Active Faith (Day by Day in the Letter of James) * News that all need to hear: People can be __________ ( 2:24) * Why do / need to be justified? Because I am a _____________ of the law ( 2:2-11) * Whose law? The __________ of glory ( 2:1, 8; Rom 3:23; 2 Cor 5:10) * This Lord is Jesus the Christ, whose law can provide _________________ from sin ( 2:12-13) * Those who are free from sin are exercising ___________ faith ( 2:14) * Why? Because inactive "faith" is ___________ ( 2:15-17) * Empty, passive, unyielding intellectual __________________ is not active faith ( 2:18-20) * What is active faith? ( 2:21-25) ==> Consider the input of Hebrews 11: • By faith_ Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice to God ( 11:4) • By faith Enoch pleased God and was taken up ( 11:5) • By faith Noah constructed an ark (11:7) • By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out ( 11:8-10, 17-19) • By faith Sarah considered him faithful who had promised ( 11:11) • By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on his sons ( 11:20) • By faith Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph ( 11:21) • By faith Joseph made mention of the exodus and gave directions ( 11:22) • By faith Moses was hidden by his parents ( 11:23) • By faith Moses refused the fleeting pleasures of sin ( 11:24-28) • By faith the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea ( 11:29) • By faith the people of Israel encircled the walls of Jericho ( 11:30) ==> Active faith is shaped by hope and fueled by (Heb 11:1) ==> Active faith lays aside the weight of sin and compels to run the race ( Heb 12:1-2) ==> Without active faith, it is ____________ to please God ( Heb 11:6) ==> Active faith is ______________ ( 2:26), helpful ( 2:16), and useful ( 2:20) ==> Active faith is ___________ faith ( 2:14)

When Visitors Come Into Our Assemblies Beyond a shadow of a doubt, our King cares deeply about how we treat strangers, outsiders,unbelievers, and fellow members of the household of God who visit our assemblies: + "When a stranger sojourners with you in your land ... " (Lev 19:33-34) + ". .. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. .. " (Matt2 5:31-40) + "If the whole church comes together. .. and outsiders or unbelievers enter. .. " (1 Cor1 4:20-25) + "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders ... " (Col 4:2-6) + "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers ... " (Heb 13:1-2) + "My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (James 2:1-8) + "Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers" (3 John5 -11) Every single time a guest comes into one of our assemblies, we have a tremendous opportunity, and we want to be good stewards of those opportunities, not leaving the full impact of the blessing up to chance or assuming someone else will take care of it. How can we have maximum impact for good? •••___ _ for open doors of opportunity ( Col 4:2-3) _______ what it's like to be a stranger (Lev 19:34; Phil 2:1-4) _ ____ (Matt 25:35; 5:47) + Be ______ (1 Cor9:19-23; Col4:6) + Be _ _ _ __ (Heb 13:1-2) • ___ _ _ God authentically and fervently (1 Car1 4:24-25) + Make the best use of the __ _(Col4 :5 ) + Never forget the immeasurable ____ of every single soul (James 2:1-7) • ___ our guests as you ___ yourself (Lev 19:34; James 2:8)

"Are You a Hearer or a Doer?""Day by Day in the Letter of James" "The Good Gift of the Gospel from the Faithful Father of Lights:" "• Our : ""Of his own will he brought us forth"" (1:18)""• The means: ""by the word of truth (1:18) ... the implanted word which is able to save your souls""(1:21) ... the perfect law, the law of liberty"" (1:25)""• The : ""that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures"" (1:18)""• The produce: 11the righteousness of God"" (1:20)""• The determining _____: ""be doers of the word, and not hearers only"" (1:22)""• The danger: ""deceiving yourselves"" (1:22-24)""• The . _: 11the one who looks into the perfect law ... and perseveres"" (1:25)""• The promise: ""he will be blessed in his doing"" (1:25)" "CASE STUDIES: Am I a Hearer or a Doer?""=> In the handling of my ? (1:19-20)""=> In the of unrighteousness from my life? (1:21)""=> In the of my tongue? (1:26)""=> In the ___ I offer to the helpless? (1:27)""=> In the fight to keep myself from the world? (1:27)" "God's People are Doers!""* Every recipient of ____ (Titus 2:11-14)""* Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers, and saints (Eph 4:11-16)""* What about you? Are you a hearer who will forget or a doer who will act?"

