The Old Testament Jubilee laws show God’s concern for justice in society. We are challenged to loose the chains of injustice. Today, this may include tackling the root causes of poverty and the traps of debt, locally and globally.

‘Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.’ (Psalm 89:14)

‘Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you…’ (Leviticus 25:10)

Read Deuteronomy 15:1-15.

For Moses, the long journey is over. He has led the Israelites through the miraculous exodus and the desperate years of wandering in the desert. Moses’ life is almost finished, but finally the people stand at the entrance to the promised land. A new generation is ready to cross the Jordan and enter Canaan. Now Moses reminds them of the road they have travelled and the agreement they made with God in the desert.

1. How would this particular law have affected the lives of the Israelites as a covenant people? (vv1-3)
2. How does God’s promise in verse 4 relate to the statement in verse 11?
3. What do verses 7-10 add to the law that has been given?
4. What concerns underlie these laws and what relevance do they have to our lives?
5. Every 50 years you make a new beginning – this is the Jubilee principle in the book of Leviticus. You cancel any debts still owed; if there are slaves, you set them free – it is a chance for renewal for everybody.’ How should this principal be worked out in UK society today?
6. What are the causes of debt in UK society today?
7. What should the church be doing to help people caught in “the debt trap”?
8. What should individual Christians be doing about the problems of debt.
9. Read Leviticus 25:35-38 and Exodus 22:25-27. How should we as Christians and as nations approach the issue of loans?
10. What does Jesus say in Luke 6:32-36 about lending to others?
11. What does Matthew 6:12 teach us about forgiveness?

As Christians, we are challenged to love our neighbour in very practical ways. Our neighbours include those in most need in the poorest countries of the world. We can work together with them to help transform their communities. By working with other churches to do this, we demonstrate to our own community that Christians are called to bring good news to the poor. But our neighbours also include people living down our street and in our community who need our help.

‘[God] upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.’ (Psalm 146:7)

Read Matthew 4:23, 9:35 and Acts 10:38.

In what ways did Jesus show a concern for physical as well as spiritual needs?

Read Matthew 25:31-46.

What does the King challenge us to do in our lives here on earth to help our neighbours? What does the King mean when he says, ‘whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’? (v40)

So the simple question for us to discuss as Christians and as North Springfield Baptist Church is this.

“WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?”

1. What kinds of needs are experienced by people in our community and our town?

2. Which of these needs should be our priority? Which neighbours is God calling us to help?

3. What forms of practical help could we be giving to these folk as individual Christians?

4. What forms of social action might we be being called to as a church to help our neighbours?

What does the Lord require of you? To Act Justly…

A series of studies adapted by Peter based on material by Christian Aid.
Session 1: A call to act justly
Session 2: Social action
Session 3: Drop the debt
Session 4: Fair trade combined with Justice in global trade
Session 5: An ethical lifestyle

Session 1: A call to act justly – To loose the chains of injustice

‘With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings…? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ (Micah 6:6, 8)

Read Isaiah 58:1-14

‘Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen…’ (Isaiah 58:6)

Isaiah speaks to us from a time of turmoil and uncertainty. The empires that surrounded Judah were competing for land and superiority. How could such a small nation survive? But Isaiah saw a vision of a Holy God, high and lifted up. The message Isaiah delivered to the people of Judah called them back to a God of the whole earth. This brought hope for their future but, with it, judgement for their sin.
1. In which ways were the people obeying God’s commands? (vv1-3)
2. What are they condemned for doing? (vv3-5)
3. How is the fast that God requires different from the lives they are living? (vv6-12)
4. What effect would God’s fast have on them as individuals and a nation? (vv6-14)
5. Compare the ways we seek God now with ‘the chosen fast’ from the passage.
One interpretation of the passage is that being religious, or even having compassion and showing charity, are not enough. We must ‘loose the chains of injustice’ to tackle the root causes of injustice in our world, through action on issues such as unjust global trade, international debt and our lifestyle in rich countries. Act Justly will show us many ways in which we can help transform our world.

