August 31, 2025

Dear Family,

The Junior High Sabbath School will continue their series tackling four topics that can be struggles for junior high students.  In this second lesson, we examined the dangers of gossip by discussing Proverbs 16:28 and other biblical passages that reveal the consequences of this unhealthy habit.

God calls us to live lives built on love, and He has instructed us to use our words toward that purpose.  Our words have great potential to bring good—to encourage and heal others’ hearts.  We can provide this gift of encouragement to people around us.

We’ll encourage our students to focus on knowing God’s truth about gossip so they can be prepared to handle situations where gossip is spoken or heard.  They can decide what they will say or not say in those situations.  They can be change-agents for good in their schools, communities, and homes through the power of their words.

Here are some questions you might want to use as you talk with your teenager about this week’s lesson:

• What are some of the negative effects of gossip? 
  • What do they do to relationships? 
  • How have you been affected by gossip.
• How easy or difficult is it for a person to avoid gossip?
• If gossip separates the best of friends, like the Bible says, what kind of words bring friends even closer together?

I pray that this is a blessed week for you and your family!