Worksheet for Teachers and Students
The Book of James Bible Study
Instructor & Student Worksheet
Please read the first chapter for the week preceding the
first class.
Note some questions and comments that
you will bring to class.
#1
#2
#3
What do we know about the author?
James the Lord’s brother: Galatians
1:18-20
Who was the original audience?
What does diaspora mean?
διασπορά, ᾶς, ἡ
James – Chapter 1
Compare this to other New Testament letters.
James gets down to business right away. How does he tell us to handle trials of all
sorts?
With joy!
Why? God is at work
in you during your trials. Your
faithfulness and perseverance produce Christian maturity.
What does maturity mean in this context?
Consider this question: Where are you in your Christian
maturity? What do you know that you
lack?
Jump ahead to verse
12 for more thoughts on this subject.
Next James tells us to ask for what we need, specifically
wisdom.
Must one be faultless (according to our own merits) to
receive God’s wisdom? No.
What condition is needed?
Not to doubt—true faithfulness.
Real belief. Consider the words
“if you can” from Marks Gospel. Mark
9:14-29.
What comparison does James make to the one who does not
believe? Wave tossed and blown by the
wind. This is the person who jumps to
the flavor of the month capriciously.
They are unstable.
What classification does James give such people? Double-Minded.
What does double-minded mean to you?
Make a list of areas in which you might be double-minded.
#1
#2
#3
It would be easy to look around our world and point out
double-minded people, but that’s not our job.
Who should we measure by this standard?
Ourselves.
Consider the meaning of the following phrase: Believers in humble circumstances ought to
take pride in their high position.
Why does James make what appears to be an illogical statement—the humble
are in high position?
Not let’s look at the rich.
What does this statement mean? But
the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like
a wildflower.
Consider the following thought: Those who follow Christ and put his words
into practice will know only the hell they have experienced on earth. Those who reject Christ will know only the
heaven they knew on earth.
What are your thoughts on this provocative statement?
Now consider these questions.
Is it a sin to be rich?
Is money the root of all evil? No but the love
of money is the root of all sorts of evil.
Consider the analogy that Jesus used about the
rich getting into heaven. Use the Matthew
19:16-30 reference again.
We are to be strong and persevere in our trials, but will
God tempt us? Is God setting up an
obstacle course for us so that we will sin?
Compare trials and temptations.
What kind of gifts does God give us? Good and perfect.
So is it a gift from God if it leads us in the wrong
way? Explain.
So, how do we end up in temptation if temptation is not from
God?
Now for listening and doing.
Review
these two short verses. Many have
memorized them. Saying them a few times
will help reinforce the memory.
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone
should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because
human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
Let’s talk quick to listen. Don’t think speed, think first. Be the first to listen. We all have a human need to be heard. Meet the other person’s need first.
Slow to speak is the natural concomitant to quick to
listen. If we are racing to speak first,
we are not seeking to listen first. See
how the world works without the application of this counsel. Everyone is talking at once and nobody is
listening. Others have called this the
dialogue of the deaf. Watch the news
and political commentary shows—as much as you can stand. People are talking over each other. There is no conversation. Nothing is learned. Everyone is trying to meet their own need to
be heard, and understood.
Consider how loving one another is manifested in
listening first. What are your
thoughts?
Consider this question: Sometimes doesn’t it feel like our anger is
justified? Righteous?
Let’s talk efficacy.
Efficacy is the power to achieve desired results. Does our anger achieve what we need or does
it just satisfy a very temporary emotional need? God has righteous anger so it seems like we
might be entitled to a little of that, but one of the dangers of this is that
we find ourselves sitting in the judgment seat and that seat is not reserved
for us.
Human anger cannot
achieve the righteous life that God desires.
What are your thoughts on the above statement written by
James?
So, what does God desire? Is reading his word enough? Is memorizing a verse a month enough? What more must we do?
What does the phrase Doers of the Word mean?
How does our church motto, God’s Love in Action,
relate to these teachings?
What are some practical things that tell us we are on the
right track in being doers of the word?
Taking care of those who need the most help.
Ask students to
complete these tasks during class.
What are 3 items for
you to think on, meditate on, and study more on this week?