1. Discuss the difference between meeting people’s immediate needs and ‘loosing the chains of injustice’.
2. What should WE be doing to “loose the chains of injustice” in society and in the world?
As Christians we are called to ‘act justly’, because God is a God of justice and love. We are challenged to learn what it means to ‘loose the chains of injustice’ (Isaiah 58:6) in our world and to work to transform our world. Today, this may include finding out about the root causes of global injustice and taking action, as campaigners, consumers and in the way that we live. This session calls us to act justly.

‘I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.’ (Psalm 140:12)
‘The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.’ (Proverbs 29:7)

‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.’ (Proverbs 31:8,9)

As part of our Week of Prayer and Fasting, this short study will help us as we are listening to God.

As we draw near to God in prayer let us remind ourselves with two questions
 IN WHAT KINDS OF WAYS MIGHT WE EXPECT GOD TO SPEAK TO US?
 WHAT KINDS OF THINGS MIGHT GOD BE WANTING TO SAY?

Acts 2 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

VISIONS
Daniel 7:15, Acts 7:55-56; Acts 9:10-16; Acts 10:1-6, 9-16, 19 Acts16:9-10; Acts 18:9-10;
2 Corinthians 12:1-4

DREAMS
Genesis 15:1, 12-15, 28:12. 40:8; 46:2; Numbers 12:6 Daniel 1:17; Job 33:13-18; Matthew 1:20, 2:12-13

PROPHECY
1 Corinthians 14:1-4 Acts 11:27-8 Acts 13:1-4; Acts15:28ff; Acts 20:23; Luke 22:64

WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE, WORDS OF WISDOM AND DISCERNING OF SPIRITS
Acts 5:3-9; Acts 10:17-23 Acts 13:8-11

PICTURES
Jeremiah 18:1-6; Acts 21:10-14

VOICES
1 Samuel 3:4, Acts 9:4

Margaret Jarman, in her Presidential Address to the Baptist Union back in 1987, said, “Have you listened for God’s voice speaking directly to you? Have you considered that He may speak through your intuition, through your imagination, through dreams and visions, through flashes of inspiration?”

Eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. ….. He who prophesies edifies the church. (1 Corinthians 14:1,4)
Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. (1Thessalonians 5:19-20)
“Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10)

The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:9-12)
When the Son of God became a human being as Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish people generally did not recognise him as God’s Anointed One, their Messiah. There were at least three reasons for this.
1. The Jews had certain expectations about what the Messiah would do – and Jesus did not fit those expectations. Note however that different groups of Jews had different expectations.
2. They also had certain expectations about who the Messiah would be – and Jesus did not fit those either. In particular, because they were convinced that there is only one God, nobody was expecting the Messiah to be God born as a human being, which is why it took so long for Jews to recognise that Jesus is indeed God.
3. Only some of the prophecies of the Messiah were fulfilled in the Incarnation. Others are waiting to be fulfilled when Christ returns in glory. So this season of Christmas will always seem in some ways unsatisfactory, even frustrating. Because we are celebrating the beginning of the end, not the end of the end. We are celebrating the incarnation of the Son of God – but only his first coming in humility, not yet his Second Coming with the glory of all the angels. But we have hope, because Christ’s first coming guarantees His second coming. Since He has come as a baby in a manger, we can be absolutely certain that He will be returning as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. All these glorious promises of Messiah’s coming (and many more) which were not fulfilled at His incarnation WILL BE FULFILLED when Christ returns. The best is definitely yet to come!
Below are some of the most significant prophecies which shaped the Jewish expectations of the Messiah. Which of reasons 1-3 would explain why we do not see parts of these fulfilled in Jesus’s incarnation, life and ministry?
The most familiar Christmas prophecies come from Isaiah – just the first three were in yesterday’s talk.
Isaiah 9: 2-7

Isaiah 11:1-13

Isaiah 7:14 (The Jews completely failed to associate this prophecy with the Messiah.)

