Before the Session
Facilitator: In advance of the session
- Have the Bible Background Video ready to view.
- Review today’s scripture text and the session activities to help better facilitate the discussion.
- Encourage your group to listen to the Faithelement podcast ahead of the next session (Share the link via email or social media)
Context (From the Current Session Page)
Start by asking:
- Think about people in the news lately who have faced consequences because of things they said. Name some of these people and the results of their words.
- To what degree did their words affect your perception of them and why?
- How much consideration do you think they made for the repercussions of their words before they said them and why?
- How do you think our social media culture makes a difference in they way we use words these days?
Content (From the Mind Session Page)
Read James 3:1-12 and review the Bible Background Video
Then ask questions like these:
- Why do you think that teachers – and others in very public positions – have to guard their words so much more closely than other people?
- In verses 2 and 8, James seems to imply that our speech is the “last frontier” of Christian discipline – the most challenging part. Why do you think that is?
- In the midst of a very strict and challenging letter, James states simply, “we all stumble in many ways.” How does this simple sentence add grace and hope to some of the stern things he says?
- In what ways have you seen someone’s life destroyed by poorly-spoken words?
- What do you think is the “source” within us that James is talking about, and how can we tell what it is producing?
Closure (from the Media Session Page)
Play the “Higher Power” and “Saved” videos, stopping for a reaction between them, then ask:
- Why do you think we seem so foolish to the world around us when we simply spout our version of truth and lack grace in our speech?
- What would our world look like if we choose to show grace and not condemn or complain as our first reaction?
- What kinds of things can we do to control our tongue but continue to be true to our convictions?
- If words are powerful in tearing others down, how might we make them equally powerful in building others up?
Pray for wisdom to know how to balance grace and truth in our lives with the power of God’s Spirit.