Pastor Elio Marrocco's "Gossip" sermon at New Life Christian Church on February 15, 2013. You can learn more about New Life Christian Church here: http://www.newlifecc.ca

1. GOSSIP
1

2. GOSSIP
Pierre de Marivaux,
‘Some people will believe anything if it is
whispered to them.’

3. GOSSIP
Morris Mandel,
‘Gossip is the most deadly microbe. It
has neither legs nor wings. It is
composed entirely of tales, and most of
them have stings.’

4. GOSSIP
Will Rogers,
‘So live that you wouldn't be ashamed to
sell the family parrot to the town gossip.’

5. GOSSIP
Ellen Wilcox Wheeler,
‘Have you heard of the terrible family
They,
And the dreadful venomous things
They say?
Why, half the gossip under the sun,
If you trace it back, you will find begun
In that wretched House of
They.’

6. GOSSIP
Proverbs 18:8 (MSG)
‘Listening to gossip is like eating cheap
candy; do you really want junk like that
in your belly?’

7. GOSSIP
James 3:1-12
1-2
‘…We get it wrong nearly every time we
open our mouths. If you could find
someone whose speech was perfectly
true, you’d have a perfect person, in
perfect control of life…

8. GOSSIP
James 3:1-12
3-4
‘…A bit in the mouth of a horse controls
the whole horse. A small rudder on a
huge ship in the hands of a skilled
captain sets a course in the face of the
strongest winds. A word out of your
mouth may seem of no account, but it
can accomplish nearly anything—or
destroy it!...

9. GOSSIP
James 3:1-12
5-6
‘…It only takes a spark, remember, to
set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly
placed word out of your mouth can do
that. By our speech we can ruin the
world, turn harmony to chaos, throw
mud on a reputation, send the whole
world up in smoke and go up in smoke
with it, smoke right from the pit of hell…

10. GOSSIP
James 3:1-12
7-9
‘…This is scary: You can tame a tiger,
but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never
been done. The tongue runs wild, a
wanton killer. With our tongues we bless
God our Father; with the same tongues
we curse the very men and women he
made in his image. Curses and blessings
out of the same mouth!...

11. GOSSIP
James 3:1-12
10-12
‘…My friends, this can’t go on. A
spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day
and brackish the next, does it? Apple
trees don’t bear strawberries, do they?
Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do
they? You’re not going to dip into a
polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear,
cool water, are you?

12. GOSSIP
Proverbs 18:8
"The words of a gossip are like choice
morsels; they go down to a man's
inmost parts."

13. GOSSIP
Simply put,
“gossip”
is talking about people
behind their backs.

14. GOSSIP
The New Testament Greek word for
"gossip" (psithuristes) is literally "a
whisperer" -- a person who whispers
behind your back with the intention of
hurting you.

15. GOSSIP
Romans 1:29
‘They have become filled with every kind
of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife,
deceit and malice. They are gossips…’

16. GOSSIP
The Greek scholar Godet describes a
gossiper as someone who pours out his
poison by whispering in our ears.

17. GOSSIP
Romans1:29-30
29
They have become filled with every
kind of wickedness, evil, greed and
depravity. They are full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit and malice. They are
gossips, 30
slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they
invent ways of doing evil; they disobey
their parents…

18. GOSSIP
Romans 1:30
‘… slanderers, God-haters, insolent,
arrogant and boastful; they invent
ways of doing evil; they disobey their
parents.’

19. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
1. Gossip is fueled by hell's flames.
James 3:6
"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil
among the parts of the body. It
corrupts the whole person, sets the
whole course of his life on fire, and
is itself set on fire by hell."

20. GOSSIP
"A gossiper
is the devil's postman."

21. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
1. Gossip is fueled by hell's flames.
2. Gossip originates from the evil in our
hearts.

22. GOSSIP
Luke 6:45
"The good man brings good things out of
the good stored up in his heart, and
the evil man brings evil things out of
the evil stored up in his heart. For out
of the overflow of his heart his mouth
speaks."

23. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
1. Gossip is fueled by hell's flames.
2. Gossip originates from the evil in our
hearts.
3. Gossip can be the result of hatred.

24. GOSSIP
Psalm 109:3
"With words of hatred they surround
me; they attack me without cause."

25. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
1. Gossip is fueled by hell's flames.
2. Gossip originates from the evil in our
hearts.
3. Gossip can be the result of hatred.
4. Gossip is a product of idleness.

26. GOSSIP
1 Timothy 5:13
"Besides, they get into the habit of being
idle and going about from house to
house. And not only do they become
idlers, but also gossips and busybodies,
saying things they ought not to."

27. GOSSIP
"Idle hands
are the devil's workshop."

28. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
II. The Trouble with Gossip
1. Gossip is incredibly destructive.

29. GOSSIP
James 3:6, 8
"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil
among the parts of the body. It corrupts
the whole person, sets the whole course
of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire
by hell. No man can tame the tongue. It
is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."

30. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
II. The Trouble with Gossip
1. Gossip is incredibly destructive.
2. Gossip is a characteristic of
unbelievers.

31. GOSSIP
Romans 1:29-30
"They have become filled with every kind
of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife,
deceit, and malice. They are gossips,
slanderers, God-haters, insolent,
arrogant and boastful; they invent ways
of doing evil; they disobey their parents."

32. GOSSIP
Gossip and slander belong to
unbelievers who have rejected God.
When we gossip, we talk like people
who have rejected Christ.

33. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
II. The Trouble with Gossip
1. Gossip is incredibly destructive.
2. Gossip is a characteristic of
unbelievers.
3. Gossip spreads falsehood.

34. GOSSIP
Ephesians 4:25
"Therefore each of you must put off
falsehood and speak truthfully to his
neighbor, for we are all members of one
body."

35. GOSSIP
"Don't bother me with the facts.
My mind is already made up."

36. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
II. The Trouble with Gossip
1. Gossip is incredibly destructive.
2. Gossip is a characteristic of
unbelievers.
3. Gossip spreads falsehood.
4. Gossip separates friends.

37. GOSSIP
Proverbs 16:28
"A perverse man stirs up dissension, and
a gossip separates close friends."

38. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
II. The Trouble with Gossip
III. The Cure for Gossip
1. Overlook an offense.

39. GOSSIP
Proverbs 17:9
"He who covers over an offense
promotes love, but whoever repeats the
matter separates close friends."

40. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
II. The Trouble with Gossip
III. The Cure for Gossip
1. Overlook an offense.
2. Don't listen to gossipers.

41. GOSSIP
Proverbs 20:19
"A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid
a man who talks too much."

42. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
II. The Trouble with Gossip
III. The Cure for Gossip
1. Overlook an offense.
2. Don't listen to gossipers.
3. Confront gossipers.

43. GOSSIP
Matthew 18:15-17
15
“If your brother sins against you, go
and show him his fault, just between the
two of you. If he listens to you, you have
won your brother over. 16
But if he will not
listen, take one or two others along, so
that ‘every matter may be established by
the testimony of two or three
witnesses.’…

44. GOSSIP
Matthew 18:15-17
… 17
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it
to the church; and if he refuses to listen
even to the church, treat him as you
would a pagan or a tax collector.

45. GOSSIP
I. The Origin of Gossip
II. The Trouble with Gossip
III. The Cure for Gossip
1. Overlook an offense.
2. Don't listen to gossipers.
3. Confront gossipers.
4. Watch your tongue carefully.

46. GOSSIP
Ephesians 4:29
"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."

47. GOSSIP
T--Is it true?
H--Is it helpful?
I--Is it inspiring?
N--Is it necessary?
K--Is it kind?

48. GOSSIP
"If you can't say anything nice,
don't say anything at all."

49. GOSSIP
Matthew 12:36
"I tell you that men will have to give
account on the Day of Judgment for
every careless word they have spoken."

50. GOSSIP
Psalm 141:3
"Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips."