Introduction:
A. What would you think of a person who wasn't
kind? As
a
matter of fact, they were rather harsh!
Would you
think they were
a Christian?
B. What would you think of someone who was
kind? Would
you consider
them loving? A Christian?
C. Kindness and Love go hand in hand! We might say
Kindness is
speaking Lovingly!
D. Let's look at what the Bible says about
speaking
lovingly:
I Cor. 13:1 NIV "If I speak in the tongues of men
and of angels, but have not love,
I am only a resounding gong or a
clanging cymbal."
Trans.
The Bible puts
great emphasis on it, so let's look
today at:
"A Beautiful Tongue is a Kind Tongue."
Prayer
I. A Kind Tongue Helps to Make a House a Home. (read Prov. 31:26)
A. Here we are once again looking at this
virtuous woman described in Proverbs.
B. This is probably a good picture of a Home
also!
C. And in this verse we see that she had a kind
tongue!
D. As with most things, the place for kindness
to start
is
in the home!
E. A lot of family problems could be solved by a
little understanding kindness.
1. When a spouse comes in
irritable from a bad day at work, a little kindness will help reverse the
situation, but jump down their throat about
something and
it's World War III!
2. When one of the kids comes in from school
crying because they feel that they are ugly and no one likes
them, a little kindness goes a long way.
3. When a spouse is feeling
useless and like they aren't getting anywhere, even perhaps in tears, a little
kindness will help them feel special again!
F. Kindness brings a family together! But a Hateful
tongue can
destroy it!
II. A Kind Tongue complements a Truthful Tongue!
A. We would all probably agree that we need to
be
Truthful, but
in Eph. 4:15, we find that this isn't
enough! We are to "speak the truth in
Love."
B. We may not like the way someone does
something, or we
may think they
are wrong.
1. We could tell them what we think real
judgingly
and hateful,
straightening them out! They'd
probably get
real mad and keep right on doing it!
2. Or we could tell them Lovingly and kind, and
they might
listen to us, giving us a chance to change someone's life for the better!
C. Some examples:
1. Husband or wife has a habit that really
bothers
us!
2. Someone has a belief that we don=t
think is right!
Maybe they even
come to our door!
a. Ex. Jehovah’s Witness visits.
b. Could be hateful to them so they don’t come
back. I’ve seen some who boasted this
method.
c. The more Christian way might be to practice
a kind tongue!
III. A Kind Tongue Promotes Peace!
A. It promotes peace in that, if we are kind
spoken,
people who
disagree with us won't be even more provoked by our unkindness, even to the
point of wrath!
1. A kind tongue would go a long way in
promoting
peace in our polarized political world!
2. A kind tongue would go a long way in
promoting
peace if we applied it to what we write on
Facebook!
B. It is easy to be kind when someone is kind to us! The real test is if we can be kind when they are hateful to us!
C. Our ultimate example of this is Christ:
Luke 23:34 NIV "Father, forgive them; for they know
Not what they do."
IV. A Kind Tongue is a Positive Witness for Christ.
Col. 4:5&6
NIV
"Be Wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. (6)Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
A. We may come to church and take an active
part, but if
through
the week we are not kind, our witness is
suffering!
B. If we come to church and take an active part,
adding
to
that loving-kindness, people will be able to see a difference in our
lives. They will want what we have, and they will ask, giving us a chance to
share our witness!
Conclusion:
A. Do we have kind tongues?
B. Or do we need to ask God to
help us with this one as we encounter Christ at the table this morning?
Prayer of Confession
Service
of Communion
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