Anyone connected to our churches is always welcome to our midweek meetings via Zoom (please email me for details). But this Wednesday 23rd Sept would be an especially good time to join us as we begin looking at the Letter of James together (1vv1-18). There is no need to prepare, but in case this is helpful:
Midweek Meeting Wed 23rd Sept
James 1:1-18
INTRODUCTION:
A very practical letter
addressing issues such as wealth and poverty, conflict, sickness, suffering,
how we speak. A punchy direct vivid style with use of striking illustrations / metaphors.
Can seem a little
disjointed. Maybe based on sermons or sermon notes.
A particularly Jewish
flavour?
God’s wisdom for Christian
living under pressure.
Putting our Christian
faith into action.
What genuine faith looks
like in real life.
Living out and in the
light of the implanted word (of God).
Key verses: 1v21-22:
“humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely
listen to the word… do what it says.”
QUESTIONS:
Who was this James?
The New Testament probably
mentions five James-es:
(1) The Apostle, the son
of Zebedee, brother of John, the fisherman – martyred ?AD44
(2) The Apostle James the
Son of Alphaeus – Mk 3:18 - possibly = James the younger / James the less – Mk
15:40
(3) James the (half) brother
of Jesus
(4) James the brother of
Jude (Jude 1)
(5) The father of the
Apostle Judas (not Judas Iscariot)
Of course, it could be
some other James!
This James was probably /
traditionally (3), Jesus’ brother. See 1 Cor 15:7; Acts 12:17; 15:13ff; 21:17-18;
Gal 1:19; 2:9.
James’ martyrdom is
traditionally dated to AD 62.
Who do you think “the
twelve tribes scattered among the nations” refers to? (v1)
(We can presume that James
is writing to believers who share his commitment to “God and the Lord Jesus Christ”,
Christians)
2v2 – meeting place /
assembly = Greek, synagogue
What would James be
driving at by that description? (What difference would it make to think of
ourselves as the people of God scattered among the nations?)
Cf. Gal 6:16?; Gal 3:7; Rm
4:11, 16
How might we / others
often / naturally respond to trials / difficulties?
This passage talks about
facing struggles / difficulties external (trails, vv2, 12) and internal
(temptations, vv13-14).
What is the right response
to trials / temptations?
What would be the results
of this?
What could you say to someone
(from these verses) who thinks that their trials and suffering imply that they
have somehow stepped outside the will of God for their life?
What distinguishes v2 from
masochism?
How is “Consider it pure
joy…” different from “pretend the trials aren’t happening / pretend they’re fun”?
What if trials don’t feel
like pure joy?!
Granted that a trial by
definition is not a pure joy (v2), why does James urge us to consider it pure
joy when we face trials?
Cf. Romans 5:3-4
Why should the Christian
persevere under trial? (vv2-4, 12)
(Might there be any logical
connection between vv2-4 and v5? Why might he introduce talk of wisdom here?)
What encouragement is
given in v5?
Cf. Matthew 7:11
What characterises God’s
giving?
What can undo / defeat
this prayer for wisdom? (vv6-8)
In what way is this
different from a momentary doubt / questions / struggles to believe?
Look at 4v8 where double-mindedness
is mentioned again. Might 4vv2ff shed any light on what might be meant by
double-mindedness?
Again, how might vv9-11 be
connected to the issues of trials?
What high position does
the poor brother (or sister) Christian in humble circumstances enjoy? (v9)
How might the wealthy
Christian fool himself? Might his riches even be a trial to him?!
What reason for humility
is given in vv10-11?
(Same word for test /
tempt in vv12, 13-14, peirazo)
What wrong understanding
of trials is corrected in v13-15? How?
What does James want us to
remember about ourselves? (v14)
What does he want us to
remember about God (vv13-18)?
What is God’s aim when he
allows us to be tested / tempted?
What is Satan’s aim when
he tempts us?
What “births” are spoken
of in this passage?
What grows out of evil desire
/ temptation? What’s the result?
What can we learn about
the new birth here? (v18)
Where does it come from?
By what means?
With what result?
What positive Christian
growth does the passage envisage?
What does the idea of “firstfruits”
(v18) mean? How is that encouraging?
What does this passage
tell us about God?
Have you found anything
striking in this passage?
Anything you want to hang
on to / that will make a difference to you?
How would you summarise
it?
How can we turn this
passage into praise and prayer?
* * *
NOTES:
Testing – maybe as in a
metal tested in fire, proved to be true and authentic. Testing that
strengthens?
The trials faced by James’
readers might include poverty, injustice, conflict, sickness, grief – the rest
of the letter might suggest (Allberry, p13)
Trials are the spiritual
equivalent of growbags (Allberry, p14) – they produce perseverance and
maturity. Faith is like a muscle that grows stronger with use.
Double mindedness = split
loyalties, fickle, two-faced, someone who is hedging their bets between trusting
God and the world – do we genuinely want to receive God’s wisdom and live his
way (at least in our right mind!)?
The poor Christian is
spiritually rich and the rich Christian would be spiritually bankrupt left to
himself.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment