James desire is to root out the issue of arguments among the Christians he’s writing to, with the aim them developing as disciples. He does this by asking a question (verse 1), answering it (verse 1-2), explaining the effects of the situation (2-4), showing a way forward (verse 6-12). Arguments happen from their own individual desires that battle within, which in tern affect their prayer life and relationship with God and others. But James tells us there is more grace for us, that we should repent (change) and we should obey the word (choice).

In session 2, we explore the first major section of Isaiah, chapters 1-39, which is focused around the theme of trust in God. We look at the overall shape and message of the chapters and their teaching about the Messiah.

Great to have Santino Hamberis back as a guest speaker on the subject of knowing God and knowing His power!

In this session, we ask some key questions about Old Testament prophecy and prophets, as well ask looking at how we can learn to interpret them well. The session ends by introducing the book of Isaiah.

Steve Young talks about the church: how does the Bible describe the church and how do we seek to live this out?

James reminds us that though the tongue is only a small part of our body, it has incredible power and can do great harm. Taming the tongue is impossible for us as humans, but nothing is impossible for God. If we want to learn to control our speech, we need God to work in our hearts.

Aled spoke on James 2:14-26

Partiality (favouritism) and judgements (passing judgment on someone) are two sides of the same coin and both sins exist within the church, within our hearts. Although to many they may not be seen as bad as adultery or murder, James is keen to deal with this issue early in his letter. He uses the example of partiality shown to the rich over the poor within a church gathering and how offensive this is to God. But it isn't only limited to this example and we find it in many areas of our lives... either judgements or partiality.

In Psalm 7:1-2 David doesn't have the same confidence in God that James has. In trials, do we reflect Psalm 7 - the desperate cry - or the confidence of James 1.

James tells us that God wants us to be religious; he doesn’t want us to be legalistic or hypocritical, but he wants our relationship with him to be evident in the way we live; we are to be doers and not only hearers. Having explained this, James gives us three examples of the religion that God accepts.