ÿþ<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" lang="en-US"> <head profile="http://www.w3.org/2000/08/w3c-synd/#"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="keywords" content="30 minute Bible studies, James Bible studies" /> <meta name="description" content="A website dedicated to providing quality Bible studies for small groups. Over 60 short Bible studies and related articles are available on the website." /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="studies.css" /> <title>James Studies 1-5</title> </head> <body> <div id="header"> <img src="header1.gif" align="left"></img> <h1>30MinuteBibleStudies.com</h1> <div id="menu"> <ul> <li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li> <li><a href="about.html">About</a></li> <li><a href="articles.html">Articles</a></li> <li><a href="faq.html">FAQ</a></li> <li><a href="contact.html">Contact</a></li> </ul> </div> <!-- menu --> </div> <!-- header --> <div id="main"> <div id="content"> <h2>James Studies 1-5</h2> <h3>James Study 1</h3> <h5>Read James 1:1 and 2:1</h5> <p>1. How does James identify himself in his letter? Is this a title of humility or authority?</p> <h5>Read Matthew 13:53-57, John 7:2-5 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8</h5> <p>2. What was James' relationship with Jesus?</p> <h5>Read Acts 15:13-21; 21:17-18, Galatians 1:18-19 and 2:8-10</h5> <p>3. What was James' position in the early church? What were his concerns?</p> <p>4. What do James 1:1 and 2:1 tell us about the intended audience for this letter?</p> <h5>Read Acts 7:59-8:4</h5> <p>5. Why were they scattered?</p> <h5>Read James 2:1-3; 4:10; Matthew 5:5 and Luke 18:14</h5> <p>6. What similarities can you see between James' letter and the recorded teachings of Jesus?</p> <p>7. How can this letter be relevant to us now?</p> <hr /> <h3>James Study 2</h3> <h5>Read James 1:2-4 and 2:6-7</h5> <p>1. What kind of trials were the people of the early church suffering?</p> <p>2. How can a trial be an opportunity for joy?</p> <p>3. What risks would there be to our faith in a life without suffering?</p> <p>4. How would this affect our prayers for ourselves and others?</p> <p>5. What ways does the world promote to deal with or escape from suffering?</p> <p>6. Have you experienced a time when your faith has been strengthened through a trial, or seen it in the life of someone else?</p> <p>7. What are we tempted to value more than maturity in Christ?</p> <hr /> <h3>James Study 3</h3> <h5>Read James 1:5-8</h5> <p>1. What is wisdom in the Bible and how can a person become wise?</p> <p>2. Why is wisdom important in times of trial?</p> <p>3. According to James, what is the alternative to being wise and what are the consequences?</p> <p>4. Think of a person who is wise in the way James described. How is wisdom evident in their lives?</p> <h5>Read James 1:9-12 and Matthew 5:1-11</h5> <p>5. What value does James place on material wealth? What are the rewards of perseverance?</p> <p>6. What disadvantages are there to "living for the moment"?</p> <p>7. How does an eternal perspective change the way a Christian lives and what they value? Is Christianity just "pie in the sky when you die?"</p> <hr /> <h3>James Study 4</h3> <h5>Read James 1:13-15</h5> <p>1. Is it sinful to have desires or to be tempted? What are some examples of desires which can lead to a temptation to sin?</p> <p>2. How can we keep our desires in check to prevent them from "conceiving" sin?</p> <p>3. Do we tend to be too harsh on ourselves and others for being tempted or too soft on ourselves for giving in to sin? How can we keep each other accountable?</p> <h5>Read James 1:16-18 and John 3:1-18</h5> <p>4. What gift from God can deliver us from the path of sin and death?</p> <p>5. Some have accused James of preaching salvation by good works. On what basis does this passage from James suggest our salvation rests?</p> <p>6. What comfort would the early church have found in these verses about God and about themselves?</p> <p>7. How would you explain God's "grace" to someone who had never heard the term?</p> <hr /> <h3>James Study 5</h3> <h5>Read James 1:19-25 and Luke 11:28</h5> <p>1. What connection does James draw between hearing God's word and the righteous life God desires?</p> <p>2. What examples of righteous living does James give here? What others has he mentioned so far?</p> <p>3. What does a Christian see in the mirror of God's word?</p> <h5>Read Galatians 6:2, Romans 8:1-3 and 18-21, and James 2:8</h5> <p>4. What is the perfect law to which James refers and how does it bring freedom?</p> <h5>Read James 1:26-27</h5> <p>6. What does James mean by "religion"? What does he regard as pure and faultless religion?</p> <p>7. Who are the "widows and orphans" in our midst today? How can we help to look after them?</p> <hr /> </div><!-- content --> <div id="sidebar"> <h3>Related Studies</h3> <ul> <li><a href="index.html">Mark Bible Study series</a></li> <li><a href="index.html">Messages from the Messiah series</a></li> <li><a href="index.html">People of the New Testament series</a></li> <li><a href="index.html">Proverbs Bible Study series</a></li> </ul> </div> <!-- sidebar --> </div> <!-- main --> <div id="footer"> <p>Copyright&copy;2007 30MinuteBibleStudies.com. All rights reserved.</p> </div> <!-- footer --> </div> <!-- content --> </body> </html>