Malachi 3:1-5 (There was this expectation that God Himself would come to His people, in judgement.)

Psalm 72:1-19 (This points beyond God’s chosen King to the Messiah who is to come.)

2 Samuel 7:11-16 (The covenant with David points to Great David’s Greater Son.)
See also the following passages in Isaiah
2:2-3;

4:5-6;

25:6-9;

35:3-5, 8-10;

40:3-5, 10-11;

42:1-7; 45:17;

46:13;

49:5;

55:2-7,12;

56:3, 6-7;

60:19-20.

Although Jesus specifically applied that prophecy to himself in Luke 4:16-21, the Jews failed to identify the Anointed Deliverer in Isaiah 61:1-3 with the Messiah. They similarly completely failed to see the significance of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53:3-13.
We just don’t have time to look at what other prophets say about ‘The Day of the Lord.’

FOR MORE on this question see these sermons online:
http://pbthomas.com/blog/?p=39
http://pbthomas.com/blog/?p=277
http://pbthomas.com/blog/?p=199

After posting every sermon I preach here, at last here are the Bible Studies which our Home Groups at North Springfield Baptist Church have followed over the last three years. Each series contains typically 6-10 studies with Bible passages to read, questions to think about, suggestions for prayer or meditation and sometimes other activities as well. All the topics are posted under the category of Bible Study Notes and the subjects so far are as follows:
• Waiting for the Messiah – three Advent Bible Studies
• The Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5-7
• Not Hearers Only – The Letter of James
• Knowing God Better
• Hope in a hope-starved world
• Hearing God Speak to Us
• Evangelism in the Early Church – Bible Studies in Acts 1-8
• The Life of David
• Bible Characters
• Be Holy – Studies in 1 Peter
• Knocked down but never knocked out – studies in 2 Corinthians

Feel free to use these notes in your church in any way you like – although if you cared to mention who wrote them that would be nice, and if you cared to let me know how they have worked for you that would be even nicer:)

Here are three studies for Advent from the Old Testament to help us understand the expectations the Jews had of the coming Messiah, and consequently how surprised they inevitably were when Jesus actually came. Warning – these are not necessarily comfortable passages!

The Refiner’s Fire Malachi 3:1-12

1. As we come towards Christmas and anticipate celebrating the blessings which Christ’s incarnation brings to us, try to list the blessings which the Jews were expecting their Messiah to bring to them. (Familiar Christmas passages like Isaiah 9:2-7 and Isaiah 11:1-10 might jog your memories.)

2. However there is a strand of promises relating to the Messiah which make less comfortable reading. Read Malachi 3:1-12. What does this tell us about the work of God’s Messiah?

3. In case you don’t think Malachi fits with the coming of Christ, read John the Baptist’s description of the One who would come after him in Luke 3:-9, 15-17. What does John understand the ministry of Jesus will include?

4. Read again Malachi 3:2-5. In what ways were those prophecies actually fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus? Are some of the promises yet to be fulfilled when Christ returns?

5. Read Ezekiel 22:18-22. How should we expect to experience God’s refining in our own lives? What is the connection between this refining and our human actions of confession and repentance, and on the other hand the purifying work of the Holy Spirit?

6. Invite the group to share ways in which they have experienced God’s refining fire in their own lives, events or experiences which have taken them further on the road to holiness. (You may like to do this in your usual pairs, or around the group altogether.)

7. Read again Malachi 3:8-10. Even to the Israelites, the “tithes and offerings” God demanded were metaphorical as well as literal. In what ways could it be said that we “rob God”? What might it mean for us to “bring the whole tithe” to God, as individuals, as a Home Group and as a church?
8. God makes an amazing challenge and promise in verse 10!
‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’
Silently meditate on this promise, responding individually in your hearts. Then pray aloud and respond together to this wonderful invitation to blessing!

