Welcome to week twelve of our study on the Epistle of James! Today we are going to learn about the dangers of the tongue and the damage we can do with our speech. James warns against being driven by the evil of the tongue and that we should instead be marked with the “meekness of wisdom.”
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
Outline
- Opening prayer
- Introduction
- Read James 3:3-12
- Read the study notes from ESV.org
- Answer questions 5-8 on page 8 of Workbook on the Epistle of James
- Closing prayer
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you once again for this group and for all of the people who have created material to help study your Word. Please be with us tonight Lord as we learn about the danger of the evil our words are capable of and how to use what we say to glorify You and build up others. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Previous Highlights
- James previously warned in 1:26 that we should “bridle our tongues” or risk practicing a “worthless religion.”
- Last week we learned about how teachers of the Bible should take special care not to lead people astray with their words, a warning that he will elaborate on further in tonight’s reading.
Application
Read James 3:2-12 and answer questions 5-8 on page 8 of the workbook.
Closing Prayer
Oh, most holy God, we confess today how difficult it is to tame our tongues. We lay before you words that we wish we could unsay, silence kept when it would have been better to speak, our double speak and inconsistency, all the talk behind backs, all the chatter that tears down, every confidence broken, every wound that words have inflicted. We pray that you would bridle our tongues and help us to think before we speak, guide us to use our words to build up rather than to tear down, and help our tongues to lead us to maturity in faithfulness.[1]
Next Week
Next week, we will be looking at James 3:16-18 and answering questions 1-3 on page 9 of the workbook. Have a wonderful week, ladies!
Featured image is from Taming the Tongue.