Family Study Guide for James 3

Family Study Guide for February 26 – March 1, 2006
(Read James 3 Online)

Reflections on James 3 by Jim Brake, Head Coach

James the writer seems to have a reoccurring theme in this chapter which he carries over from chapter one. Remember back in chapter one he made reference to a person being able to “keep a tight rein on his tongue”. Well in chapter 3 he revisits the topic of the tongue and expands his teaching about it.

James begins with a warning to those who teach. Teaching encompasses many things but the primary way we teach is by talking. As a businessman most of my day is spent in verbal communication. Of course there are other ways to communicate but the most common is verbal. James warns those who teach to be careful because they will be responsible for what they teach and the actions that those who are taught do with the information they are given. In the same way parents are at times accountable for the way their children behave based upon how they are raised. Those of us who are parents know both the joys and sadness that can be a result of the way we have taught our children.

James then goes on to give several examples of great results that can be accomplished by small means. A horse can be guided by a small bit, a ship can be steered by a small rudder, and a fire can be started by a small spark. Likewise an entire person’s life can be affected by their small tongue. Taming an animal like a dog can be hard work, just ask Dagney, but that is considered easier by James to the task of controlling one’s speech. One reason controlling your speech is so difficult is because if you are not careful it can become wild again. A tame animal pretty much remains tame but speech can become wild at any time. Speech can be found praising God on Sunday and then caught tearing down one made in God’s image on Monday. James also makes the rhetorical observation that bitter and fresh water do not usually come from the same spring. Likewise fig trees do not bear olives or grapevines figs. In the same way a follower of Christ should not be able to speak well of God and ill of men with the same heart.

James concludes this chapter by contrasting two kinds of wisdom. Wisdom that comes from God is not polluted, not selfish, and not phony. Wisdom that is proud and selfish comes from the Devil.

In summary I think that in chapter 3 James is encouraging followers of Christ to have God’s wisdom. That wisdom should relate to verbal communication that would positively reflect the love of God to a lost world. The ability to control one’s speech is a reflection of one’s spiritual maturity. This doesn’t mean only saying nice things about people but being able to tell the hard truth in love. Many times it is far easier to say nothing when something needs to be said than saying something in God’s wisdom.

Questions to Consider:

• Have you ever been called wise? Where does your wisdom come from?
• What is an example in your life of a small thing you did, which had LARGE results?
• When have you found it hard to control your tongue, and said the wrong thing without thinking?

Chapter Outline:

3. Speech and Obedience (3:1-12)

a. Summary: The Tongue as a Measure of Maturity (3:1-2)

b. Argument by Analogy (3:3-12)

1) Analogy One: The Tiny Tongue (3:3-6)

a) Bits in Horses’ Mouths (3:3)

b) Rudders on Ships (3:4)

c) Sparks and Forest Fires (3:5-6)

2) Analogy Two: The Tamed Tongue (3:7-8)

3) Analogy Three: The Forked Tongue (3:9-12)

a) Praising and Cursing (3:9-10)

b) Fresh and Salt Water (3:11)

c) Schizophrenic Produce (3:12)

4. The Wisdom of Obedience (3:13-18)

Finish the Verses for this Chapter:

Not many of you should presume // to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
James 3:1

We all stumble in many ways // If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
James 3:2

The tongue also is a fire, // a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
James 3:6

With the tongue we praise // With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
James 3:9-10

Who is wise and understanding // Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
James 3:13

For where you have envy // and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
James 3:16

But the wisdom that comes // from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
James 3:17

Sample Questions for Studying

Capitalized words are once-used-words

1. Can both fresh water and salt water what?
2. 2 Part : All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and CREATURES of the sea what?
3. What are DRIVEN by strong WINDS?
4. We all stumble how?
5. Neither can WHAT PRODUCE fresh water?
6. With it we curse whom?
7. What is a small part of the body?
8. The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes what?
9. We who teach will be what?
10. Who can TAME the tongue?
11. With the tongue we praise whom?
12. When we put BITS into the mouths of HORSES to make them obey us, we can what?
13. (Can) a GRAPEVINE what?
14. 3 Part : SHIPS are what?
15. Can a FIG tree WHAT?
16. Take what as an example?
17. What makes great BOASTS?
18. Not many of you should PRESUME to be TEACHERS why?
19. What is first of all pure?
20. 2 Part : Let him show it by what?

