Friendship with the World

Friendship with the World

·         Who is one of your best friends ever?  Childhood or recent.  What made them a best friend?

READ:–  James 4:4-10

How do we decide if something is Worldly?  Make a list of things you consider “worldly” below – DO SO SILENTLY and then share with one another- making a list on the board without commenting to one another about what should and should not be on the board.

What does James mean by calling his recipients “adulterers?”(Ezekiel 6:9)

Note John’s description of friendship with the world in 1 John 2:15-17:

Three things John lists that come from the world:

1)       

2)       

3)       

Where else do you find these 3 areas of worldliness?  Research the following passages and compare them to the list in 1 John:

            Genesis 3:6

            Luke 4:1-11

What does it mean in James 4:5 that God is a Jealous God?  What does the Bible say in the following verses about the Holy Spirit indwelling within the Believer?

Acts 1:8

Acts 2:17

Acts 2:38

Acts 5:32

Romans 8:11

1 Corinthians 2:14-15

1 Corinthians 3:16

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Galatians 4:6

2 Timothy 1:14

We are a 3 part being;  Body, Soul, Spirit.  The soul and spirit are eternal – the only question is “Eternal where?”  God desires YOUR spirit to be one with His spirit!  Read and Note what you learn from Romans 8:16:

From Jeff’s sermon Sunday, and from James 4:7 describe/discuss  a person who submits to God.

Hint Reminders:      Orange Juice, 100%, Jonathan and his armor bearer

RESEARCH:

In James 4:7-10 you have a string of imperatives,  using the NASB I find 10; can you list them along with a brief explanation of what each means or it’s results?

1.

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

What an amazing promise!  God will draw near to you!  According to James 4 and Psalm 24:3-4  What are the prerequisites to drawing near to God?

Jeff talked about being a 100%  disciple of Jesus on Sunday. 

If you were trying to get as much liquid into a gallon container as possible and the container had rocks, stones, sand, and a brick in it…what would you need to do to accomplish your goal of getting as much liquid as possible into it?

Hmmmmmm.  Anyone want to be in charge of the final application of this lesson?

Teaching and the Tongue...

”Teaching” and the Tongue

·         What is one of your favorite “old-time” TV shows. (Old time is a relative term – so answer this in your view of what is an “old time show”)?  What made it your favorite? 

·         What changes have occurred in the media and shows that are out there today? 

·         Which of the older shows, if any, were “encouraging”?

·         Have you ever seen a wildfire, out of control trash fire, or house fire?  Even on television, what do you observe from wildfires/forest fires?

RESEARCH – read James 3:1

We are going to look at James 3:1 first this week; as we do, do not say, “Well, that does not apply to me because I am not a teacher (nor will I ever be).  You may be right that you never bear that title, however you need to see that, to one degree or another , all Christians should communicate biblical truth in some or many ways – therefore the high standard expectation will apply to every Christian.   First, let’s look at verses that apply to those who are teachers, or have the gift of teaching.

Look up each scripture reference and note what you learn regarding the gift of teaching and its purpose:

a.       Romans 12:6-7

b.      1 Corinthians 12:27-29

c.       Ephesians 4:11-16

Now let’s see the teaching responsibility role of every believer.  Note/discuss your insights:

a.       Hebrews 5:12

b.      2 Timothy 2:24

c.       Galatians 6:1

d.      James 5:19-20

e.      1 Peter 4:11

f.        Deuteronomy 6:4-9

So we’ve established that we ALL have responsibility/accountability as “teachers”.  It seems that James then takes that accountability and takes it to a higher level of accountability.  From what we “teach” to “everything we say”.

Read James 3:1-12 noting in NASB that verse 2 begins with the word “For” and connects verse one with the following verses.

Research on the “tongue”.