#1
#2
#3
What is 1 thing,
concept, idea that you know you want to make a part of your life?
#1
Looking forward.
To all teachers and any students up for the
challenge. Write a devotion for
next week based on James 1.
Read all of chapter
2 at least once each day.
Note some questions and comments that you will bring to
class.
#1
#2
#3
Think about how we
treat the rich people that we know.
Think about how we treat those who could never return a
favor.
How do love your neighbor as yourself and showing
favoritism go together?
James asks us to consider that the people that we grant
favor because of their wealth or status are likely the same ones who would
oppress us or take advantage of us. Is
this true today?
Think about this practical challenge for our modern
world.
Show up.
Listen up.
Do—help those who need it.
Think about how our faith and what we do are
connected.
Consider these terms.
Worthless
faith
Faithless
works
What might we call the product of faith and works working
together? Fruit?
But, but, but I believe.
Isn’t that enough?
Again, consider the challenging words of James.
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you
my faith by my deeds. You believe that
there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Is there a difference between an intellectual belief and
belief that permeates body, soul, mind, and spirit? How would you know? Would it be that our belief compels us to
good works?
This Doers of the Word is good stuff—cool beans. Now get real.
What are you actually going to do?
Make a short list of who you will help this
week. Write their name(s) and what you
will do. Yes, this is a get real moment.
#1
#2
#3
James concludes Chapter 2 with some terse words. Consider them and what they say to you.
As the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Teachers – Write a devotion for the following week based
upon this chapter and the one to come.
Ask students to complete these tasks during class.
What are 3 items for you to think on, meditate on, and study
more on this week?
#1
#2
#3
What is 1 thing, concept, idea that you know you want to make
a part of your life?
#1
What other thoughts do you have on this chapter?
Note some questions and comments that
you will bring to class.
#1
#2
#3
Is teaching really such a dangerous thing?
What is the danger in teaching? Consider the following excerpt from a recent
sermon on the gift of teacher.
Consider two
words you might want to remember as you study and especially if you feel called
to teach—gift or no gift.
The first is exegesis. That is to extract the intended
meaning from a text. We look at a text—a
set of scriptures—and do our best to discern what the original author
meant. We seek to understand the message
that God conveys in this part of his word.
The next term
is eisegesis.
This is to take what we believe and try and make it fit into the
scripture. We should consider James’s
warning when we catch ourselves doing this.
It is easy to do. We believe
something or want to believe something so we make what we believe fit into a
scripture in which it doesn’t belong.
Those with
the gift of teacher are equipped to produce good fruit. They hunger to teach so others will hunger to
learn, but be warned: Teachers will be
judged more strictly.
So, what
are we to do? Stick to the word of God. Use your experience to help explain but don’t
make your experience superior to the word of God.
What is the real caution to teachers?
Let’s talk about the tongue.
Is it really bad? Are we talking
about what we say? What is James saying
with all his analogies to bridles and rudders?
Read Matthew
15:1-20
Here’s a short exercise.
Consider:
The words spoken over you.
The words spoken by you.
The words spoken by you with God’s Spirit.
The words spoken by you without God’s Spirit.
Here’s another way to look at it.
People pray for you, probably much more than you know. You say things and probably don’t think too
much before you speak. When we allow God
to work before we say something, the Spirit has a chance to govern our
words. When we are quick to speak
(instead of quick to listen), sometimes we preempt the Spirit.
Is living by this proverb a challenge? If it’s not, then you can skip this
section. God’s ways and the ways of the
world (our own understanding) seem to be at odds for all the days of our
lives. We know what God says to do yet
we must convince ourselves to do it time and again.
List some areas in which you have to try very hard to
do things God’s way. For adults, usually
at least one of these will involve money and another interacting with
others. Write the ones that come to mind
first, and then see if there are others.
#1
#2
#3
Ask students to complete these tasks during class.
What are 3 items for you to think on, meditate on, and study
more on this week?
#1
#2
#3
What is 1 thing, concept, idea that you know you want to
make a part of your life?
#1
Teachers & Students:
Write a devotion for next week based on what God has spoken to you so
far.
