Click on the audio below to use this series with a group or mentor. Learn more.

In this 6-part audio series, a pastor from the charismatic movement helps us examine the mysterious and controversial spiritual gift of "speaking in tongues".

Adapted from this blog at Cross Culture Church in Chicago.

Topic #1

Speaking in Tongues Is Not Magic

Key Points:

  • Speaking in tongues is a non-rational form of communication between our spirit and God. 1 Corinthians 14:14-15
  • Generally, we’re uncomfortable with things we can’t control or fully explain – and tongues is in that category.
  • Speaking in tongues is spiritually valuable for those who have the gift. 1 Corinthians 14:5
Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Have you ever seen or heard someone speaking tongues? What was it like? How did you react initially? On a scale of 1-10, how “weird” did (or does) it seem to you?
  3. Do you have the “gift” of tongues? If so, describe how it works in your life.
  4. Read 1 Corinthians 14:5. Why do you think Paul said this? What value did tongues bring to Paul and the early Christians?
  5. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

Topic #2

Tongues, An Ancient Problem

Key Points:

  • Speaking in tongues is a good gift that is to be desired. 1 Corinthians 14:18
  • Speaking in tongues builds us up spiritually. 1 Corinthians 14:4
  • Public speaking in tongues must be interpreted in order for it to be “in order”. 1 Corinthians 14:5
Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Which of the four points above was most surprising to you? Explain.
  3. What does it mean that tongues is a “non-rational” form of communication with God? Make a list of the more “rational” forms.
  4. How does speaking in tongues “build up” a person? How does prophecy and teaching “build up” others?
  5. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

Topic #3

Putting Tongues in Its Place

Key Points:

  • Paul would rather say almost nothing at all in church to instruct others than he would speak, pray or sing for hours in tongues. 1 Corinthians 14:19
  • Being in a church setting means being focused first on the Lord, and then on building up others. 1 Corinthians 14:3
  • Speaking in tongues in a corporate setting is fundamentally unloving if it does not help your spiritual siblings in Christ. 1 Corinthians 14:16
Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Explain how tongues is not usually an “other-centered” gift for the church.
  3. Make a list of some other things churches do that are not other-centered. What should we do about it?
  4. Sometimes preaching, like speaking in tongues, is “oral communication not understandable to others”. Do you agree? Give some examples. What do you think Paul would say about this?
  5. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
Key Points:

  • Paul provides two options for properly exercising tongues: do it publicly with an interpreter or do it privately for your own edification.
  • Paul is dealing with a congregation that had a misunderstanding of, and overemphasis on, speaking in tongues. 
  • Paul’s insights for a church that does not express tongues at all might be somewhat different.
Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Have you ever heard an interpretation of tongues? If so, describe it.
  3. Which seems more mysterious to you: speaking in tongues or interpreting? Explain.
  4. Why does Paul require interpretation of tongues in a public gathering?
  5. When is interpretation of tongues unnecessary?
  6. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
Key Points:

  • Paul says that the Spirit Himself intercedes through us according to God’s will, and this might include praying in tongues. Romans 8:26-27
  • Tongues is a form of strategic weaponry that aids believers in their ‘wrestling’ against hostile cosmic powers. Ephesians 6:18
  • Jude writes about praying in the Holy Spirit, which may be referring to tongues. Jude 20
Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Read Romans 8:26-27. Do you think this could be referring to tongues? Defend your answer.
  3. Read Ephesians 6:18 and Jude 20. Do you think “praying in the Spirit” might be referring to tongues? If so, is that the only way to “pray in the Spirit”? Explain.
  4. Are there other places in the Bible that refer to the gift of tongues? Make a list.
  5. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

Topic #6

Is Speaking in Tongues for Me?

Key Points:

  • You are not a ‘second-class’ Christian if you have not yet experienced the gift of tongues.
  • You can still be led by the Spirit in prayer even if you don’t pray in tongues.
  • Every believer can renew an “earnest desire” for tongues as an expression of the Spirit’s generosity. 1 Corinthians 14:1
Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Do you have the gift of tongues? If so, how did you receive it. If not, have you ever prayed for it? Explain.
  3. How might the gift of tongues be spiritually valuable to a person? How might it be misused?
  4. What are some of the other gifts of the Spirit? Make a list. Can those gifts be misused? Explain.
  5. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.