The Gossiping Tongue Series

The Gossiping Tongue

Central Christian Church

Introduction: Series on taming the tongue!

---We all have our individual struggles when dealing with taming the tongue!

---Swearing, lying, boasting, gossip and slander, silent

Ill: There were three preachers on a fishing trip –confess their sins!

1. I like to drink a little too much!

2. I like to visit some unsavory women!

3. Brothers I hate to tell you this I have a real problem with gossip!

TABOLIDS PROVE HOW MUCH WE LOVE SCANDOLUS NEWS! We have all heard information that we have wondered what we should do with it?

The word gossip originates from a Greek word that means “to whisper”

There is only one time in the NT that a Greek word is translated as gossip and it is found in 1Timothy 5:13. It used to refer to women in the church who are widows and they are going from house to house repeating things that should not be said or mentioned. The word is phluo and it means to boil up or blow up empty bubbles.

Once a pot begins to boil it will overflow and create a real mess!

The Bible gives some guidance on how to handle idle talk!

1. What is the message that has been shared?

2. What is the motive of the message?

3. What is the correct method to share the message?

I. What is the message that is being shared?

1. PURPOSE TEST: ---We often have items in our lives that just sit around and collect dust. I found this stamp that Melvin Newland left in the office and I’m really not sure what it is good for!

When we receive information that is of an unsavory nature we need to decide what to do with it! It is not gossip to share information that is negative about a person!

Ill: A kid reports that his coach has touch him in an inappropriate way and has asked you not to report him or her.

Ill: A kid in your youth group is pregnant and plans to have an abortion but ask you to not tell.

Ill: If your friends husband is running around and she is the only one that does not know what do you do?

Ill: A friend is taking things at work!

2. The second test the message must pass is the “truth test?”

Proverbs 6:19--There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Against Paul--They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.

TRUE OR FALSE?

Power Point---1. Gov. George Bush declared June 10, 2000 “Jesus Day” in Texas—true

2. John Wayne, near the end of his life, accepted Jesus because of a letter sent from an injured girl who attended Robert Schuler’s Crystal Cathedral. -false

3. A Physician weighed bodies after death to determine the weight of the human soul.—True

4. Petition to Ban Religious Broadcasting Claim: Atheists are petitioning the FCC to get religious broadcasting banned from American airwaves..false..

...Commission (FCC) in Washington, DC. Their petition, Number 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the gospel of our Lord and Savior,...false

5. ACLU has sued to remove the Mojave Cross from Federal Land...true

Ill: GO AHEAD AND GOSSIP Harriet, the church gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the church’s morals, kept sticking her nose into other people’s business.

Several residents were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked all afternoon in front of the town’s only bar. She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know that he was an alcoholic. George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and then just walked away. He said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Harriet’s house and left it there all night... (Pulpit Helps, April 2003)

WHILE THE MESSAGE IS IMPORTANT WE MUST ALSO CONSIDER THE MOTIVE OF THE MESSAGE! JUST BECAUSE IT IS TRUE DOES NOT MEAN IT NEEDS TO BE SHARED!

II. What is the motive of the message?

Why should I share this message with another person?

I thought Rick Warren gave a great definition of gossip and how we know when we are gossiping. He said this, “When we are talking about a situation with somebody who is neither part of the problem or part of the solution, then we are probably gossiping.” When we are talking about a situation with someone who is neither part of the problem