in James
James 5:13-20: Prayer: The Powerful Response in Suffering
If you learned you’d be burned at the stake tomorrow, Thomas asks, what would your first response be? Dread, fear, sorrow, anger at the injustice? He works through James’s closing call to prayer as the...
in James
James 5:7-12: Patiently Awaiting the Day of the Lord
What is patience? Nick asks, opening with a dictionary definition of bearing provocation and misfortune without complaint. He works through James’s call to wait patiently for the Lord’s coming, like a farmer waiting on the...
in James
James 5:1-6: Condemnation when Wealth Used for Evil
How much thought have you actually put into how you use your money? Thomas asks, noting how awkward the subject is precisely because it’s a window into the heart. He works through James’s condemnation of...
in James
James 4:13-17: Practical Atheism
Living like God isn’t real is the default setting of every sinful heart, Nick says, calling it practical atheism: we serve our own will and call our own thoughts truth even while claiming to believe...
in James
James 4:6-12: Kill Self to Gain Life
If you found out you had a life-threatening disease, what would you be willing to pay, or walk, or sacrifice to get better? Thomas asks. He works through James’s call to humble ourselves before God,...
in James
James 4:1-4: Worldliness
Are you governed by the spirit of the world or the Spirit of God? Nick asks, working through James’s blunt binary choices, wise or foolish, righteous or unrighteous. He opens James’s warning against friendship with...
in James
James 3:13-18: Wisdom from Above
How do you act when you’re positive you’re right, whether about parenting, finances, or politics? Thomas asks. He works through James’s contrast between wisdom from above and the earthly, selfish wisdom that just wants to...
in James
James 3:1-12: The Power of a Forked Tongue
Think of all the good the tongue can do, Nick says: worship God, speak truth, share the gospel, encourage the young. He works through James’s warning that the same tongue capable of all that good...
in James
James 2:14-26: Saving Faith is Never Alone
How do you know if someone’s claim is actually true? Thomas asks, using a wannabe cook’s boasting about a dish he’s never actually made as his illustration. He works through James’s teaching that faith without...
in James
James 2:8-13: Mercy Triumphs over Judgement
There are two kinds of religion, Nick says: one that saves and one that doesn’t, one with all the right external markers and one marked by a real inward work of grace. He works through...
in James
James 2:1-7: No Partiality
Your actions betray you, Thomas says, describing how what we do reveals what we actually believe far more than what we say. He works through James’s rebuke of a church showing favoritism to the rich...
in James
James 1:26-27: True and False Religion
James addresses the sins of religious people, Nick says, a different target than Corinth’s idolatry and immorality but no less dangerous. He works through James’s test for true religion: a bridled tongue, care for orphans...
in James
James 1:22-25: Doers of the Word
When the going gets tough, the tough get going, Thomas says, noting how quick we are to think of ourselves as the tough ones. He works through James’s warning against being a hearer only, someone...
in James
James 1:19-21: Cool Heads and Open Hearts in Trials
How should we respond to trials? Nick asks: with cool heads and open hearts to God’s word, which is exactly the opposite of our instincts under pressure. He works through James’s call to be quick...
in James
James 1:16-18: What is God like in your Trial
Have you ever felt hurt and confused when friends seemed to be excluding you, keeping secrets, making plans without you? Thomas asks. He works through James’s reminder that every good gift comes from a Father...
in James
James 1:12-15: What to Think About Temptation
Clear thinking is one of the first things to go when we’re being tested, Nick says, especially under grief, loss, or hardship. He works through James’s careful distinction between trials God sends and temptations that...