This sermon series is all about learning to use our words according to God's design.

The Bible teaches that your ability to speak isn't just for you, but for others through you.

In this message, Pastor Jamie Nunnally talks about ugly words. Ugly words are harmful words that hurt others and reveal the poison in our own hearts.

James 3:8 ESV but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

God wants to give your words authority. But why would He give weight to your words if you use ugly words instead of useful words?

Examples of ugly words:

Complaining, criticizing, accusing, blaming, insulting, judging, gossip, sarcasm, self-deprecation, etc.

How to fix ugly words:

1. Pause.

Silence adds significance to what you say.

James 1:19 NLT "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry."

You don't have to have an opinion on everything.

Some people have something to say, other people just want to say something.

"Everything that is said must be true, but not everything that is true must be said."

2. Perceive.

Lamentations 3:40 "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!"

If you'll watch your thoughts, you won't have to watch your mouth as much.

Ugly words are often caused by emotional inflammation – anger, disappointment, fear, or frustration - which is a reaction to a wound to your heart.

Psalm 139:23-24 NLT "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. [cares] ..."

3. Purify.

Isaiah 6:5 NASB "Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.'"

Being in the presence of God made Isaiah immediately aware of his ugly words.

Submitting your speech to the creator of speech is the quickest way to tame your tongue.

Have you ever considered the difference between a scalpel and a shiv? They're both sharp, they're both made with the intention of cutting someone, but one is intended to save a life, while the other is intended to take a life. The scalpel has been carefully sterilized, the shiv is covered in contaminants. One has been manufactured to precise specifications, the other has been hastily created from repurposed items from the past. The scalpel is found in a hospital, where doctors and nurses are trying help others, while a shiv is found in a prison where people are trying to hurt others. If you're still shackled by your sin or imprisoned by your past, your words will be a shiv. The truth can cut sometimes, but its intended to be a scalpel that brings life, not a shiv that brings death.

Are you speaking ugly words?