Jim, week 4, The Tongue

This was the last week of our Jim series, which is an overview of the book of James.

SCRIPTURE: James 3:1-12
TOPIC: The Tongue

Although the tongue is just a small part of the body, it has tremendous implications for our lives. The tongue is a difficult topic that James makes very clear using 3 important illustrations.

1. Bits in the mouths of horses
Horses are controlled by little bits in their mouths. Horses without bits have caused massive amounts of destruction. Just with their mouth, you can control a horse. It's the same with our tongues. If we can't control that small part of our body, we can be very destructive and hurtful. We can do a lot of damage.

2. Rutter of a ship
Even in a fierce storm, the rutter of a ship can control a ship and the direction it goes. It's such a small part of the boat but has the power to control. It's the same with our tongues. Our tongues are small but have the power not just to hurt but to change lives in a positive way. With our words, we can help people, encourage people, and and share the of Christ with people.

3. A forest fire
Forest fires start with just a small spark, but before you know it a whole county is destroyed. Our tongues have the same kind of power. Gossip spreads so easily. A few words can be passed on and distorted to hundreds of people in a matter of minutes. Reputations can be destroyed. Feelings can be hurt and lives may never be the same.

Our words have a tremendous amount of power.

We finished the night with worshiping God through song with the Edge band leading. I challenged students to think about the words they are singing and to think about the verse in James 3 that says, "Out of the same mouth, come blessing and cursing." We curse others with the same mouth we praise God with.

"Jim" part 3, favoritism

This week at Edge, we were on our 3rd night of our series called, "Jim" which is an overview of the book of James. We took a look at James 2:1-13, which is all about favoritism, or judging others.

This is a really important topic for all people, and especially middle school students. Here is the basic outline.

1. I started with a few example stories of favoritism.

2. We talked about what favoritism is...favoritism is writing someone off because of a superficial reason. It's making judgments about someone without even knowing them.

3. Favoritism is a sin.

4. "Love your neighbor as yourself" is the way to avoid favoritism.

5. Mercy triumphs over Judgment.

The bottom line here is when we look at a person, we need to see them how God sees them, as valuable, worth creating, and worth dying for.

We finished the night with breakout discussions on the topic and challenged students to think of one way that they could show that they value to someone they may have previously judged.