Watch Your Mouth!

Gossip of any kind is destructive.

“You can tell more about a person by what he says about others, than by what others say about him.” - Leo Aikman
“The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.” - Will Rogers

James 1:26 “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (ch 3) “blessing & cursing” should not come from the same mouth.

Gossip - 10 Pathways to Eliminate it From Your Life and Transform Your Soul, by Lori Palatnik, (wife of Torah scholar, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik) and Bob Burg. “If you have ever had a conflict with another person, good chance it is based on the misuse of the gift of speech. Gossip is always a personal confession” (hatred or foolishness). “Each time one speaks badly of others, it is like killing 3 people.” Subject, Speaker & Listener - Babylonian Talmud (Arachin 15b)

The Talmud says the person damaged the most is the listener! (How?) Gossip and slander are “passive”, so the Listener is only one that can stop the process. Subject has no control & Speaker has lost control. (James 3) So the Listener must take control!

Praying Over the Room and "N.O.S.A."

Something new and wonderful happened to me the last couple Sundays. Two or Three teen guys came early and helped me pray over every seat in the worship center prior to services. (I was very impressed!)
Then yesterday, three teen guys came up after the start of services and sat with me… on the front row! Our youth group has a saying: “N.O.S.A.” (which means: “No one sits alone”). Seems that some of them felt concern that their preacher was by himself and took it upon themselves to be with me. This was very encouraging to me, (especially considering that my own family members don’t like sitting up front with me!) I was pleasantly surprised how much more confident I felt in presenting my lesson, sensing their support for me. So thank you Taylor, Zack, and Conner. God blessed me through you! It is good to be reminded that we are not alone!