but you and God are going to see these.
(Take a couple of minutes)
Encore:
Get It?
· What does it mean to have a good heart?
· Think about a time you may have grow plants at your house. Did you have plants that didn’t do as well as expected? What was the problem? How does this relate to what Jesus said about bad plants and people?
· Are you the type of person who thinks first, then talks? Or do you speak before thinking?
· How important do you think words are in an age of visual media? Are images stronger and more memorable than spoken words? Why or why not?
· What other stories from the Bible can you think of that speak about positive and negative words?
· How did Jesus speak to people? Jesus did use harsh words sometimes, like when He called the Pharisees snakes! Why did He speak that way on occasion?
· When would be an appropriate time for harsh or negative words?
What If? The Big Picture:
· Describe what our church, our community, and our jobs would be like if everyone spoke positive words instead of destructive words.
· What happens when you speak positive words, but everyone around you continues to use destructive words? How can you keep using positive words in a difficult situation like that?
So What? It’s Your Life:
· Are there any destructive words or phrases you use all the time? If so, how can you eliminate them?
· What can you do this week that would allow God to change the condition of your heart?
Well, as we begin to wrap things up, I want you to simply think about these next couple questions. Think about the people closest to you, like your friends and family. Who do you have the hardest time talking to without using negative words? Why is that? And how can you talk to them differently in the future? Also, can you think of a recent time when you hurt someone else with your words? If so, is there a way to give this person a positive word now to undo some of the damage that was done?
Now, before we close this evening, does anyone have anything that they would like to add?
Well, if there is nothing else, I would like for you to fold your heart in half, with your words on the inside. And pass them to the middle. We have talked about the destructive power that word have in other people’s lives. We have talked about how our words are supposed to build up people and encourage them. And we looked at how the words flow not from the mouth but from our hearts.
Right now, I want us to get rid of the destructive and hurtful words that are in our hearts. The tongue can be like a fire, destroying what lies in its path. Fire is a very powerful image. When a person wants to have pure gold, they send it through the fire to make it pure and clean from defect. In the same way, we are going to send these hurtful words, and these bad attitudes through the fire. We are doing this as an attempt to make what comes out of our mouths helpful for building each other up, rather than tearing each other down.
So let’s get rid of these hurtful word and attitudes. (Burn the paper hearts in can. Have water ready?)
Let’s Pray! (Ask God to clean up what’s inside, so that our words will be encouraging and helpful to others.)
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