"Is God Arrogant?""We frequently deal with those in life who think themselves to be greater than they truly are. The sin of pride is a sin because it involves raising the perception of our value above that which it truly is. For man, this is a fairly common event; we are constantly elevating ourselves in our own estimation. But what about God, is He arrogant? We are told to worship Him above anything else, to honor Him-even above our closest relationships, and to do things solely for His glory. How should we look at those things God wants us to do?""A. Pride and Arrogance go hand in hand (Prov. 16:18)""1. We most often view arrogance from our own experiences (Rom.12:3; Prov.8:13; Isa.13:11; Prov.27:2)""2. We remember others in the Bible who acted this way""a. Belshazzar (Dan. 5:22-23)""b. Pharaoh (Ex. 5:2; 10:3)""c. Saul (1 Sam. 15:23, 30)""d. Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:28-32)""B. The Fallacy of the Question""1. What has God asked of His creation? (Ex 20:3. 23:13; Lev.10:3; John 12:23; Rom.14:11)""2. God can actually do everything He claims (Jer.10:6; Ps. 96:4; 1 Tim.6:15; Eph.3:20; Isa.40:26)""C. Perfect Perfection""1. Proven by who He is (Col.1:16; Isa.45:7; Ps.93:1-5)""2. Proven by what He has done (Isa.46:10, 48:3, 44:24-25; Jer.15:2; Isa.45:12; Jer.5:32)""3. Proven by His fulfilled promises (Gen 12:1-3; Eph.1:3-14)"

"Is God Arrogant?""We frequently deal with those in life who think themselves to be greater than they truly are. The sin of pride is a sin because it involves raising the perception of our value above that which it truly is. For man, this is a fairly common event; we are constantly elevating ourselves in our own estimation. But what about God, is He arrogant? We are told to worship Him above anything else, to honor Him-even above our closest relationships, and to do things solely for His glory. How should we look at those things God wants us to do?""A. Pride and Arrogance go hand in hand (Prov. 16:18)""1. We most often view arrogance from our own experiences (Rom.12:3; Prov.8:13; Isa.13:11; Prov.27:2)""2. We remember others in the Bible who acted this way""a. Belshazzar (Dan. 5:22-23)""b. Pharaoh (Ex. 5:2; 10:3)""c. Saul (1 Sam. 15:23, 30)""d. Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:28-32)""B. The Fallacy of the Question""1. What has God asked of His creation? (Ex 20:3. 23:13; Lev.10:3; John 12:23; Rom.14:11)""2. God can actually do everything He claims (Jer.10:6; Ps. 96:4; 1 Tim.6:15; Eph.3:20; Isa.40:26)""C. Perfect Perfection""1. Proven by who He is (Col.1:16; Isa.45:7; Ps.93:1-5)""2. Proven by what He has done (Isa.46:10, 48:3, 44:24-25; Jer.15:2; Isa.45:12; Jer.5:32)""3. Proven by His fulfilled promises (Gen 12:1-3; Eph.1:3-14)"

"The Pivotal Difference Between Tests and Temptations""Day by Day in the Letter of James""“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet of various kinds…” (James 1:2)""“...for you know that the testing of your faith""produces steadfastness.” (James 1:3)""Romans 5:1-5""Suffering produces Endurance produces character Character produces Hope leads to joy in God""The AIM of tests:""To help us toward God (1 Pet 1:3-9; James 1:12)""Examples recorded for our learning (Rom 15:4):""◻ “Did God actually say…?” (Gen 3:1-5)""◻ “After these things God tested Abraham…” (Gen 22:1-2)""“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being""tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13)""James 1:14-15""Enticed by own desire Desire conceives and is born""Sin brings forth death""The AIM of temptations:""To draw us from God (Eph 4:26-27; James 1:16)""◻ “After a time [Joseph’s] master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, ‘Lie with me’” (Gen 39:7)""◻ “The LORD your God...testing you to know what was in your heart” (Deut 8:1-2)""◻ “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression…” (Gal 6:1)""◻ “In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10)""◻ “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Cor 1:8-10)""Our hope in God: 1 Cor 10:13; James 1:5-6; Heb 4:15-16; James 1:17-18; 1 Pet 1:22-23; 3:21"

