The Letter of James is all about putting Christian faith into action. In fact, it says that faith without action is dead. It defines “pure religion” as something we do—visiting “orphans and widows in their affliction”—and urges us to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only.” John Wesley, who emphasized the importance of practical religion, had a special affinity for this letter.
Next to Proverbs, James is perhaps the most practical book in the Bible. It teaches believers how to cope with the biggest challenges we face as Christians. These include: handling stress, resisting temptation, taming the tongue, overcoming greed and materialism, being patient and not worrying, and praying with boldness.
If these topics are relevant to your life, you’ll enjoy my new sermon series on James, “Practically Perfect.” We’ll walk through the entire letter, beginning January 26 and running through the end of May. Click on the graphic below for a complete schedule of sermons. (Or click here to download a .pdf file with hyperlinks to scripture.)
Click to expand this schedule.
January 2, 2014 at 3:30 pm
I love James & preached it in 2012. It was fun. I loved Scot McKnight’s commentary on James and used it every week. Also the one done by Doug Moo in the Pillar NT series that Eerdmans publishes was good, too. And some others, of course.
January 2, 2014 at 3:37 pm
Clay, I’m embarrassed to say, especially as a Wesleyan, how little I’ve preached from James! Glad to hear about these resources. I’ll order them. Is Bruner’s Matthew commentary a part of that Eerdmans series?
BTW, I’m following this series with the Second Coming. Any book recommendations there? I went ahead and ordered the old (out of print) Eerdmans “I Believe in…” book on the subject. But what else?
January 2, 2014 at 4:18 pm
That I Believe book is great. Stephen Travis is quite good. A new one I just finished is, “Essential Eschatology,” by Jay Phelan. Another I read in school is, “The Bible & the Future” by Anthony Hoekema. I still refer to it now and then. Phelan’s book is a primer on the subject. And of course Bishop Tom’s, “Surprised By Hope.” Travis is a good scholar from Britain. I really liked Phelan’s book a lot.
January 2, 2014 at 3:37 pm
Love the book of James and can’t wait to hear what God has placed on your heart to share with us. Praying for you and your family as this new year begins 2014!
January 2, 2014 at 3:40 pm
Thanks so much, Susan! All I know is that the Lord has placed it on my heart to preach from it, but he hasn’t (so far) given me more info than that. 😉
January 2, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Brent I have only one thing to say about James (straightforward) read it and follow. Any questions. No