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Family Study Guide for James 2

Family Study Guide for February 16 – February 22, 2006
(Read James 2 Online)

Reflections on James 2 by Mark Chesner, Coach

During the presidency of Bill Clinton, there was one particular Republican policitian whom I had great respect for. He was a great intellectual - writing books and teaching classes about American history and the theories of democracy. He was a successful politician - rising to the leadership of Congress, passing many important bills, and helping to bring a majority of his party into Congress. And he was a crusader for morality - standing up to the problems in the Clinton administration. I looked up to this man, and wondered perhaps if he would be President one day.

And then it all changed.

It was revealed, during the Impeachment Hearings, that this man was himself having an affair. Shortly after it was exposed, he divorced his wife of many years - who was also sick with cancer and in great suffering - and quickly left his post in Congress. He was disgraced and I was disillusioned.

James cautions us all in chapter 2, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" Living in a post-Martin Luther world, we tend to be very big on salvation being thru faith alone. And it is. But this sometimes leads us to forget that a faith that is not reflected in our lives is not faith at all. Claiming to be a Christian is claiming much more than that you attend church, that your parents are Christians, that you read the Bible, or even that you recognize God as God. James notes, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe thatóand shudder." Being a Christian means to "come after Christ," which Jesus said meant to "pick up your cross and follow me." Not only believe in your mind, but also to live it out in your life.

When we were studying Romans, we highlighted Romans 10:9-10 as being the formula for Salvation, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Note that even Paul shows that belief is not enough. Confession - speaking with your mouth - is part of the process of accepting Jesus Christ and becoming part of His family. Neither belief alone, nor acts alone, are what God is looking for. He wants both our minds, and our hearts, and our lives. Every part of us. Otherwise, we are just fooling ourselves. And setting up those around us for disappointment.

The man I looked up to during the Clinton years proved to be a hypocrite. He spoke all the right words, but in the end it turned out that his actions did not line up with them. He was shown to be false. May the same never be said of us.

Questions to Consider:

• What actions in your life show that your faith is alive?
• What actions in your life might make others doubt your faith is live?
• Have you both believed in your heart AND confessed with your mouth, as Romans 10:9-10 says?

Chapter Outline:

B. Specifics (2:1–3:18)

1. Partiality Vs. Obedience (2:1-13)

a. Summary (2:1)

b. Hypothetical Situation: Rich and Poor Enter the Assembly (2:2-4)

c. Rebuke for Showing Partiality (2:5-7)

d. Conditions of Obedience (2:8-11)

e. Principle (2:12-13)

2. Passivity Vs. Obedience (2:14-26)

a. Summary (2:14)

b. Hypothetical Situation: Impoverished Believer in your Midst (2:15-17)

c. Rational Argument: Demons’ Faith is Passive (2:18-20)

d. Biblical Argument: Abraham’s and Rahab’s Faith is Active (2:21-25)

e. Principle (2:26)

Finish the Verses for this Chapter:

My brothers, as believers // in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.
James 2:1

For whoever keeps the whole law // and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
James 2:10

As the body without the spirit // is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
James 2:26

Sample Questions for Studying

Capitalized words are once-used-words

1. Love whom as yourself?
2. What was made complete by what he did?
3. 2 Part : Was not even RAHAB the PROSTITUTE considered righteous for what she did when she WHAT?
4. 2 Part : A person is justified by what?
5. As BELIEVERS in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't what?
6. What is USELESS?
7. Reference : According to James 2:22, you see what?
8. As the body without the spirit is dead, so what?
9. 2 Part : What were WORKING together?
10. Who are EXPLOITING you?
11. It was credited to him how?
12. Who also comes in?
13. 4 Part : Have you not DISCRIMINATED among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts if what?
14. Reference : According to James 2:17, what is dead?
15. Who gave LODGING to the SPIES?
16. What will be SHOWN to anyone who has not been MERCIFUL?
17. Why speak and act as those who are GOING to be judged by the law that gives freedom?
18. Who believed God?
19. 2 Part : Suppose a brother or sister is without what?
20. Judgement without mercy will be what?