The Bible mentions many kinds of tongues – look up the following verses and fill in the descriptive word from each verse for tongue:

Psalm 5:9                                             a _________________ tongue

Psalm 12:3; 73:9                                a _________________ tongue

Psalm 109:2; Proverbs 6:17          a _________________ tongue

Psalm 120:2                                        a _________________ tongue

Proverbs 10:31; 17:20                     a _________________ tongue

Proverbs 15:4                                    a _________________ tongue

Proverbs 12:18                                  a _________________ tongue

Proverbs 17:4                                    a _________________ tongue

Psalm 10:7                                           a _________________ and _________________ tongue

Proverbs 25:15                                  a _________________ tongue

Proverbs 25:23                                  a _________________ tongue

To continue let’s study a couple of words:

Research online or in a bible dictionary and  Record below what these words from James 3:2 mean:

“stumble” (

“perfect”

If the tongue is a “restless evil and full of deadly poison” and if no one can tame it, then how can we be perfect?

What can we do about the tongue?  Look up the following verses and record your insights:

Matthew 12:33-37

Matthew 15:18-20

                (What is the connection between the heart and tongue/mouth?)

Proverbs 18:19

Psalm 39:1

Ephesians 4:15-31

Colossians 4:6

From Jeff’s sermon Sunday, and from James 3:1-12 describe in discussion or record below how the following examples play out in the life of a Christian:

Bit and Bridle for a horse:

Rudder for a Ship

Spark starting a forest fire

Spring flowing with life giving water

Tree bearing fruit that matches the tree

Personal Reflection: 

Score yourself on the following types of speech:

	Thumbs up	Thumbs down
Bragging/boasting
Using put-downs toward others
Flattering
Slandering/ Name calling
Gossiping
Verbally abusing others
Cursing
Making off-color remarks
Talking behind another’s back
Passing on rumors
Posting / texting/ emailing any of the above
Yelling
Being sarcastic
Lying

James said, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”  What do you need to do, differently to be able to “guide/direct/steer” your whole body?

Favoritism and the Christian

·         For what event would you buy the “best seats”:  The World Series?  Super Bowl?  Your child/grandchild’s play?

·         Have you ever visited a Third world country or low income area?  If so, when/where?  What did you experience?

·         It has been said that the most segregated time of the week in this culture is the Sunday morning worship hour.  In what ways, if any, have you seen this to be true in your experience?

THE CONTEXT

An attribute of God that is not often thought about is His impartiality.  Yet this is a recurring theme throughout Scripture.  God is absolutely impartial in His dealings with people.  And in that way, as with other attributes, He is unlike us.  Humans are not naturally inclined to be impartial.  We tend to put people in pigeon holes, in predetermined categories ranking them by their looks, their closthes, their ethnicity, their social status, their personality, their intelligence their wealth  and power, by the school they attend, if they work outside the home or at home, the car they drive and by the type of house and neighborhood they live in.  But these are non-issues with God.  God looks at the heart and wants us to do the same.

THE PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE

James 2:1-13

RESEARCH

God’s Word has much to say about rich and riches.  Read the following passages and note/share what God has to say to us.  (By the way?  Are you rich?  Compared to whom?)

Ecclesiastes 5:19

Psalm 52:1-7

Job 31:24-25, 28

Proverbs 18:11,23

Jeremiah 17:11

Luke 12:15-21

Proverbs 11:4,28

Deuteronomy 6:10-12

1 Timothy 6:9-10

Summarize in your own words, and then share with one another your conclusions on what God has said in these passages on riches and being rich. 

 Why is God concerned with this area of our lives?

 

According to Verse 8 what is the “royal law”?

Read Matthew 22:34-40.  How can obeying these great commands eliminate the sin of partiality and favoritism among people of faith?

 

Read the following verses and record/share what they say about our attitudes and relating to others?

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Philippians 2:3-4

What are some ways of “labeling” others that you need to refrain from immediately?

What are some practical things we can do as a church to be more welcoming?

(Anything you can head up?  Talk to Jeff and let’s implement it !)

To Conclude – let’s look again at God.  Is God partial?

Acts 10:34

Romans 2:11

Ephesians 6:9

Colossians 3:23-25

And then finally:  What actions in the Christian life are we to take, and how do they apply to today?

Romans 13:7

1 Peter 2:17