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Out of the overflow
sermon guide
Share about someone in your life who has modeled humility.
This week we’re looking at the relationship between the words that come out of our mouths and the condition of our hearts.
Have someone read Luke 6:43-45.
Share how you have seen this to be true in your life.
How does our “fruit” reveal who we are on the inside?
Landon shared three things that would be good to prune out of our lives.
Have someone read James 3:8 and James 4:10.
Pride has been sprouting its weeds from the beginning of time. Satan wooed Adam and Eve with the promise that if they ate the fruit, they would be like God: they would be in control.
God is an expert when it comes to growing the right kind of fruit. He is referred to as an expert vinedresser. Pruning involves an initial loss in order for the plant to flourish. When we trim back pride, humility flourishes. When you and I speak from the position of humility, life-giving words follow.
Share a time when pride impacted your life. How could things have been different if you had approached the situation with humility?
Pain is another area where God works in our lives, using that pain to prune us. Though we may shrink from pain, pain is inevitable in life. The good news that scripture shows us is that God is an expert at taking the pain, the undesirable moments in our lives, and redeeming that pain. What does that mean? To redeem is “to compensate for the faults or bad aspects of something.” God redeems our pain and brings forth greater fruit in our lives.
Share a time when, looking back, you see how God used your pain or the pain of a loved one, and share how it was redeemed.
What do you think about God redeeming your pain to inspire someone else?
Have someone read Galatians 5:22-23.
When God prunes us, the fruit of the spirit blossoms in our lives.
How would being filled with the fruit of the spirit change your relationships?
If your heart were filled with love, what impact would that have on your words, and how would that affect your relationships?
Paranoia is another thing that we need less of in our lives. Paranoia is a feeling of mistrust as if the world is out to get you and you never know when or where the next attack may come from. When paranoia is pruned back, what grows in its absence isn’t necessarily what you expect or can even predict.
Have someone read John 10:10.
An abundant life looks like a purpose-filled life, marked by the abundant fruit of the Holy Spirit and a posture of humility. Paranoid words—words meant to harm—will not take away the promise of purpose that God has for you.
Every person that you’ve ever met, whether they are experiencing pride or pain or paranoia, wants to live some version of a life of abundance, a life of purpose. But we get lost along the way. A change in words begins with a change in heart, and a change of heart is only possible through Jesus.
Applitcation
Identify someone in your life to speak words of purpose into this week.
Which of the three —pride, pain, or paranoia—do you need to prune out of your life?
prayer
Break into groups and pray for wisdom to see where pride, pain or paranoia is holding you back from living an abundant life.
Ask the Lord to help you this week to change your heart so that you can change your words.