James 1:1-18
Welcome to our study in James! This blog is designed to help you go deeper into the text throughout each of the weeks in this study. I would encourage you to set aside a few specific times throughout your week and walk through this book of the Bible at your own pace. You can also follow along on Instagram (@bespokegrace) for daily encouragement and tools to help you study the Bible wherever you are at, for just a few moments a day. If you are interested in walking through this Bible Study with a few friends or a small group, you will find a “Study Together” section in each week of this study!
W E E K O N E
James begins his letter with a greeting to his audience, the Jews in dispersion. The Jewish people had been scattered all around the world as their nation was conquered by Assyria and Babylon, forcing them into exile. While some of the Jews returned to Israel, many of God’s people found themselves far from their homeland and their people, refugees in a foreign land. If that wasn’t hard enough, by following Jesus as Messiah, these Jewish believers were also persecuted by their own community, some even killed. These are the circumstances around James's opening words, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” How could James tell people going through the hardest time in their lives to have joy? How could he say that to us today?
While you might not be experiencing hardships quite like that, every trial is difficult to go through. Hard is hard, just because other people are suffering more than you, doesn’t mean that what you are experiencing isn’t real or difficult. James invites us to change our perspective, to look beyond our circumstances to what those trials produce. Trials refine our character, ground us in the truth and allow us to fully appreciate the good gifts of the Father. We may not always understand why God allows trials in our life, but what we do know is that God never wastes an opportunity to work in the life of his children.
James 1:1-18
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:
To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad.
Greetings.
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.
Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.
Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
R E AD :
Read the entire book of JAMES at least one time through this week before you begin your study. This will help to give you an overall feeling of James' letter.
Then read James 1:1-18 for your main study this week.
Consider reading the passage several times, using different versions of the Bible to help you get a fuller understanding of the text. Feel free to use the passage printed in this Leader Guide to highlight, circle, underline and make notes of the text while you study each week. You can also use a journal to write out your thoughts or questions as you work through the passage.
O B S E R V E & I N T E R P R E T :
As you read, write down your first impressions of the letter. What are James' feelings and attitudes?
Who was James writing to? Why was James writing this letter? Ask yourself the five W questions - the who, what, where, when and why, plus how:
WHO -
WHAT -
WHERE -
WHEN -
WHY -
HOW -
What words and phrases does James repeat? (look for key words, comparisons/contrasts, commands, etc.)
When we read this passage, it seems suffering is a major way in which God produces maturity and perseverance in us. Why do you think trials refine us so well?
What does wisdom have to do with facing trials? Why should we pray for wisdom and not just perseverance?
A P P L Y :
Ask God how He wants your life to be different after this study. Write down what you think He’s saying.
How do trials make you aware of your need for God and provide a pathway to Christian maturity?
What is something that especially captured you in James 1:9-18? Write about how you can grow in this area, what you can do this week to act on it, and how you can remember to follow through (try to be specific).
STUDY TOGETHER
I believe there is great joy and encouragement when you are able to study the Bible together with friends, family, or a small group! God created us for community, and I want to provide you with ways that you can continue to practice meeting with other people to discuss what God is teaching you, even during a time of necessary social distancing.
Set aside a time this week to meet with someone else (or a few people) to share what you are learning from your time in James. Pick a day and time and decide how you want to meet - will it be a video call, a group text/chat, or are you already quarantined together (if you want to meet as a family), or a few close friends that are willing to meet at a park and sit near each other (but socially distanced, of course!) - to talk through your study in James over the week.
If you plan to study with other people, follow these few steps during your STUDY TOGETHER time:
READ - Make sure to read the passage together
DISCUSS - Use the study questions from this blog to discuss your study of James over the week. If there were parts of the passage that you didn’t understand, ask other people what they thought or understood!
CHALLENGE - Spend time talking about how this passage applies to your life right now. How can you keep each other accountable to what you are learning or what God is working out in you?
PRAY - Don’t forget to talk to God and lift each other up while you are together. Take notes and be intentional to pray for your small group throughout the week.
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
R E S O U R C E S
A list of resources used throughout this online Bible Study series in James
James: A Double-Edged Bible Study, A TH1NK LifeChange Study by NavPress. A NavPress resource published in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Copyright 2013 by The Navigators.
James Study by SheReadsTruth, https://shereadstruth.com/plans/james/ Copyright 2019 by SheReadsTruth, LLC. All rights reserved.
James Study by HeReadsTruth, http://hereadstruth.com/plan/james/ Copyright 2019 by HeReadsTruth, LLC. All rights reserved.
Grounded: Wisdom for Real Life from Proverbs and James by Clayton and Sharie King, LifeWay Press, 2018.
James: Faith / Works by Matt Chandler. Copyright 2018 The Village Church, Lifeway Press, All rights reserved.