Psalm 72 – God’s chosen King

1. We all (think we) know that the nation of Israel had been waiting for centuries for their Messiah to come. But ask the Group again, “What kind of Messiah were the Jews waiting for? What were the Jews expecting their Messiah to be like? What would he do?”

2. Read Psalm 72:1-19. This Psalm talks about the earthly King of Israel, but it also looks forward to an even greater King, who the Jews in time would identify as their Messiah. What are the responsibilities God gives to his chosen King? (See vv 2,4,12-14) Why do you think it was that no King of Israel ever lived up to these standards?

3. What will be the extent of the King’s power? (See vv 8-11 15). How long will His reign last? (See vv 5, 17) Are there other clues in the language here that this Psalm is looking beyond any earthly kings to a far greater king, “Great David’s greater Son”? (See e.g. v 6)

4. Psalm 72 and others led the Israelites to expect God to send a Messiah who would be “a king like David”. Read Isaiah 11:1-10. What similarities do you see there to Psalm 72?

5. Read Luke 1:30-35, and Luke 1:46-55. When Jesus the Messiah came, in what ways did He fulfil the prophecies in Psalm 72? On the other hand, in what ways would the Incarnation and Ministry of Christ have been a surprise or a disappointment to the Jews?

6. The Messiah in Psalm 72 comes to bring justice and deliverance for the poor and needy. What are the practical implications of this for us, especially at Christmas time?

Psalm 8 – The Son of Man: Made a little lower, then crowned!

1. Read Psalm 8:1-9. Ask the Group what connection this Psalm might have with Christmas? As we will see, Psalm 8 talks about “man” i.e. “human beings in general”. But at different places the New Testament applies verses specifically to one man, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

2. Read Matthew 21:14-16. Psalm 8:2 talks about children praising God. Jesus quotes it to talk about children praising HIM! What does that tell us about Jesus’s understanding of His own identity? Jesus Himself makes a direct link between worship of God and praise of Him!

3. Read Hebrews 2:5-10. Verses 6-7 and 9 apply Psalm 8 to Christ’s Incarnation: “made a little lower than the angels. Read Philippians 2:5-11 and 2 Corinthians 8:9. What do these passages teach us about the miracle of Christ’s Incarnation: “the Word became flesh”? How do we see these mystical truths unfolding in the historical events of the Nativity?

4. Hebrews 2:7-9 then applies Psalm 8 to Christ’s exaltation: “crowned with glory and honour”. Read Philippians 2:9-11 again. See also Psalm 110:1-2, 1 Corinthians 15:24-27, Ephesians 1:20-22. How were these Scriptures fulfilled in the Christmas story? (Answer: they weren’t!) When were they, or will they be, fulfilled then?

5. Spend some time responding to these glorious truths in worship, maybe using carols? 

Introduction – What is “the Kingdom of Heaven”?

“The Kingdom of God” was the heart of Jesus’s message as the Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record it. As a good Jew, Matthew would never dare speak or write the name of “God” so instead he uses the paraphrase “The Kingdom of heaven” to mean exactly the same thing. But what does “The Kingdom of God” or “the Kingdom of heaven” really mean?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Lk 4:16-21)

When Jesus read those words from Isaiah 61 in the Synagogue at Nazareth, He also said, “TODAY this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He began to preach to everyone, “The time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the Good News.” (Mk 1:15)

We think of a “kingdom” as the place or the people over which a king rules. But the word Jesus used in Aramaic describes much more the things a king DOES. “The Kingdom of God” (or the Kingdom of heaven) refers to God’s ACTIONS as King over His world – GOD’S KINGLY RULE.

Jesus Christ came as the Jewish Messiah, God’s “Anointed One”, the King the Jewish people were waiting for, to bring God’s chosen people deliverance from their enemies and to bring in the Reign of God on earth, putting right the wrongs of “this present age” and bringing in all the blessings of “the age to come”. Jesus brought “God’s Rule as King” in ACTIONS – healing the sick and driving out demons, and showing God’s love to everybody, even tax collectors like Matthew. Jesus also brought “God’s Rule as King” in WORDS, preaching and teaching about God and salvation, and forgiving sins which only God could do!

