Sticks & Stones : Discussion Guide Week 1
Kindle & Flint
' Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.' Proverbs 18:21 ESV
Kindle is wood(sticks) that is ignited by fire and Flint is a rock(stone) used to make the spark that starts a fire.
As we are talking about how life and death are in the power of the tongue, what better example to use to show the power of your words!
Destructive Fire
' With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.' Proverbs 11:9 ESV
Gossip, destructive words, is telling privileged information about people and revealing that information to those who have no business knowing it.
So you can see how this can be destructive to a church, an organization, a family, or friends!
Slander is a sister to gossip but focuses more on telling information about people that is either a lie or unverified.
The solution to changing your words is to ultimately change your heart! No matter the type of word (malicious, cursing, untruths)
'The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ' Luke 6:45 ESV
Productive Fire
Warmth
' Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.' Proverbs 12:25 ESV
How miserable would life be without fire to keep us warm? So would our life without words of encouragement!
Energy
Good words can give us the energy and encouragement we need to keep moving forward in life.
Let’s Talk about this
' Set a guard, O Lord , over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!' Psalms 141:3 ESV
How have words from others given you encouragement?
How have words from others hurt you?
Our your words giving encouragement to others? Take some time to confess to one another on where you lack in encouraging others. Then ‘loving’ challenge each other to be intentional this week with our words.