When You Open Your Mouth

Jared Jeffries, the director of student ministry at Hope Church, spoke about the power of words as part of a series on the Book of James and dealing with life's pressures. The sermon focuses on the power of words and how they relate to the pressures we face.

Jared begins by discussing his love for construction and how powerful tools like excavators can be used to build up or tear down. He draws a parallel to the power of words, citing Proverbs 18:21, which states that the tongue has the power of life and death. He then explores two ways in which pressure and words are related: pressure points can lead to words that reveal our hearts, and our words can escalate or alleviate life's pressure points.

Jared uses examples from his own life and a clip from the movie "Toy Story" to illustrate these points. Diving into James 3, Jared highlights three sobering perspectives on words:

- Words are hard, and we all make mistakes with them.

- Words are powerful; small words can have a big impact.

- Words are untameable; no one can control their words on their own.

However, he emphasizes that with Jesus, there is hope and help. Our words can be forgiven and controlled with Jesus.

Jared then provides three practical guidelines for using words:

- Words should be used for building up, as stated in Ephesians 4:29.

- Words can be forgiven and controlled with Jesus by confessing Him as Lord and believing in His resurrection.

- Words should be filtered through God's wisdom, which is pure, peace-loving, gentle, humble, merciful, and accompanied by good deeds (James 3:17).

To gain wisdom, Jared encourages daily Bible reading, prayer, spending time with godly people, and asking God for wisdom (James 1:5).

He concludes by urging the congregation to put what they've learned into practice, suggesting actions such as memorizing verses, seeking forgiveness for hurtful words, and writing encouraging notes to others. Jared emphasizes the importance of relying on God to help control and guide one's words.