Answering Adversity
James 1:1-12 / CSB
June 26, 2022
Pastor Ray
About James & Today’s Passage:
+ Author is the brother of Jesus
+ Prominent role in leading the Jerusalem Church
+ Written to encourage people to grow in their faith
+ Parallels to the Sermon on the Mount
+ Provides wise counsel for answering adversity
1 God uses my problems to build
James 1:1-4 / CSB, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings. 2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
Philippians 1:6 / ESV, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
First Timothy 4:16 / NIV, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
2 God
James 1:5-8 / CSB, “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, 8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.”
Proverbs 3:13 / ESV, “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom.”
Proverbs 9:10 / ESV, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
3 God _PROMISES_to bless my faithfulness
James 1:9-12 / CSB, “ Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, 10 but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. 11 For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities. 12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.’”
My next steps
Read: James 1
Memorize: James 1:5; Philippians 1:6
Apply wisdom when facing my adversity
Return Next Sunday for Service! (9 am, 11 am, & 6 pm.)