Patient Perseverance Through Prayer

James, Sermon Preparation

April 17, 2011 – Morning Worship

Monday James 5:7-20; Matt 24:36-44
Why does James end his letter with this call to patience and prayer?  What would impatience look like (hint: James 4:13-5:6)?

Tuesday Isaiah 40:9-11; Isaiah 62:10-12; Revelation 22
How does the reminder that the Lord is standing at the door and coming soon with his judgment a comfort to his people?  How does it give us patience and establish our hearts (Jas. 5:8)?

Wednesday Job 1, 2, 42; James 5:11
How does the example of Job prove James’ point here?  Why is Job a comfort and a challenge to us?

Thursday Numbers 23:19-23; Matt 5:33-37; John 8:39-47; James 5:12
Why is truthfulness so central to the Christian life?  What kind of oath taking and swearing is James condemning here?

Friday 1 Kings 17:1-7; 18; John 14:8-14; James 5:13-18
How is Elijah and encouragement for us to pray?  Why is prayer such an important part of the Christian life?

Saturday Psalm 32, 85; Matt 18:10-20; Gal 6:1-2; James 5:19-20
How do these final verses bring comfort and courage to us as we patiently wait for Christ’s coming with prayer?  Practically, how do we do what James describes here in the church today?

The Taming of the Tongue

James, Sermon Preparation

March 20, 2011 – Morning Worship

Monday James 3:1-12
In this passage about the danger of an unbridled tongue, why does James begin by addressing teachers (v.1)?  How does this apply to you?

Tuesday Genesis 49:1-27; James 3:8-10
How do we see the power of the tongue to bless and curse in Jacob’s “blessing” on his sons?  What is James is condemning here in these verses?

Wednesday Psalm 12; Matthew 12:33-37; James 1:26; 3:3-9
Why is the misuse of the tongue such an offense to God?  Do we give our words appropriate significance?

Thursday 1 Kings 13; Matthew 7:15-23; 15:10-20 James 3:10-18
On whom is the “fruit test” primarily to be applied and why is it so important?  How ought we to do this in our church context in the 21st century?

Friday 2 Samuel 15; 2 Corinthians 12:20-21; James 3:5-6
Why is abuse of the tongue (gossip, slander, etc.) so devastating to the church? How is an unbridled tongue at enmity with God (hint: James 3:15-16)?

Saturday Psalm 56; James 1:17-18
The church is to be a people created and sustained by the Word of God.  How does this make this issue of bridling the tongue so important to our faith and practice as Christians?

Hearing as in a Mirror

James, Sermon Preparation

February 13, 2011 – Morning Worship

Monday James 1:19-27; Proverbs 10:19; 17:27; 14:29; Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
James has been called “Proverbs” of the New Testament?  Why?  Are James’s instructions in 1:19 simply helpful wisdom or something more?

Tuesday Deuteronomy 5:1-6:3; Matthew 7:24-27
What does it mean to be hearers of the word and not doers?  Why is it such a problem for us?

Wednesday James 1:22; 2:14-26; Genesis 22
Why is doing so essential for those who believe?  How do we struggle with this?  How can we grow in this?

Thursday Psalm 119:57-112; I Corinthians 15:1-8; James 1:21-25
What is the word “that is able to save your souls”?   How is hearing this word like looking in a mirror?  How is it a “law of liberty”?  What does this mean for how we hear and apply God’s word?

Friday Isaiah 40:1-8; Psalm 33; Luke 8:4-15
Why does James call the word, the “implanted word” (1:21)?  Who plants it?  How is it planted?  What does that mean for us?

Saturday Isaiah 1:1-20; Job 31:16-23; James 1:19-27; 2 Peter 3:13-14
Why does James sum up religion that is pure and undefiled as “bridling the tongue,” “visiting orphans and widows in their affliction,” and keeping “oneself unstained from the world”?  How do we do that?  Is there one area in which you are weaker than others?  How can we grow in this?