#1
#2
#3
Why do we fight and argue?
How do we feel when we covet something that we can’t have?
We are not talking about goals and objectives and things
that produce learning and character, but things and circumstances that we
crave. There is a difference between
setting goals to run faster and an exercise plan and having to have the newest
set of Nike track shoes.
Here is a short exercise. Write up to 3 things of this world that you
really wanted—were convinced that you had to have—but didn’t get, at least
right away.
#1
#2
#3
How did you feel while you were coveting these things?
What happened to your peace?
Consider the relationship between our motivations and
our prayers.
What does it mean to be a friend of God?
What does it mean to be a friend of the world?
Can I not enjoy the things of this world? I love a good steak or watching my kids play
ball or even like to binge-watch something every once in a while. Does that make me a friend of the world? Explain.
How do I know if I am putting God first or being a friend of
the world?
What does verse
6 mean?
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
but shows favor to the humble.”
Jump down to verse
10 in this chapter as you consider what James is saying.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your
hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Do we really have the power to make the devil flee from
us? What must we do first?
What does James have to say about slandering each
other? That ones is almost a no-brainer,
yet it happens all the time.
Do this exercise.
How often do we:
Gossip about someone (talk about them when they are not
around).
Condemn people as if we were their judge.
Subtly dropped a verbal bomb on someone in passing. “We need to pray for Betty. She is such a mess.”
Said, if that was me…
Reading the last part of this chapter, I wonder if I should
make any plans at all. Is God against us
planning for the future?
What’s the difference in making a plan and boasting about
what we will do?
Consider the last
verse of this chapter.
If anyone,
then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
These might be called sins of omission. We knew what to do but didn’t do it.
Exercise. What are
some things that I know I should be doing but am not?
#1
#2
#3
Ask students to complete these tasks during class.
What are 3 items for you to think on, meditate on, and study
more on this week?
#1
#2
#3
What is 1 thing, concept, idea that you know you want to
make a part of your life?
#1
Teachers and Students:
Prepare a devotion for next week based on what God has placed on your
heart from this study.
Note some questions and comments that you will bring to
class.
#1
#2
#3
This first section about rich oppressors doesn’t apply to
us, or does it.
Are we rich?
How do we define being rich?
Compare where you think you are with:
Your neighbors
The rest of the state
The rest of the country
The rest of the world.
Is James condemning money or our use of our money?
Have we done what James notes in verse 5?
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.
You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
What does James have to say in this chapter about:
Patience?
What example does he give?
Grumbling?
When James says swear, does he mean curse or something else?
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by
heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes”
or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.
Think about what you have heard people say when they want
you to believe them.
I swear on my grandmother’s grave.
I swear on a stack of Bibles. Does the size of the stack increase the
veracity of the statement?
What
if we didn’t rush to speak? What if
we took our time to respond to someone?
What if our responses were prayerful and well considered?
What if when we said yes, we really meant it?
Think about how a well-considered no is
empowering.
How does this once again tie in with James
1:19-20?
Do we see how these words that we speak are indicative of
our growth and maturity in God’s grace?
Explain.
What does James say about prayer and praise?
Do the elders have a special role in prayer?
Do we observe this counsel in our congregation?
Have you ever asked the elders to come and pray with you?
Consider verse
16.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for
each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is
powerful and effective.
Are you a righteous person?
On your own merit?
In the blood of Jesus?
What do the words powerful and effective mean
to you?
James concludes his letter with an interesting statement.
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from
the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever
turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover
over a multitude of sins.
But what is this covering a multitude of sins? I thought the blood of Jesus took away my
sins.
What do you think James meant?
Ask students to complete these tasks during class.
What are 3 items for you to think on, meditate on, and study
more on this week?
#1
#2
#3
What is 1 thing, concept, idea that you know you want to
make a part of your life?
#1
Final wrap up.
Ask students to read the introduction to this study again,
and then formulate an evaluation to be shared in the next class and with the
elders on the session.
For the one who was truly touched by this study and has
something to share:
Write an article or commentary for publication (could just
be in a blog)
Write a devotion to be shared
Write a testimony to be given during a worship service or
future class
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