Overview of the Sermon on the Mount

By His life, death and resurrection, Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament Law and brought it to completion (Matt 5:17-20). He brought the beginnings of God’s Kingly Rule (which will only be completely fulfilled at His Second Coming) which turns the world’s values upside-down (5:1-16)! And Jesus created a new Covenant which gives His disciples a new relationship with God as Father (6:1-7:12) and new relationships with each other (5:21-48). This new relationship demands good deeds (5:16) and a greater righteousness (5:20). It demands the good fruit (7:16-20) of doing the Father’s will (7:21).

Here in the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus teaching his disciples, “This is what it is like when God is King – this is how you should live.” Some people believe Jesus actually gave all this teaching on one occasion. Others believe Matthew collected together teaching from different occasions and arranged it this way, perhaps to make a parallel to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Either way, these ARE the words of the Lord Jesus Christ – so we are wise to build our house on the rock and obey all that Jesus commands us!
Home Group meetings for January to April 2012 from Matthew 5-7

What life is like when God reigns as King

1. Reasons to be cheerful (5:1-16)

2. Attitudes and obedience (5:17-32)

3. Telling the truth (5:33-37)

4. Loving your enemies (5:38-48)

5. When you give (6:1-4)

6. When you pray (6:5-15 and 7:7-11)

7. When you fast (6:16-18)

8. Treasures in heaven (6:19-34)

9. Don’t worry – be happy (6:25-34)

10. Judging and discerning (7:1-6 and 7:15-20)

11. Hearing and doing (7:12-14 and 7:21-29)

There are enough copies of the Introduction on page 1 for everybody, but otherwise these notes are produced for the person leading, rather than the whole Group. I am of course happy to provide copies of these notes to anybody who asks for them.

Feel free to adapt the studies to suit your group. I will try to indicate alternative approaches to the material from week to week. May I remind you that in all my notes I follow certain conventions.

 Whenever Bible readings are listed in bold italics e.g. Matthew 5:1-10 these are passages that you will usually want to read aloud in the group. Other Bible passages are given for silent reading, for reference or for your own use. Unless otherwise stated I have based questions on the New International Version but feel free to use a variety of translations.

 For Leaders who appreciate being given suggested wording for questions, I include such questions in “inverted commas.” Feel free to use your own wording instead and invent supplementary questions as you choose.

 Any timings given are simply a rough guide.

 I will sometimes suggest relevant topics for prayer but I assume that almost all Home Group meetings will include time praying about what you have studied and also for each other in your different needs, for those absent and for church events and activities.

1. Reasons to be cheerful Matthew 5:1-16

There is so much material in this study you may wish to take it over two weeks, using one week for the Beatitudes (question 3) and another week for the other verses.

1. Many people will think they already know the Sermon on the Mount. Before opening your Bibles, ask folk which parts they think are most important. Gently look to see whether the passages they suggest are actually in Matthew 5-7, and if they have remembered them correctly! Then read Matthew 7:24-25. In all your studies encourage folk to share what they have learned previously from the Sermon on the Mount. But week by week continually remind them of the Parable of the Two House Builders. Hearing Jesus’s teaching is not enough. We have to OBEY IT! (10 minutes)

2. Every member should be given a copy of the Introduction and Overview on page 1. Give everybody a few minutes to read through it, then comment or briefly discuss it. (5 mins)

3. Read Matthew 5:1-10. These are Jesus’s “reasons to be cheerful”. They are the ways in which the values of this “upside-down world” are turned the right way up again when God reigns as king. In the world’s eyes it is foolishness, weakness and failure to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to seek righteousness, to be merciful and pure, to be peacemakers or to be persecuted. But when God acts as King, such people are indeed blessed. Note that Jesus is not saying we must try to become these things, but rather that people who already have these characteristics are already blessed by God.
Note: “They shall be comforted” is Matthew again reverentially avoiding using the name of “God”. What it means is “God will comfort them” and similarly in the other sayings.

