W@W: James 1
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Opening Question
Opening Question
If the apostle Paul were alive today, do you think he’d be active on social media?
Likely yes. He’d see it as a way to “be all things to all people.”Likely no. He’d see it as a distraction to ministry.
Introduction to James
Introduction to James
The letter of James is 5 chapters; while we have 4 W@W; we’ll see how we can squeeze that all in over the course of the year.
The OUTLINE of the letter flows like this.
Open/Overview of Pastoral Concerns (1:1-27)
Body of Letter/Development of Pastoral Concerns (2:1-5:11)
Closing/Final Pastoral Concerns (5:12-20)
Now, a lot happens within that and certainly the middle is chunked up rather nicely, so we may find ourselves spending our next 2 W@W looking closely at that middle section.
But let us jump to the first chapter here and look at James’s overview of the pastoral concerns he has.
Read
Read
1 From James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To the twelve tribes who are scattered outside the land of Israel.
Greetings!
2 My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. 3 After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing. 5 But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought, without keeping score. Wisdom will certainly be given to those who ask. 6 Whoever asks shouldn’t hesitate. They should ask in faith, without doubting. Whoever doubts is like the surf of the sea, tossed and turned by the wind. 7 People like that should never imagine that they will receive anything from the Lord. 8 They are double-minded, unstable in all their ways.
9 Brothers and sisters who are poor should find satisfaction in their high status. 10 Those who are wealthy should find satisfaction in their low status, because they will die off like wildflowers. 11 The sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass so that its flowers fall and its beauty is lost. Just like that, in the midst of their daily lives, the wealthy will waste away. 12 Those who stand firm during testing are blessed. They are tried and true. They will receive the life God has promised to those who love him as their reward.
13 No one who is tested should say, “God is tempting me!” This is because God is not tempted by any form of evil, nor does he tempt anyone. 14 Everyone is tempted by their own cravings; they are lured away and enticed by them. 15 Once those cravings conceive, they give birth to sin; and when sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father, the creator of the heavenly lights, in whose character there is no change at all. 18 He chose to give us birth by his true word, and here is the result: we are like the first crop from the harvest of everything he created.
19 Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to grow angry. 20 This is because an angry person doesn’t produce God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, with humility, set aside all moral filth and the growth of wickedness, and welcome the word planted deep inside you—the very word that is able to save you.
22 You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves. 23 Those who hear but don’t do the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror. 24 They look at themselves, walk away, and immediately forget what they were like. 25 But there are those who study the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continue to do it. They don’t listen and then forget, but they put it into practice in their lives. They will be blessed in whatever they do.
26 If those who claim devotion to God don’t control what they say, they mislead themselves. Their devotion is worthless. 27 True devotion, the kind that is pure and faultless before God the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their difficulties and to keep the world from contaminating us.
Discuss
Discuss
What verse jumped out at you after our first reading?
Was this a verse you were familiar with before reading it tonight?
What was so interesting about it that made it jump out to you?
What do you think James meant by this?
What do you think YOU can take away from this?
Re-Read James 1
Re-Read James 1
Discuss Again
Discuss Again
What jumped out at you during your second reading?
Was it the same as before?
Was it something completely different?
Was it something before/after your initial answer after the first time?
Who should ask for Wisdom according to James? (James 1:5)
What does James say about those who doubt?
Have you been faced with doubt recently?
How have you dealt with doubt?
What does it say about those who stand firm when being tested? (James 1:12)
Apply
Apply
Ask God to open your eyes this week to new ways in which you can relate to the specific scripture that jumped out to you from earlier? Same with the second reading (if different).
Ask God to strengthen your faith when faced with temptation and doubt.
Remember, when feeling tempted; that’s NOT coming from God! (James 1:13 “13 No one who is tested should say, “God is tempting me!” This is because God is not tempted by any form of evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” )
Pray
Pray
Gracious God.
We are thankful for times such as these; where we can come together as the Body of Christ; enjoy a meal together, spend time in fellowship, and taking time to really read and dig into your word. Allow us to enjoy these times, grow from these times, and