SCRIPTURE: James 1:19-27; 5:13-20

Perhaps above all, James’s letter challenges us to soften our hearts. There are 5 signs of a “soft heart,” and they include being quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; being humble towards God’s word; and putting what God teaches us into practice. These things amount to active and meaningful faith, and they cannot help but manifest themselves in our outer behavior. In this way, a soft heart is the key to religious practice, which is marked by prayer, confession, forgiveness, and generosity towards all who are in need. This week, we want to meditate on these principles and proofs, allowing them to challenge us individually and as a church community. 

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1.  Consider the qualities of a “soft heart” listed in James 1:19-22 and pay special attention to 1) whether each one is hard or easy for you, 2) if one is easy, whether or not it has always been so, and 3) what hard qualities you most desire. Talk through your answers to these questions as a group, and resist the desire to coach or advise one another! Instead, practice listening and spend time in prayer with one another, asking God to give you a “softer heart.” 

2. James 1:27 defines “pure and undefiled” religion as: caring for widows and orphans in their distress, and keeping oneself “unstained” by the world. What do these two descriptions mean to you? How are they challenging you this week? What would it look like to pursue this definition of “religion” for yourself, or for your church community?

3. Read James 5:13-18. What is the “common thread” in James’s instructions for church communities? How does this instruction line up with what we have learned about what God is doing in our lives? 

4. What do you think it means to “bring someone back” when they “wander from the truth”? Have you ever been in either of these positions? Describe your experience.

5. How have you felt challenged to be a “doer of the word” over the course of this series?

SCRIPTURE: James 1:19-27; 5:13-20

Perhaps above all, James’s letter challenges us to soften our hearts. There are 5 signs of a “soft heart,” and they include being quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; being humble towards God’s word; and putting what God teaches us into practice. These things amount to active and meaningful faith, and they cannot help but manifest themselves in our outer behavior. In this way, a soft heart is the key to religious practice, which is marked by prayer, confession, forgiveness, and generosity towards all who are in need. This week, we want to meditate on these principles and proofs, allowing them to challenge us individually and as a church community. 

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1.  Consider the qualities of a “soft heart” listed in James 1:19-22 and pay special attention to 1) whether each one is hard or easy for you, 2) if one is easy, whether or not it has always been so, and 3) what hard qualities you most desire. Talk through your answers to these questions as a group, and resist the desire to coach or advise one another! Instead, practice listening and spend time in prayer with one another, asking God to give you a “softer heart.” 

2. James 1:27 defines “pure and undefiled” religion as: caring for widows and orphans in their distress, and keeping oneself “unstained” by the world. What do these two descriptions mean to you? How are they challenging you this week? What would it look like to pursue this definition of “religion” for yourself, or for your church community?

3. Read James 5:13-18. What is the “common thread” in James’s instructions for church communities? How does this instruction line up with what we have learned about what God is doing in our lives? 

4. What do you think it means to “bring someone back” when they “wander from the truth”? Have you ever been in either of these positions? Describe your experience.

5. How have you felt challenged to be a “doer of the word” over the course of this series?

SCRIPTURE: James 2:1-13; 5:1-6

By any measure, Americans are among the wealthiest people on Earth. Although that might seem like a good thing, the Bible pulls no punches when it comes to warning the rich about the many pitfalls their prosperity can lead them into. One of the ways we can avoid these dangers is by refusing to allow what James refers to as partiality to distort how we see the world. For James, partiality is what happens when privilege combines with arrogance, and it leads us down a road of judgment, discrimination, and self-satisfaction. These things ruin the tests and trials of our lives by keeping us from learning how we need to change in order to live more like God intends. To resist partiality, we need to be vigilant in making sure that we see other people as God sees them instead of how our culture sees them. We must be marked by humility and generosity, remembering that “mercy triumphs over judgment.” 

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. James 2:1-4 describe a scenario where church leaders have show preference to wealthy Christians in their weekly gatherings. Describe a time when you, too, have discriminated against someone based on your perception of their wealth.

2. Has there ever been a time when you have felt discriminated against because of your own perceived poverty? How did that feel? How do you wish you had been treated? 

3. Why do you think James focuses on discrimination as such a serious obstacle to the work God is doing in our lives? Why does he equate discrimination with what might seem to be much more “serious” sins like adultery and murder (2:9-12)? 

4. What do you think James means when he says “mercy triumphs over judgment”? What do these words mean to you? Can you think of a real-life scenario where you have seen this idea in action? 

5. Read James 5:1-6 together. This is a stern warning! How can you apply this teaching to your life? 

6. If being serious and intentional about the ways you are generous is a critical part for your spiritual health (as James seems to suggest), what steps can you take now to make generosity a more consistent part of your life? 