"James, a Servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ""Day by Day in the Letter of James""James:""• A half-brother of Jesus (John 2:12; Matt 12:46-50; 13:53-58; John 7:1-5)""• A witness of Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:1-14; 1 Cor 15:3-7)""• A leader in the church at Jerusalem (Gal 1:18-19; Acts 12:17; 15:12-21; 21:18; Gal 2:9)""• A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:1)""“A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”: The Mindset of a Christian, Day by Day"" In the testing of my faith (1:2-4)"" In the pursuit of wisdom (1:5-8)"" In the handling of my resources (1:9-11)"" In the midst of temptation (1:13-15)"" In matters of self-control (1:19-20)"" In the application of God’s instructions (1:22-25)"" In the practice of pure and undefiled religion (1:27)"" In the fight against partiality (2:1)"" In the fulfillment of the royal law (2:8)"" In the showing of mercy (2:13)"" In the exercising of my faith (2:14-18)"" In the taming of my tongue (3:10)"" In good conduct shaped by the meekness of wisdom (3:13-17)"" In the war against self-centered passions (4:1)"" In my interactions with my brethren (4:11-12)"" In my boasts about tomorrow (4:13-17)"" In my patient endurance (5:7-8)"" In my concern for the souls of others (5:19-20)"

JESUS THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV) 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Lessons We Can Learn From the Olympic Athlete A. “Do you not know...?” (1 Cor 9:19-27) 1. When Paul wrote those words to the Christians in Corinth, he assumed that they all could understand the metaphor. It was a particularly appropriate metaphor in a letter to Corinth, which was the location of the biennial Isthmian Games--at that time second in fame only to the Olympic Games. Paul’s stay in Corinth during his second missionary journey (Acts 18) very well may have overlapped with the games in either A.D. 49 or 51.2. The Olympic Games had been taking place in Greece every four years since 776 B.C. Jeroboam was king of the northern kingdom of Israel and Azariah was king of Judah (2 Kings15:1). It was the era of the prophet Jonah and about a year before the birth of the prophet Isaiah.B. Everyone knew about the games, so Paul didn’t have to explain them. Everybody was aware of the games then, so Paul used those games to draw the attention of Christians to a greater reality.Following the same train of thought, what can we learn from the Olympic athlete? 1. ____________training is of some value, but training in_________________is of infinite value.(1 Tim 4:1-16;2 Tim 3:1-17; Titus 2:1-14) 2. _______-____________is a must.(1 Cor 9:25a, 27) 3. An athlete is not crowned unless he or she competes according to the_________.(2 Tim 2:1-7) 4. In order to reach the goal, the________must be left behind and focus must be on what lies ahead.(Phil 3:1-15; 1 Cor 9:26) 5. Victory is experienced only by those who_________________participate.(2 Tim 4:1-8) 6. Olympic glory__________so very quickly, but the glory we are striving for is______________.(1 Cor 9:25b; 2 Cor 4:16-18)

Walking in the Light From the very beginning of time, God used the idea of light to show us the way to fellowship with Him. Creation itself helps us appreciate the disparity of light verses darkness. We see that the very word of God is a path of light (Ps.119:105, 130). As it follows through, God sent His only Son to be a light for us and way back to Him (2 Cor.4:6) What He asks of us is for each of us to walk in the light as children of God. What does that mean? How deep of a commitment is that day after day? 1.) Light Changes Everything A.The ________ account shows us how important the light is (Gen. 1:1-5; John 1:7-9; 1 John 1:5) B. When I appreciate what God is, it significantly ________ who I must be. (1 Tim.6:15-16; Matt.5:14-16; Col.1:9-14) 2.) Walking in the light means ________ and ________ _