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Family Study Guide for James 1

Family Study Guide for February 9 – February 15, 2006
(Read James 1 Online)

Reflections on James 1 by Dagney Pitts, Youth Missions Adventures

James, the book full of surprises and seemingly unattainable goals! If you ever think that you know the Bible and got it down, read James.
What am I talking about? Consider these thoughts from chapter 1:

• When you have a bad day, be very glad for such a bad day, in your heart!
• Don’t doubt God, or He won’t provide what you ask.
• If you have money and are well cared for, don’t depend on it, it fades away.
• We are expected to stand up through tests and trials.
• Don’t blame God for your mistakes, it is your own mind that causes you trouble and could even lead to your death.
• Don’t talk much, but listen more and never get angry!
• When you read the Bible, do what it says; because if you don’t, you are deceiving yourself.
• Don’t pollute yourself with the things of this world.
• If you can’t control your tongue, your religion is worthless!

Discouraged yet?

Don’t be. I’ve left out the blessings, the Whys, the purpose of it all. What I left out makes all the difference! When you read this book of Dos and Don'ts, keep yourself from getting discouraged by remembering that GOD wrote it! Read James in context of WHO wants you to be this way.

Check out the good stuff:

• v.3-4 "because the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete NOT LACKING ANYTHING!"
• v.5 "if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all WITHOUT FINDING FAULT, and it will be given him"
• v.12b “because when he (a man or woman) has stood the test, HE WILL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE that God has promised to those who love him."
• v.13-15 God doesn’t tempt us!!!
• v.17 "EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE…..from the Father…..who does not change like shifting shadows!!!"
• v.18 "He chose to give us birth (spiritual birth)…..that we might be a kind of firstfruits (His choicest picks) of ALL HE CREATED"
• v.25 "the perfect law, which gives FREEDOM…doing it-he will be BLESSED in what he does"

Feeling better?

Be encouraged. God does not expect anything of us that He Himself does not do also. Nahum 1:3 "the Lord is slow to anger and great in power"; Psalm 145:8 "the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger…" This is not a God who is simply demanding, for the sake of watching us fail. He helps us in our weakness (Rom.8:26) and remains our constant companion and counselor (John 14:16). We will learn to obey the truth written in James because we have already become His, and because we love Him and therefore strive to please Him! Pleasing Him is not only reading the truth, but James chapter 1 is all about making that faith of yours real. Living it out. So, "do not merely listen to the word… Do what it says!"

Questions to Consider:

• How can you balance the hard things God asks of us?
• Is James only focussed on actions, or also on what goes on in our hearts and minds?
• How does God's character influence who He wants us to be?

Chapter Outline:

I. Salutation (1:1)

II. Enduring Trials (1:2-18)

A. Summary/Main Theme: The Testing of Faith (1:2-6)

1. Faith in God’s Sovereignty (1:2)

2. Faith and Perseverance (1:3-4)

3. Faith and God’s Gifts (1:5)

4. Faith Vs. Doubt (1:6)

B. Specifics (1:9-18)

1. Faith Vs. Doubt (1:7-8)

2. Faith and Finances (1:9-11)

3. Faith and Perseverance (1:12)

4. Faith and Fatalism (1:13-18)

III. Applying the Word: Faith Within the Church (1:19–3:18)

A. Summary/Main Theme: The Obedience of Faith (1:19-27)

1. Anger Vs. Obedience (1:19-21)

2. Passivity Vs. Obedience (1:22-25)

3. Speech and Obedience (1:26)

4. The Impartiality of Obedience (1:27)

Finish the Verses for this Chapter:

