What Should We Expect From This James Study? (PM Lesson Outline)
GIST: James has humility and a strong sense of purpose, and God inspired him to write a letter that exposes our shortcomings in a very practical way.
SCRIPTURE: James 1:1
This evening we’re going to tip-toe into our new study together and introduce the book of James. It’s always exciting for me to move into a new study like this, and this particular book means a lot to me. Over the years, people have frequently made comments about this being my favorite book in the Bible. I wouldn’t feel comfortable saying it is somehow above the rest of Scripture in my eyes or anything, not at all. However, God used it as a real turning point for me, and I think that is why it has been connected to me like that over the past years.
I became your youth pastor in 2008. I was excited and eager to teach and try to lead those young people in any way I could. However, I was pretty clueless about how to do that. I’m still pretty much clueless on how to do most of this too, but in the Fall of 2011 God revealed something to me that has changed my life and how I have ministered ever sense. Up until that point, I was teaching the Bible every week, but I didn’t have very much direction. Honestly, I don’t remember much of what I taught from week-to-week, and I’m not sure anyone else does either ☺️. I was scattered. I’d jump from topic to topic trying to be relevant, but really I’d just be covering passages I knew and topics I thought teens needed to address. God used my stumblings and took my personal Bible study to new levels during that time. I was diving into passages in ways I’d never really done before, and it was awesome. Yet, I really felt like my instruction lacked direction. It was during that time that God laid on my heart this conviction I now have about not only expository preaching (which is basically preaching that breaks down the message of specific texts of Scripture rather than using various Scriptures to address a specific topic or theme), but also the verse-by-verse study of entire books of the Bible. I just wanted to show people His Word, and it became clear that this is how God wanted me to do that. (And this is by no means saying that is the only way it can be done. It’s my personal conviction here.)
I’m still learning so much on this journey that started in the fall of 2011, but the very first book of the Bible that I tried to do this with was the book of James. I’m not saying I did it well ☺️, and this time around might not be much better, but it will forever hold a very special place in my heart because of this.
What I love about the letter is that it’s basically Christianity 101. The core message is real faith works, so live it. Don’t just claim it. That’s going to push us. For this evening though, I just want us to consider the “whos” of this passage (not the ones from Whoville ☺️). Who is James and to whom is he writing? Well, let’s read just verse 1 this evening→
"1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings."
We’ll use that verse to break down our question, but here’s our first James gist: James has humility and a strong sense of purpose, and God inspired him to write a letter that exposes our shortcomings in a very practical way. I won’t keep us long this evening, but I want to break that down with you guys.
I. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ
Humility: James was actually, the half brother of Jesus. Yet, he does not claim that as a “position of authority”. In fact, he does not claim that at all. He’s also, as we have seen in Acts, the leader of the early church in Jerusalem. Really, he’s a pretty big deal. Remember when there was the controversy over how the Gentiles were to behave now that they’ve accepted Christ? Who presided over that decision? James. He penned the letter that went to the churches all across Asia minor. His voice was a very important one to these people who have been scattered all across the world. Yet, he does not claim any of that. Instead, he refers to himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”. This is humility. And again, what he does call himself actually reveals a real→
Sense of Purpose: He calls himself a servant of God and LORD Jesus the Messiah. Man, we need to break that down! He grew up with Jesus, doubted him during the beginning of His ministry, and has now given his life over to this divine Messiah, his savior. Why? Because he’s come to realize who Jesus is. That’s actually a very powerful testimony right there. If Jesus was faking any of this, the people closest to him (his family) would have been the ones who knew. Yet, James becomes a martyr because of his faith in Jesus because he saw that his half brother was not just a man. Now, this One who came to rescue him is the One who controls his life. Really, that’s the key message of this entire book. Real faith is completely transformative. It is not something we simply claim or a badge we wear. Real faith demands everything and changes everything… because it’s real.
Lesson For Us? We, too, should never exalt ourselves to the point of considering it “our due” to be more than Christ’s servants. That’s our purpose. And it’s a blessed one at that! Does He love us? Yes! Has He adopted us as sons and daughters into His family? Absolutely! Do we deserve any of this? No. What we deserve is Hell, and He came to rescue us from that. Are we giving Him wholehearted control?
That’s a nice little glimpse into who God used to write this letter: a man who had come to give Jesus complete control of his life and realized that this, and only this, was the most important truth about himself.
Now, what→
II. ABOUT THE AUDIENCE
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings
Let’s just make a couple of quick notes here.
Israel=The Church: First, the term 12 tribes should ring a bell for anyone who has studied the Old Testament. This is always a reference to Israel. However, we’ll see in the content of this letter, as well as the New Testament as a whole, that as Israel was to represent God’s people, the Church is the fuller fulfillment of this, the true Israel so to speak, because we are God’s people in His places following His purpose. So, this letter is for us. Look at it a bit more deeply. These people are also→
Persecuted: The Dispersion refers to when the Christians were run out of Jerusalem in the face of the persecution that followed Stephen’s death. Which means, not only were they mistreated, but they now also found themselves→
Displaced: They were not where they intended to be or had originally planned on being. Therefore, they were a group of people→
In Need Of Encouragement. This encouragement, by the way, is not going to come in the form of “keep your head up” kinds of statements. Instead, it is offered in the way of direction! You find yourself mistreated and out of place, make sure your faith is real and active!
Can You See The Parallels To Us?
TAKEAWAYS
1. Pray for the same sense of humility and purpose.
2. Be prepared to be challenged.
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