Ask group members whether they think any of these “beatitudes” (blessedness sayings) apply to them in their own lives? Which saying is most precious to them? (10 minutes)

4. Read Matthew 5:10-12. Ask if any members of the group have ever experienced persecution in any ways? Is it easy to rejoice in such circumstances? Do we find the promise of blessing waiting in heaven much consolation when we are suffering on earth? You may like to spend some time thinking and praying for persecuted Christians.
(10 minutes)

5. Read Matthew 5:13-16. What does it mean in practice for us to be salt and light in a dark world? How should our lives be different tomorrow as a result of this study? (10 mins)

2. Attitudes and Obedience Matthew 5:17-32

There are no suggested timings below, since you will want to pick and choose your questions depending on the maturity and needs of your group.

1. Ask your group, “What is the relationship between the Old and New Testaments? Between Judaism and Christianity?” Then read Matthew 5:17-20?
What does Jesus mean? “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” (NIV)
Answer: Matthew presents Jesus as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophesies e.g. 1:22-23; 2:14; 2:17-18; 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35; 21:4-5; 27:9-10. Jesus is “Lord of the Sabbath”, One greater than great King David (12:1-14), “One greater than Jonah” and “One greater than Solomon” (12:39-42). Jesus is the beloved Son murdered by the wicked Tenants in the Vineyard (21:33-46). To “fulfil” the Law here really means “to bring to its destined conclusion, to completeness.” Jesus Christ is the only human being ever who obeyed the Law completely.

2. “So are Christians obliged to keep the Jewish Law?” Read again Matthew 5:18-20.
Answer: Jesus has fulfilled all the Law’s requirements. This has set Christians free from the requirements of the Law (Romans 8:1-4; Romans 6:14-16; remember also our studies in Galatians e.g. 2:15-16; 3:10-14). As Christians our conduct should be determined, not by obedience to rules and regulations, but by our relationship to Christ. We live in accordance with the Law when we live as Christ (who fulfilled the Law) calls us to do, not by following specific Old Testament commandments.

3. Read Matthew 5:20 again. What is this “greater righteousness” Jesus is talking about? There are two aspects to this answer:
(a) It is the righteous living which comes from our relationship with Christ, as we discussed in question 2 above.
(b) It is righteous living which looks deeper than our outward actions, and springs from right inward attitudes. Jesus goes on to explain this by three examples.

4. Read Matthew 5:21-22 and 25-26. Anger is as serious as murder. Ask the group how they cope with people that hurt or upset them? Have they ever had murderous thoughts?

5. Read Matthew 5:23-24. Worship is spoiled by broken relationships. Discuss what we should do to ensure that our worship is not spoiled and how we can be truly reconciled.

6. Read Matthew 5:27-30. Lust is as serious as adultery. Discuss (sensitively) how we can make sure that our thought life remains pure. Should we take verses 29-30 literally?
(No – they are hyperbole, extreme language to emphasise an important principle. This is an example of a focal instance, using extreme language to bring a point into sharp focus.)

P.S. I have deliberately missed out Matthew 5:31-32 on divorce because this passage is both theologically difficult and pastorally sensitive. I will preach on this subject with detailed notes for everyone sometime soon.

3. Telling the truth Matthew 5:33-37

As with so many parts of the Sermon on the Mount, most people know what this passage says, but don’t necessarily live it out in their lives. Remind the group gently that the wise man who built his house on the rock was the one who heard AND obeyed the teachings of Jesus!

