Special guest Dave Edwards did a GREAT job with his teaching on Sunday. You can listen to his message at the link below. This discussion guide follows up on Sunday’s topic of putting off the old nature and putting on the new nature by controlling the words we say.
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. -Ephesians 4:29
How does it make you feel when you hear the f-bomb dropped a couple of times in the latest comedy movie that you and your spouse are sitting in?
What do you think when a co-worker lets a cussword or two fly in your workplace? Is that different than in the movies?
How would it feel to you if your lifegroup leader started your time together off with a few choice cuss words this evening? (maybe that has happened before!)
Doesn’t it seem that cussing is much more acceptable to us at certain times, in certain environments than in others? Does that mean that at some level, we are “okay” with “foul, abusive language?” (Eph 4:29) How does this affect us? Which nature does that feed? Is this really that big of a deal?
The words we use really are a big deal to God. Here are some of the things His Word has to say about the way we use our words:
One of the main reasons that God makes a big deal to us about our words is because of this simple principle:
the way we honor others is the way we honor God.
We’ve also said it like this: “When under pressure, what is inside is what comes out.” Is that true? How so? What does James, the brother of Jesus have to say about this in James 3:11-13?
On Sunday, Dave gave us some great, specific tips for putting off the old nature, and putting on the new nature in this way.
Screen out the hurt
He says the we should protect ourselves from the things that feed this old nature. Screen out the things that are averse to the new nature. So, if whatever is inside is what comes out under pressure, we should be diligent to only put in the good, new stuff… Not feed the old nature. Proverbs 21:23, Psalm 141:3
How can we do this? Have you had to do this at some point in your life in the past? How did that work out for you?
Stick to what is helpful
I really liked his phrase, “reverse the curse with a verse.” In other words, if you’re going to speak Godliness into someone, rather than old nature, you’ve got to have it in you to begin with! Do you know of some verses to memorize and meditate on that can reverse the curse? How about Psalm 19:7, Psalm 19:14, or Proverbs 10:32?
Speak the heart of God
We should always be looking to speak God’s heart… To allow HIS nature to flow through us into others. All of our words should point to HIM, rather than to us. If what is inside comes out, then our speech should always be seasoned with whatever is in our hearts. Colossians 4:6
If you missed it, you can catch Dave’s message from Sunday right here on our podcast feed. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our podcast so you can always be ready for lifegroup discussion before it happens!