James 4:1-12

 
Series Setup
Sermon Slides

Food for Thought

  • Ice Breaker: Have you ever been really jealous of someone? Could’ve been as a kid on the playground, in high school, or even as an adult! It might be a specific thing that a particular person had, could do, or was able to enjoy.

    • How did that jealousy affect what you felt / thought about that person? Did it take over any of your hopes or ambitions?

    • Did jealousy increase your love for the other person? Did it help you love them well? Why or why not?

  • Is James saying that it’s bad to be passionate? Why or why not?

    • How can we tell if our passions are “waging war” or if they’re stirring folks up to love and good works?

    • What does James say it looks like if our passions are waging war? (what we say, do, pray, etc.)

    • Does any of this hit close to home? (wants that have turned into needs; desires that have become weapons)

    • What excuses want to “speak up” and rush to your hearts defense? (what you “need,” “deserve,” etc.)

  • James talks about jealousy that shows up in us and in the Spirit. What does it mean that the Spirit in us “envies intensely?”

    • Compare and contrast how jealousy in us is very different from the Spirit’s jealous for us. Examples:

      • getting puffed up in pride vs. being called to humility

      • being concerned with getting / taking vs. receiving God’s grace

      • satisfying the flesh for today vs. being exalted by God in the end

  • James doesn’t say our wars end when we win, but when we submit. Submit to who? …for what?

    • Is “submitting” something that comes easily or hard for you? Why?

    • But what do we get when we submit to God and draw near to him?

    • Who loses when we do that?

    • But real talk: what does humble submission require of us in the midst of strife, fighting, jealousy, etc. in us and around us? What worldly cost might we have to pay?

  • Moving forward, what does James say we should look out for in us? … what comes out of us, at others?

    • What should we do every time we find it?

    • What can we expect from the Lord every time we do?

Reflection Questions

  • What demand or defense am I refusing to surrender?

    >> Where have I turned a desire into a weapon against another?

  • How does knowing that the Judge of all the earth absorbed my sentence on the cross free me from having to defend my pride or prove I am right?

  • Whom do I need to step down from judging this week?
    >> What does it look like practically to lay down the gavel and extend grace to them?

 
JamesScott O'Donohoe