We've reached the end of our study of James, and in this episode, we review some of the main ideas of the letter. Thank you for listening!

James 5:19-20 suggests that our concern for one another should include correcting those who stray from God's way. But does that mean that people should act like church police? This episode explores how such an idea would actually be a contradiction of what James teaches throughout the letter.

The idea of "covering over a multitude of sins" is part of the very last line of James (and is found in 1 Peter 4:8) as well. We may have tried to "cover up" our sins, but this is not, of course, what James means. In this episode, we explore the connections of this teaching to the Old Testament.

We all get lost sometimes. Spiritually, from the standpoint of the Psalms, we might say that we also stray from God's path. How might we understand James 5:19-20 accordingly?

Back in the days of letter writing, we were taught to end letters with words like "Sincerely" or "Yours truly." As we approach the end of the letter of James, we see that he doesn't end the letter the way Paul might. But James 5:19-20 highlights the importance of "truth"--making me wish he had actually signed off with "Yours truly."

James 5:16 teaches that "the prayer of the righteous is powerful." We've already looked at the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel; James uses that story as an example of the power of prayer. But is he talking about "prayer warriors" with a special gift for prayer? What does he mean when he says that Elijah was "just like us"?

James 5:16 teaches that Christians should confess their sins to one another. But we can easily imagine how badly that could go wrong. This episode explores the cultural context of James' words, and how we might understand them for the life of the church today.

So much of the teaching of James is about how we use words. James 5:13-16 suggests that one of the most important use of words is--surprise!--prayer. In this episode, we explore James' teaching on prayer for the life of the church.

Is it okay to take oaths? James 5:12 teaches that we should not, merely saying yes or no instead. But here again he echoes Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. This episode explores what James means, so we can apply it to our own attitude and behavior.

James uses not only Job, but also the Old Testament prophets as examples of endurance that his readers would have known. In this episode, we use the example of Elijah to illustrate the point, and also connect James' teaching once more back to the words of Jesus.