To say I’ve been looking forward to our study of James would be an understatement.  I’m thrilled to be in this book.  One reason: it’s WAY different than Genesis.  It’s shorter, and the study and prep work will focus on shorter sections of scripture.  I’m eager to dig deep into the language and think deeply about each section.  The other reason is that this will be good for our church.  Yes, it’s the Word of God, so it’s always good, but I think the timing of this study is good for us.  Our people are eager for practical, biblical guidance, and there’s no better place than James.    

From the Cutting Room

Here are a few things that I cut from Sunday’s sermon. 

James is the first New Testament letter. It was most likely written before AD 50 (The Council of Jerusalem), but most believe it was written between AD 45 and 48.  

The letter contains the highest percentage of commands than any other book in the NT.  

While Martin Luther came to see James as canonical (part of Scripture), he felt it should be included among the lesser books, along with Jude.  

James was stoned to death in AD 62 by the Jewish leaders for not recanting of his faith in Jesus.  Josephus confirmed his martyrdom. 

No other letter mentions the teachings of Jesus more.  Douglas Moo wrote, “There is no better example in the NT of a church leader taking the Lord’s teaching and applying it to church problems.” 

This quote was fascinating and something I’ll touch on in this series:  “We were drilled in a reactive holiness: whatever happened to be the current fashion in the ‘world’ (i.e., society outside the Christian fellowship) must be contradicted by the Christian. We were simply called to react against surrounding social norms.  As we look around us today, however, the abandonment of the old reactive separation from the world has led to a forgetfulness of the concept of separation, and for very many Christians, what goes in the world goes in the church. If everyone does it, why should not the Christian? We need to discover and live by positive Christian standards—not reacting against the world around us but responding obediently to the Word of God within the world around us.”  “Positive Christian standards” is a great way to say that.  

Commentaries I’m using

Many of you ask what study tools I use, so at the outset of this study, I thought I would give you the titles of commentaries I’m using.  I will never use more than three commentaries because I don’t want overexposure.  I limit myself to the ones that respected theologians prefer.  

• The Letter of James:  Second Edition by Douglas Moo
• The Message of James by J.A. Motyer
• The Epistle of James by Peter H. Davids

Life-Changing Perspective

In 1999, I read John Piper’s book The Pleasures of God.  I was 29, married for about four years, with a one-year-old daughter.  I was also anxious, selfishly ambitious, and proud.  I was legalistic and self-righteous.  I could get angry at the drop of a hat and was moody.  The Lord used Piper’s book to change my life.  

Chapter 7 of the book is entitled, “The Pleasure of God in Doing Good to All Who Hope in Him.”  If you go to this link, you can find the PDF of the book, and you can go to chapter 7 to read it.  In that chapter, Piper details how God delights in doing good to His people and has made a covenant to do us good.  The quotes I used Sunday in my sermon were from that chapter.  

This changed my life because I lived with a wrong attitude about God’s posture towards me.  I dreaded that God was somehow dissatisfied with me, angry with me, and ready to pounce on me for every little mistake.  This wrong understanding of God caused me to treat others the same way.  Further, when anything ‘bad’ happened, I automatically assumed it was God’s frown upon my life.  The Lord used that chapter to transform my heart and life radically.  I hope it does the same for you.  

In God’s providence, the following year (2000) was when Jill, Hannah, and I experienced our most tragic moment:  Ruth Deborah York was born on June 10 and passed away that same day.  It was crushing.  But with the newfound perspective on God’s goodness, it didn’t destroy me (or us).  Instead, we leaned into our good God and found grace and strength in our time of need.  

Looking Ahead

This Sunday, we will study James 1:2-4 and discuss trials and maturity.     

Podcast thoughts:

I am excited about our new podcast and hope it will serve you. This is another way to share information about our church and people with you. With a few exceptions, we’re trying to keep our episodes shorter than 30 minutes. Check it out and give us your feedback.       

If you have questions that you would like us to cover, please send them to Perry Sorensen at [email protected].   

• Apple users:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clf-conversations/id1789024424
• Spotify users:  https://open.spotify.com/show/7mfjCJibCO6g2Bsv3oe0eg?si=htp_tSeoQ4yUZL5apfIkWA

From the Cheap Seats

• I did predict a blowout by the Eagles, but I didn’t expect THAT!  
• We have to ponder if this is a moment of decline for the Chiefs.  After all, no other team has played in more games for the last several years.  At some point, the physical and mental toll hits.      
• The Eagles’ defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, has had great defenses everywhere he has gone.  He’s one of those guys who is a great coordinator but a lousy head coach.
• College baseball starts this week.  Texas A&M is preseason #1, the Beavers #7, and the Ducks #12.  I’m looking forward to how this thing will shake out.         

Have a great week! Christ is King!

In Christ, 

Dave York