TheWay

Study series · 17 of 17 published

Through James. The whole book of James, taken in order.

Seventeen studies working straight through James, a paragraph at a time, from counting it all joy in chapter one to praying for one another at the end of chapter five. They run in order, and each one picks up where the last left off.

  1. 01James 1:1 — who wrote James, and why it was writtenThe half-brother of Jesus, writing to believers scattered by persecution, with one goal: move them from immaturity to maturity. Part 1 of a study through James.
  2. 02James 1:2–4 — count it all joy: how trials grow you upTrials work for you, not against you. What 'count it all joy' actually means, why patience isn't passive, and what God is building when life is hard.
  3. 03James 1:5–8 — if you lack wisdom, askGod gives wisdom generously and without reproach. The one condition is that you ask in faith. What that means when you're in the middle of a trial you don't understand.
  4. 04James 1:9–11 — rich, poor, and what to glory inIt isn't your material resources that carry you through the testing of life. It's your spiritual ones. What James says to the poor believer, the rich one, and the rest of us.
  5. 05James 1:12 — the crown of life, and the question underneath itThere is a reward for endurance, and it's promised to those who love God. Which raises the real question: do you love Christ? Here's how you'd know.
  6. 06James 1:13–16 — where temptation really comes fromGod tests faith; He never tempts anyone to sin. The bait is always on the hook. How lust becomes sin, how sin grows up into death, and why we're not helpless victims.
  7. 07James 1:17–18 — every good gift, and the birth that changes everythingGod doesn't change, and neither does His goodness. Why remembering that is the best defense against temptation — and what it means to be born of His will through the word of truth.
  8. 08James 1:19–20 — quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to angerOne verse that, if you applied it, would save a lot of relationships. And a hard question: are you angrier at other people's sin or your own?
  9. 09James 1:21–27 — be doers of the Word, not hearers onlyFour things a mature believer does: controls the tongue, separates from the world, learns the Bible, and applies it. And the mirror James holds up to all of us.
  10. 10James 2:1–13 — partiality, the royal law, and mercyThe faith of Jesus and favoritism can't share a room. Why partiality is both sin and transgression, why breaking one link breaks the chain, and how mercy triumphs over judgment.
  11. 11James 2:14–26 — dead faith is fake faithJames is not teaching salvation by works. He's saying a faith that produces nothing was never faith. Abraham, Rahab, the demons, and the six things that justify.
  12. 12James 3:1–12 — the tongue: small, powerful, and untamable by youA bit steers a horse, a rudder steers a ship, a spark burns a forest. Why nobody can tame the tongue, who can, and the question James asks about blessing and cursing.
  13. 13James 3:13–18 — two kinds of wisdom, and which one you haveWisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy. Wisdom from below is envy and ambition. Side by side, so you can tell which one is running your life.
  14. 14James 4:1–12 — where fights come from, and how to end themExternal strife is the fruit; internal strife is the root. Selfishness, friendship with the world, and the way back: submit to God, resist the devil, draw near.
  15. 15James 4:13–17 — if the Lord willsJames isn't against planning, business, or making money. He's against doing any of it without God. Your life is a vapor; learn from the past, live in the present, plan for the future — under His will.
  16. 16James 5:1–11 — riches, patience, and the coming of the LordHoarded wealth rots. Persecuted believers wait like a farmer waits for rain. And the Judge is at the door. What James says to the rich, and to everyone waiting on Jesus.
  17. 17James 5:12–20 — let your yes be yes, and pray for one anotherHonest speech, prayer in trouble, praise in blessing, elders for the spiritually worn out, confession to one another, and the prayer of a righteous person. How James ends.

All writing · Bible studies in Big Rapids · Read James on TheWay Bible

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