SCRIPTURE: James 1:1-18; 2:14-26 

James’s letter begins by encouraging persecuted Christians to allow “steadfastness” to “finish its job” in them. But what is that job? And (for that matter) what is “steadfastness”? We want to begin our series by considering that the challenges we go through are similar to the trials of a new invention: God is hard at work shaping us into the people we are intended to be, and as he makes changes in our hearts, those changes are tested in the lives we have all been given to live. By avoiding the repetition of the same old mistakes, being open to change, and committing to live out our faith in our actions, we are able to participate in God’s work of refinement, embodying the “steadfastness” James talks about and “working out” our faith in a way that brings us closer to God and to one another. 

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Describe a time in your life when you felt you were being “tested.” What were the circumstances? What was the end result? Looking back, do you feel like this experience caused you to grow in any specific ways?

2. James says that testing and trials in our lives produces steadfastness...and that steadfastness leads eventually to being “complete and faultless, deficient in nothing.” What do you think of this equation? 

3. On Sunday, Kenny said there was a difference between questions, which involve looking for an answer, and doubts, which propose there isn’t one. Did that distinction make sense to you? How does this distinction affect the way you think about James 1:5-8? 

4. James 2:14-26 is a famously controversial passage, in which James says that “faith without works is dead.” Read through the passage together. What do you think James is saying here about the relationships between faith and works? 

5. James 2:14-17 offer one practical example of how some beliefs are impossible not to act on...if we really take them seriously. What are some practical ways that you can put your beliefs about God to the test this week? If we take seriously what James says...what habits in our lives might really need to change?

SCRIPTURE: Esther 3:13-4:16

At first glance, Esther seems like the luckiest girl in the world: despite growing up an outcast, she is chosen by a handsome king to be his beautiful queen, blessed to new love, new wealth, and new influence in the kingdom. But in reality, even these apparent “blessings” create more difficulties and responsibilities. Faced with a new decree that will mean the extermination of her people, Esther is asked to put her new life at risk in order to stand up for what God says is right. The boundaries between “blessings” and “curses” in this story are blurry, but what shines through is a larger point about who God really is: even when our own sight fails and our ability to discern right from wrong feels hopeless, we can trust in God’s character, his timing, and his calling. Whether or not the turns of fortune in our life are “lucky” might be impossible to know. But no matter who we are or where we are, we can always depend on a God who loves us and invites us to participate with him in what is good.

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Review Esther’s life before she was chosen as queen. Discuss the various perspectives she might have on each of these steps, including being chosen.

2. Haman seems to have everything he could ever want, but he can’t be content as long as Mordecai doesn’t show him respect. Can you relate in any way?

3. Has there ever been a time when you feel like God’s given you a chance to take part in his story? How did you respond?

4. Do you believe that God has a plan in your life and in our world? What’s your evidence?

5. Do you feel like God is calling you to something now?

6. Have you ever felt like you’ve had to trust God’s timing in your life? What was that like?

SCRIPTURE: Daniel 6

The story of “Daniel and the Lions’ Den” makes for high drama and excitement, which undoubtedly explains why it is so frequently retold, especially in the stories Jewish and Christian communities tell their children. But it is also a story of political envy, Machiavellian acts of betrayal, and profound violence. What can we make of such a tale? This week, we want to explore this story as it must have been for the people who first made it famous: the surviving remnants of the nation of Israel living in captivity in Babylon in the 6th century BCE. For them, Daniel’s bravery is an encouragement to cling to their faith in a God greater and more faithful than the gods of their captors. The story of the lions’ den reminds them to cherish their faith above all else, even when God’s love and blessings feel like distant memories. For us, it can have a similar power: Daniel’s life and trials remind us that the world might not always look like God is in control, but we can always trust that he is working, that he hears us, and that his goodness will see us through even the hardest of times.

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Who are the “villains” in this story? What motivates them?

2. Why does the king conclude that Daniel’s accusers were lying?

3. To stay out of trouble, all Daniel has to do is not pray for 30 straight days. But Daniel’s devotion to his faith (and his discipline) are so great that this is impossible for him. Have you ever been through a season when spiritual disciplines like prayer or studying the Bible were an “unskippable” part of your day? Why do you think that was?

4. Is that kind of devotion/discipline hard for you in this current season of your life? Why do you think that might be?

5. What steps might you be able to take to strengthen your devotion/discipline in the future?

6. On Sunday, we said that the key to spiritual discipline is remembering God’s story. Did that ring true for you? Why? How does the telling and re-telling of a story like this one help us accomplish this?

SCRIPTURE: Jonah 4:1-11

Few Old Testament stories are as famous as “Jonah and the Whale”...but few stories are also so frequently misunderstood! Instead of being primarily a story about whether or not we can run from God (or if a man can survive inside the belly of a fish), the story of Jonah actually challenges us to face the ways we all willfully misread God’s character. When Jonah refuses to warn the neighboring Ninevites about God’s wrath, he reveals a racist, bitter, and fearful heart unfit for a prophet, and even after 3 days inside a sea monster, Jonah still misses God’s bigger point: God’s heart wasn’t for the destruction of Jonah’s enemies...it was for their repentance. As the often-overlooked final chapter of Jonah reveals, even this story of divine judgment is, at its core, really a call to replace our own self-righteousness with a humble and selfless love that better reflects the character of a kind, compassionate,and ultimately gracious God.    

