Welcome to week thirteen of our study on the Epistle of James! Tonight we are going to be looking at how we can tame our tongues. What do we need in order to be able to control the urge to use our words for evil things? James now moves on to the solution: heavenly wisdom from God!
Contents
Week One – An Expository Study of James
Week Two – Joy in Our Trials
Week Three – Giving Birth to Sin Part One
Week Four – Giving Birth to Sin Part Two
Week Five – Receiving the Word
Week Six – Receiving the Word Part Two
Week Seven – The Royal Law
Week Eight – The Royal Law Part Two
Week Nine – A Living Faith
Week Ten – A Living Faith Part Two
Week Eleven – A World of Iniquity/Taming the Tongue
Week Twelve – Taming the Tongue Part Two
Outline
- Opening prayer
- Introduction
- Read James 3:13-15
- Read the study notes from ESV.org
- Answer questions 1-3 on page 9 of Workbook on the Epistle of James
- Closing prayer
Opening Prayer
Almighty God, thank you once again for this group and this time together. It is so wonderful to meet regularly to study your Word, Lord, and I can’t thank you enough for everything you put into place to make this happen. Please be with us as we look to You for wisdom to shape our personalities into shining examples of love and good deeds, for your glory! In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Previous Highlights
- Last week, we got a stern warning from James about taming our tongues, since what we say can be compared to sparks able to ignite a destructive wildfire.
- We should not be using our words to tear down but rather to build up relationships and to praise God rather than curse, keeping in mind the tongue is a restless evil we must control. Tonight we will learn how we can tame our tongues.
Application
Read James 3:13-15 and answer questions 1-3 on page 9 of the workbook.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the epistle of James and its thought-provoking content. May we reflect our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who is the personification of godly wisdom and our perfect, representative Man. Thank You that in Christ we have a living example of what a life that is walking in spirit and truth should be. May we die to self and live to Christ so that we may say – the life that I now live in the flesh is not I, but Christ – to His praise and glory. Keep me I pray, from any bitterness of heart or selfish ambitions, and help me to walk in spirit and in truth. Give me wisdom and understanding, so that by my actions and attitude, I may walk in Your ways and always be pleasing to You. Strengthen me and enable me to live as Christ lived, in active dependence on You. This I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.[1]
Next Week
Next week, we will be looking at James 3:16-18 and answering questions 4-5 on page 9 of the workbook.
Have a wonderful week, ladies!
Featured image is from Northside Baptist Church’s Heavenly Wisdom.
