Do you enjoy being “in the know” – being aware of all the goings on in your family, your church, and your neighborhood? Do you like it when people come to you with their “beefs” about other people? There is a great danger in these things for the follower of Jesus – that we’d be drawn into slander, unkind speech, malicious behavior, or gossip. Let’s consider together what God has warned us about these things and see how they affect church relationships in “Developing Encouragement,” part of The Flip-Side Series.
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MESSAGE STUDY NOTES
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WARM UP
What do you tend to do when you get angry?
SCRIPTURES USED
Mark 7:20-22; Proverbs 10:18, 11:12, 16:28, 17:4, 25:9-10, 18, 26:20; Colossians 3:8, 10; I Peter 2:1
Sin Lists:
Proverbs 6:16-19; Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:21-23; Romans 1:29-32;
I Corinthians 5:10-11, 6:9-10; II Corinthians 12:20-21; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians :5, 8-9; I Timothy 1:9-11; I Peter 2:1, 4:3; Revelation 21:8, 22:15
MESSAGE POINTS
• Slander, Unkind Speech, Malicious Behavior, Gossip
• The Anchoring Bias
GENERAL QUESTIONS
1. Do you agree with the author of Taming the Tongue – How the Gospel Transforms our Talk, who said, “[Slander and gossip] destroy more relationships and cause more church splits than any other spiritual disease?” Why or why not?
2. Describe in your own words the differences between gossip and slander.
3. What do you think a church feels like where gossip and slander abound? Why?
APPLICATION QUESTION
How often would you say you participate in slander, unkind speech, malicious behavior, or gossip?
MENTORING QUESTION
How would you mentor someone to “get rid of” (Colossians 3:8) the sins listed in today’s message?
