Download discussion questions:  James 3:13-18

This week’s passage of only six verses provided ample material for a great discussion.  The text provides a great example of repeated or similar words, comparisons and contrasts, connections with previous themes in James, and other elements that can yield great rewards from diligent work of inductive Bible study.  As John Piper says,”Raking is easy, but you get only leaves; digging is hard, but you might find diamonds.”^[1]  This passage contains some potential diamonds. Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  James 3:1-12

Two main observations came out in our discussion of this passage:

• Repeated statements about the tongue
• A variety of different images used

Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  James 2:14-26

This week’s passage “comes closer than anywhere else in the epistles to directly contradicting Paul.”[1]  “This paragraph is the most theologically significant, as well as the most controversial, in the letter of James.”[2]

James 2 can be misunderstood by sincere Christians.  The verses can be intentionally misapplied by cults.  With those factors as a starting point, the discussion in our group was certain to be interesting! Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  James 2:1-13

James began his letter with a positive twist on negative experiences:  “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).  His reasoning, counter to our natural response to difficulties, is that those difficulties provide opportunities to prove the genuine quality of our faith.  That authentication process is intended to be a source of great hope rather than discouragement. Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  James 1:19-27

In order to continue looking for continuity and themes in the letter that James wrote, our group discussion began by looking for connections between the previous passage (1:12-18) and today’s text (1:19-27).  We focused on observation, intentionally delaying commenting on interpretation questions.  Reminders of the distinctive nature of Observation, Interpretation, and Application are important.

“If there is ever a blurring of the process to the extent that the various phases of study become indistinguishable, then eisegesis [reading our ideas into the text – mw] will inevitably result.”[1]

Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  James 1:12-18

It has been a few weeks since we went back to the basics of Observation, Interpretation, and Application in our methodical, inductive study approach.  This week we started our discussion time concentrating on observation in the passage.  (The O-I-A approach should always be the foundation of our discussions, but it is always good to go back to refresh those skills.) Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  James 1:1-11

Our discussion last week barely got through the first four of the eight verses in the selected passage.  This week we picked up where we left off.

Three Themes

We started by looking at the first three paragraphs after the greeting in the letter.  The guidelines were:  What similar words or phrases are repeated?  What contrasting words or phrases do you see?  Based on those observations, we looked for titles for each of the paragraphs.  (If you were not with us, stop here and read the first chapter of James and write down the titles you would apply to those three paragraphs.) Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  James 1:1-8

Last week we started our study by looking at two passages that mention James, the half-brother of Jesus and the leader of the early church in Jerusalem.  After our usual beginning (each group member reading and thinking about the passage), we discussed the authorship of the letter.  A second handout (Notes for James 1:1-8) included additional information. Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  Acts 15; Galatians 2

Our group began studying the letter that James wrote by first looking at two other New Testament passages that mention him.

Acts 15 records a meeting of the early church held in Jerusalem, probably around AD48-49.^[1]  The council was led by James and addressed the very real question of the relationship between the law practiced by Jews and the gospel being preached, especially by Paul.  “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 15:1). Continue reading →

Sola Fides – Faith Alone – was and is one of the slogans summarizing the Reformation.  But then what do we do with the letter that James wrote, saying, among other things, “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone”?

Can we trust Scripture to provide us with a consistent, coherent message?  Or do we need to be selective in choosing the parts that we like best?  If we believe that all parts of the Bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit, how do we fit together such seemingly contrasting ideas?

Starting November 3, 2019, our study will be exploring the book that James wrote.  Join us as we discuss this book and all the questions it raises.  If God is telling a Larger Story throughout His Word, how are all the pieces of that Story woven seamlessly together?