How to Train Your Dragon

Jul 12, 2020 • Mike McDaniel • James 3:1-13

Grace Point Church of Northwest Arkansas
Mike McDaniel, Lead Pastor
Series, "Life Reimagined," May-July, 2020
Message 10
James 3:1-12

It [your dragon] can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire… [our dragon] can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
James 3:5-6 [The Message]

3 WARNINGS for your WORDS

1. Your words hold power; your words express weakness v. 1-2

Therefore, let your words be few. Ecc 5:2

2. Your words are small; your words are huge v. 3-5

5 ways your SMALL tongue makes a HUGE impact…
1. Too many words
Ecc 5:3; Job 13:5 (the Message); Job 16:3; Ecc 5:7

2. Gossip
Leviticus 19:16

3. Lies
Revelation 21:8

4. Flattery
Psalm 12:3

5. Grumbling
1/2 spoken 1/2 concealed complaint
Exodus 15: 24; 16:2; 17:3; Phil 2:14

LIFE PRINCIPLE:
Grumblers don’t solve problems, they multiply problems

3. Your words take life; your words give life v. 6-12

Matthew 12:36; Prov 18:21; 15:1; Ephesians 4:29

Discussion Questions
1. Have you or someone you know been adversely affected by cyberbullying? why is it so easy to say something online about someone vs. saying your offense it to the person's face?

2. Mike mentioned common pitfalls with our words: speaking too much (too many words), gossip, lies, flattery, and grumbling. Are there any other common ways we misuse our words? How have you seen these damage a relationship?

3. Can you think of a time when grumbling made the problem worse than finding a healthy solution?

4. What is the best way to stop a person when you hear them grumbling? How can you steer them toward a better way with their words?

5. Who has been the most life-giving with their words in your own life? How did their words give you life?

6. Can you relate to a time that someone's words wounded you deeply, could be a wound that you are still living with?

7. Close with reading: Proverbs 18:21. Take time to write a note of encouragement to 1- 3 people this week, thanking them for something, they said or did that made a positive, life-giving impact in your life.