Consider it // pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4

If any // of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5

Blessed is // the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12

When tempted, // no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James 1:13-15

Every // good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17

My dear // brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
James 1:19-20

Do not merely // listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22

Anyone who // listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:23-24

But the man who looks // intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:25

If anyone // considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
James 1:26

Religion // that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27

Sample Questions for Studying

Capitalized words are once-used-words

1. Man's anger does not bring about what?
2. 3 Part : No one should say, "God is TEMPTING me" why?
3. 2 Part : He who doubts is like a WAVE of the sea that is what?
4. Everyone should be QUICK to listen, SLOW to speak and SLOW to become angry why?
5. 2 Part : The SUN what?
6. What DEVELOPS perseverance?
7. The TESTING of what DEVELOPS perseverance?
8. 2 Part : JAMES, a servant of whom?
9. That man should not what?
10. Who will pass away like a wild FLOWER?
11. 2 Part : After LOOKING at himself, he what?
12. He will receive what?
13. He CHOSE to give us birth through the word of truth why?
14. Greetings to whom?
15. 2 Part : When he ASKS, he must what?
16. God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he what?
17. He will receive the CROWN of life when?
18. The man who PERSEVERES under TRIAL I what?
19. God desires what?
20. 2 Part : RELIGION that God our Father ACCEPTS as pure and FAULTLESS is what?

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Family Study Guide for Romans 16

Family Study Guide for February 2 – February 8, 2006
(Read Romans 16 Online)

Reflections on Romans 16 by Jim Brake, Head Coach

In this, the final chapter of Romans, Paul gets even more personal. He shows his people skills by expressing his greetings to the many friends he has in Rome. It is apparent that he knew many people, men, women, married couples, clergy, and even politicians. Paul apparently was a popular person and had many supporters in his ministry. He was a “people person” who had great concern for the spiritual well being of people as did they for him. This is the first thing that I take from this chapter. The second, and more important thing is his exhortations in verse 19, “but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” Paul’s use of the word “innocent” intrigued me. As used in this verse, innocent means unmixed, simple, and pure. In Greek it was used for wine that was undiluted or metal that was not weakened in any way (The Bible Knowledge Commentary page 501). Paul encourages his readers and all of us to live our lives not mixed with or diluted by evil in any way. What a great way for him to end this letter to us on Christian living. The world every day would like us as followers of Christ to mix our standards with theirs. The world would have us compromise our standards as to what we watch, listen to, what we say, and how we act. I believe Paul would agree that this is not correct Christian living and ultimately as stated in verse 20 that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
I hope you have enjoyed this book as much as I have and will continue striving for a high level of understanding as we move on to the epistle of James.

Questions to Consider:

• How is it possible to remain "innocent of evil" in an increasingly wicked world?
• How do you avoid compromising with the world?
• What does Paul's many friendships tell us about his experience in Rome?

Chapter Outline: (From Jim’s Introduction to Romans)

6. God’s Righteousness Revealed in Transformed Living (12:1-15:13)

Finish the Verses for this Chapter:

I urge // you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
Romans 16:17-18

Sample Questions for Studying

Capitalized words are once-used-words

1. To the only wise God be what?
2. Reference : According to Romans 16:15, greet whom?
3. 2 Part : I ask you to what?
4. Reference : According to Romans 16:13, greet whom?
5. Greet those who belong to the household of what?
6. Reference : According to Romans 16:9, greet whom?
7. Who worked very hard for you?
8. MARY worked how?
9. Who was our fellow worker in Christ?
10. 2 Part : PHOEBE was what?
11. TIMOTHY, my fellow worker, sends what?
12. 2 Part : Who RISKED their lives for me?
13. By SMOOTH talk and FLATTERY, they what?
14. Who is the CITY'S DIRECTOR of PUBLIC works?
15. AMPLIATUS, whom I love how?
16. 2 Part : Who are my fellow WORKERS in Christ Jesus?
17. I commend to you whom?
18. Another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord is whom?
19. To the only wise God be glory forever how?
20. Keep away from whom?

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