Recognize the two kinds of wisdom described in James 3:7–18 and practice pausing to seek God’s guidance before speaking, choosing words that reflect humility, mercy, truth, and peace.
Scriptures:
James 3
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for reminding us that our words matter. Help us become more aware of what is taking root in our hearts and how it influences what comes out of our mouths. When we are tempted to react from pride, jealousy, fear, or frustration, remind us to pause and seek Your wisdom.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your Word and for the reminder that our lives can easily become distracted by what is happening around us.
As we begin our study of 2 Chronicles, help us understand what it means to keep You at the center of our lives.
Teach us to recognize when our hearts have become distracted.
Show us the places where our priorities have shifted.
Help us understand that spiritual renewal often begins with a decision to return to You.
Give us wisdom to recognize the difference between activity and true worship.
Give us humility to receive correction.
Give us courage to make changes when You reveal something that needs to change.
Help us seek You—not simply when we need something, but because You are worthy of being sought.
Teach us to respond to Your presence with humility, obedience, prayer, and worship.
When life becomes complicated, when we become discouraged and when we make mistakes , remind us that repentance opens the door to restoration.
May our lives continually point back to You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Learning Objective: Recognize how gossip can become a counterfeit source of self-esteem and connection, identify its impact on relationships, and choose direct, respectful, and biblically grounded communication that protects dignity and promotes reconciliation.
Scriptures:
Matthew 18: 15-20
Romans 13:8-10
Prayer: Dear Lord delivery me from the tendency to share another person’s story many times because of my own insecurities. Help me to rejoice in the success of others over my own and ground my sense of worth and value in you, an unshakable anchor of identity.
Aquinas’s discussion includes sorrow over another’s good, pleasure in another’s misfortune, and attempts to damage someone’s reputation.
Tale-bearing
Carrying stories between people in ways that create conflict, division, or mistrust. Tale-bearing does not simply damage a reputation; it can damage a relationship.
Detraction
Sharing another person’s faults or failures—even when the information is true—when there is no legitimate need for others to know it. Before speaking, ask: Is it true—and does this truth need to be shared with this person?
Delight in another person’s misfortune
Feeling secretly pleased when someone fails, loses influence, or experiences difficulty because it makes us feel better about ourselves.
Sorrow over another person’s good fortune
Feeling diminished, resentful, or threatened when someone else succeeds, receives recognition, or experiences something good.
By the end of this podcast and Bible study, participants will be able to:
Understand the biblical context and major themes of 1 Chronicles, including identity, remembrance, leadership, worship, covenant, preparation, service, and spiritual legacy.
Recognize how remembering God’s faithfulness can strengthen our identity and help us remain grounded during seasons of change.
Identify behaviors, attitudes, and priorities that can either strengthen or weaken our relationship with God and our ability to fulfill what He has entrusted to us.
Apply the EIC (Encounter–Identified Behavior–Course Correct) Framework to examine their relationship with God, their priorities, leadership, service, and preparation for what God is calling them to do.
Develop greater spiritual confidence, intentionality, humility, and faithfulness as they seek to build lives that honor God and positively influence others.
Three key areas of understanding:
Remember Your Story
Your Assignment Does Not Have to Look Like Someone Else’s
Thank You for Your Word and for the reminder that our lives are part of a story much greater than ourselves.
As we begin our study of 1 Chronicles, help us understand the importance of remembering where we have come from, recognizing who we are in You, and understanding what You have entrusted to us. Teach us to value preparation as much as accomplishment. Help us understand that sometimes You call us to build, and sometimes You call us to prepare someone else to build.
Give us the humility to serve when we are not receiving recognition.
Give us the wisdom to prepare when the results are not yet visible.
Give us the courage to lead with integrity and the discipline to remain faithful in the small things.
Help us remember Your faithfulness in our past so that we can trust You with our future. Show us anything in our lives that needs to be realigned.
Help us place You at the center of our priorities, our relationships, our work, our leadership, and our purpose.
May our lives become an offering of worship to You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Learning Objective: Learn why God never wastes our pain and how to navigate a trial with faith over fear.
Scriptures:
Matthew 25
Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to be filled with your joy and use the talents you have blessed me with to serve others. Make this possible for me today as I choose to put you first, gain clarity around the gifts you have given me and show me my give back project today. Prayer shared in the podcast: “It is out of love for thee, oh Lord, that I do surrender all that I think and believe I am, including life itself. To Thee O Lord, do I surrender my being.”