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What is your history with the story of Jonah?  Have you heard it before? What were the lessons you learned from this story?

2. How are you like Jonah?  How are you like the Ninevites?

3. Identify someone (or a group of someones) you have trouble seeing as a child/children of God.  Commit to pray for them this week. Be brave, and tell someone about this commitment so you have accountability.  

4. Jonah is angry at God because of God’s...compassion.  Are there any characteristics of God that you have a hard time accepting/appreciating?  

5. Read Jonah 4 as a group.  Talk through the vine/worm scenario.  What is God trying to help Jonah (and us!) understand?

SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Samuel 17

The legend of David and Goliath isn’t just a staple of Jewish and Christian storytelling, it’s a touchstone in Western culture: we see “Davids” and “Goliaths” everywhere! But underneath this story of a boy slaying a giant is another story about an anointed son’s confident ambition, an army’s fearful humiliation, and a people who have forgotten their own place in a story bigger than themselves. This week, we want to reframe one of the world’s most powerful stories not as a tale of overcoming impossible odds, but as an example of what happens when God steps in to use who we are for his own glory. The truth of the David and Goliath story isn’t that the little guy sometimes wins...it’s that God is greater than the things we fear.

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Describe a time in your life when you were able to use an ability (natural or developed) for the good of others.

2. What might it mean to “defend God's honor” in today's world? How might this be more complicated than it might seem at first?

3. Have you ever felt called to defend God to a friend, co-worker, acquaintance, family member? Describe what happened.

4. Share a time in which you had to resist someone's defining you or describing you that was inaccurate from God's perspective (perhaps it was mocking, or shaming). In what situations might this happen in our culture today?

SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 1-2:26; 3:1-4:1

The beautiful, genuine faith of Hannah is on full display in this story.  Hannah is a beloved but barren wife, and because of this, she is ridiculed by her community, misunderstood by her husband, and feels unseen by her God. But Hannah pursues God anyway, praying with passion and full emotion when her family goes to worship. She is just a normal, hurting woman...yet she puts the full weight of her hope into her prayers, daring to believe that her God is real, that He hears her, that He sees her tears, and that He is able to change her circumstances. When God does, she faces what seems to be a difficult decision: she gives her son back to the God who heard her. That son goes on to become a prophet, hearing the voice of the Lord and radically shaping the future of Israel. God uses Hannah’s boldness to show us that he hears and sees us when we pray, no matter how inconsequential we might seem to others. He uses her genuine anguish and emotion in her prayer to show that he desires us to come to him with all our questions and anger and confusion. He uses Hannah’s prayer of praise to help us learn that God is indeed our deliverer and redeemer.  And he shows us that He desires to speak to us in the same way he speaks to Samuel. He is a God who sees and hears his children while allowing us to hear him, too.

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Is prayer an important part of your faith?  What role does it play in your relationship with God?

2. Do you think having a child was the only thing Hannah wanted? What is at the heart of her prayers for a child?

3. Talk about when and how Hannah gave Samuel back to God.  What would that be like? Have you ever experienced any similar situation- asking for something from God, and then offering that thing back to Him?

4. Hannah’s faith must have influenced Samuel as he grew up.  What are some ways that Hannah and Samuel’s faith are similar? Different?

5. What is your take away from this story? Is God showing you anything new about himself or your own faith that you can hold onto this week?

SCRIPTURE: Genesis 37; 45:1-15; 50:19-21

The story of Joseph and his brothers is long, complicated, and (as it turns out) makes for a pretty good musical. But behind this story of betrayal and incredible forgiveness, God is working to fulfill his promises made many years before to Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph’s father, Jacob. This week, we want to explore what it means to trust God’s promises by living a life that is humble and open. It is a mistake to think that God performs or even “permits” evil in the world. But it is true that God can and does use the brokenness of people to work wonders and reveal who he is to us. As we live our own lives, howo can we grow in our trust in God’s character and even stay on the lookout for it...even when things feel hopeless?

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Describe examples (personal or of others) where evil struck and vindication or redemption was long in coming.  

2. Describe examples of delayed redemption coming to fulfillment.

3. Have you experienced times in which you were the offender and God undid your sin and made something beautiful out of it? If so, share it.

4. What does the story of Joseph and his brothers tell you about God and his ways?

5. What unchanging character of God is seen in this example, and what application might we see in this story?

6. When has God called (and may be calling) you to "wait and/or work" for righteousness and justice in the earth or in your personal life?