Loving With Your Words Agape - Part 6 March 3, 2024 Part 1 - Made For Love  Part 2 - God Is Love  Part 3 - Loving God  Part 4 - Loving Others  Part 5 - Loving When It's Hard  Part 6 - Loving With Your Words Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me ... is a lie! “The tongue can bring death or life.” Proverbs 18:21 (NLT) Our words are powerful. Three Ways We Can Agapē With Our Words:  Agapē with our words outwardly Speak words that build others up. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) When you see something good, say something good. “ … Speak the truth in agape ... ” Ephesians 4:15 (NLT) Thomas Sowell: If you want to help people, tell them the truth. If you want to help yourself, tell them what they want to hear. The key word here is agapē/love! “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” Proverbs 27:6 (NIV) Jesus’ Great Commandment:  -Agapē God  -Agapē Others  -Agapē Yourself Agapē with our words inwardly “The tongue can bring death or life.” Proverbs 18:21 (NLT) “[Speak] only what is helpful for building others up ... ” Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) “Speak the truth in love ... ” Ephesians 4:15 (NLT) The words we use towards ourselves are just as important as the words we use towards others. “ ... We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) Agapē with our words upwardly  “1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 2Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with joy. 3Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.” Psalm 100 (NLT) Worship through music  Worship through prayer  Worship through the Word of God Worship agapēs God and transforms us! “6Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. 7Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:6-9 (NLT) You can worry or you can worship, but you can’t do both. “17Your roots will grow down into God’s agapē and keep you strong. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His agapē is. 19May you experience the agapē of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  20Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:17-21 (NLT)