1. Read Matthew 5:33-37. Read also James 5:12. What should be our attitudes to taking oaths (e.g. in a court of Law)? Jesus is stressing the importance of integrity, being the kind of people who can be relied on always to tell the truth. Ask the group if there have ever been situations they have faced where they have “told a white lie” for any reason? Looking back, do they think they were justified in doing so? (10 minutes)

2. Look at the Ninth Commandment in Exodus 20:16 in as many translations as you have. What does “giving false testimony actually refer to”? Read also Deuteronomy 19:15-20. (5 minutes)

3. Read Acts 5:1-11. What actually was the sin Ananias and Sapphira committed? Is lying in the church or to church leaders any worse than in other contexts? What lessons does this passage have for us today? (15 minutes)

4. There are many ways we can be tempted to “bend the truth” or “be economical with the truth”. In this world filled with superlatives, we can be tempted to exaggerate.
Even in giving a testimony, I can hint that my life before I became a Christian was more wicked than actually it was, or proclaim that my joy and peace and love for God are greater than actually they are. We think that these things will bring greater glory to God – when in fact they are lies. Ask the group if any of them would confess to having ever lied by exaggeration ? (15 mins)

5. The sins of gossiping and spreading rumours and half-truths can be as damaging as lies. Read e.g. Colossians 3:8-9; 1 Timothy 5:13; 3 John 10. What can we do to make sure we do not fall into these kinds of sins? (5 minutes)

6. Ask the group, “Is concealing the truth, or remaining silent about the truth we know, as serious as lying?” Then read Luke 9:26. We have “truth to tell”. How can we remain silent? (5 minutes)

4. Loving your enemies Matthew 5:38-48

This is a challenging portion of Scripture in the light of world events, brought into even sharper focus if we think about events such as the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers on the 11th of September 2001. There is enough material here for at least two separate weeks so feel free to spread the study out if you prefer. Try to balance time spent on discussing world issues with time spent on “loving our enemies” in OUR day-to-day lives.

1. Read Matthew 5:48. This command sums up the whole of the Sermon on the Mount. God’s children should live up to God’s perfect standards. But ask the group – is this realistic? Does God actually demand perfection from us? Can any of us hope to achieve this? Or is it just an “ideal” to aim at? Is this a requirement for ALL people, or just for disciples? (Look carefully back at 5:1-2 – Jesus was teaching his disciples at this point.)

2. Read Matthew 5:38-42. Can any of the group think of situations where they have (or should have) “turned the other cheek”? How did they feel? Was this an easy command to obey?

3. Read verse 41 again. Under Roman Law any of the occupying Roman troops could require an Israelite to carry their load for a mile. Under what circumstances have any of the group ever “gone the extra mile”?

4. Read verse 42 again. This sounds like a recipe for financial ruin! How should we obey this command in practice?

5. Read Matthew 5:43-48. What enemies do we have in our everyday lives? (e.g. at work, neighbours, family members?) What should we be doing to “love our enemies” in practice?

6. What do the group feel about pacifism? Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek, to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Read Matthew 5:39 again: “Do not resist an evil person.” Read Matthew 26:49-52. “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.” In the Second Century Tertullian wrote, “In disarming Peter, Jesus disarmed all soldiers. … We cannot kill anybody for whom Christ died.” Our Baptist ancestors the Anabaptists, together with the Brethren and more recently the Mennonites and the Quakers, have strongly defended the cause of pacifism and non-violence. Do different principles apply to issues where individuals take a pacifist position, in contrast to nations going to war? Is violence ever justified?

7. How do the group feel this teaching on loving our enemies should be applied to world events? Is the Sermon on the Mount relevant or authoritative here? If not, why not?

Questions 6 and 7 are very sensitive and also more complicated than they appear. Remember that Christians may have sincerely held but completely opposing viewpoints. As background, Group Leaders might like to recall sermons I preached on the Prayer of St Francis which you will find on the blog at www.pbthomas.com/blog You may also like to read to your group the passage on the next page where Corrie ten Boom talks about forgiveness.

