According to my Internet research, the little adage about sticks and stones being more harmful than words first appeared in 1862.  As you know, it ends, “Words will never harm me…”  Not true.  I have crashed bikes, fallen from trees, had three surgeries, hit my finger with a hammer, been whipped with a stick and pelted by stones but the pains that still remain in my heart are from words.  I can still remember painful things that people said to me over 40 years ago.  I’m not remembering them with bitterness, but there are still scars; some things are hard to forget.  Words have power.  Words can cheer, encourage, inspire and bless.  Words can also depress, discourage, ruin and curse.  The apostle James wrote that our words can be like a match that starts a forest on fire.  We’ve all been involved, to one extent or another, in a forest fire of words, “set on fire by hell.”  We’ve probably also been encouraged, refreshed and blessed by someone’s kind and thoughtful response in our time of need.  Lord willing, this coming Sunday, we’ll learn about why Spirit-empowered word use is so important in private and in public.  “Desire earnestly to prophesy…”