Corrie Ten Boom shares this true story in her book, “The Hiding Place”:
“It was a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S. S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there — the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.
He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein,” he said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!” His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more?
Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened.
From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.

5. When you give Matthew 6:1-4

1. Read Matthew 6:1-4. Jesus says, “When you give to the needy.” Giving to the poor is a Christian duty. The Jewish Law required the practice of “tithing”, giving one tenth of all produce to God. See Leviticus 27:30-32 and Deuteronomy 26:1-13. Read Deuteronomy 14:28-29. One third of all tithes were to be given specifically to “the Levites … the aliens, the fatherless and the widows”. Then, over and above the tithes, Israelites were expected to give “special gifts and freewill offerings”. Read Deuteronomy 12:4-7. Are these Old Testament rules binding on Christians too? (Contrast with Matthew 5:17-20).

2. The New Testament also encourages Christians to give, especially to the poor. Read Acts 4:32-37; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, and 2 Corinthians 8:5-12. What principles should govern our giving as Christians? How do we decide how much to give? How should we divide our giving between the church and other good causes?

3. Read Matthew 6:1-4 again. Compare this with Matthew 5:16. It is a solemn warning against hypocrisy, doing our good deeds “for show” to impress other people instead of to glorify God. Suggest other examples of similar sins to avoid in church life today.

4. Jesus says, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” What on earth does this mean? If this command cannot be obeyed literally, what about other commands like “turn the other cheek”? Why interpret some literally but not others?

6. When you pray Matthew 6:5-15; 7:7-11

We will use this evening not only to learn about prayer from the Sermon on the Mount, but also to discuss patterns and practices of prayer. It will be important to encourage people to share their own experiences of prayer without being afraid of criticism. As Richard Foster wisely advises, “Do not worry about proper praying, just talk to God. By praying we learn to pray.”

1. Ask the group how they like to pray? Where and when? Alone or with others? Set prayers or spontaneous prayer? Affirm that ALL these forms are prayer are pleasing to God the Father when they express our faith and love for Him through Jesus Christ His Son. (5 minutes)

2. Read Matthew 6:5-8. Some people see verses 5-6 as a condemnation of corporate prayer – but Christian worship has always included corporate and public prayer. See e.g. Acts 2:42; Acts 4:23-31; Acts 12:5, 12. Some people think that verses 6-8 rule out set prayers or liturgy. But such set prayers have always been a part of Christian worship in most church traditions. “What is Jesus actually condemning here?” (Answer: hypocrisy, praying for show, talking to people instead of to God.) (5 minutes)

3. We turn next to the Lord’s Prayer – which in fact should really be called the disciples’ prayer. Many churches recite the Lord’s Prayer together. Many Christians recite the Lord’s Prayer in their private devotions. Do members of your group find these things helpful or unhelpful? What version of the Lord’s Prayer do they use. (5 minutes)

4. Read Matthew 6:9-15. The Lord’s prayer can be used not only as a prayer in itself but also as a pattern for prayer. It begins by focussing on God our (not my) Father and His purposes in the world, and then turns to our own needs for daily sustenance, forgiveness and protection from evil (or equally “the evil one”). Invite the group to share how they structure their own prayers (e.g. with books or notes?). (10 minutes)

5. Read Matthew 6:14-15 again. What is the relationship between us forgiving others and receiving forgiveness ourselves? (Answer: As we said in study 4, when we receive God’s forgiveness, then God does call us to forgive others who have hurt us. It is not that we earn our forgiveness by forgiving others. Rather it is that as we realise how wonderful it is that God has forgiven us, miserable sinners, so God puts his love in our hearts so that we can forgive other people who have injured us.) If you did not read it in study 4, the story from Corrie Ten Boom is a powerful illustration of this. (5 minutes)

6. Read Matthew 7:7-11. Here is a wonderful invitation to prayer, with six promises that if we pray, our prayers will be answered. So why do we not pray much more than we do? Jesus show how absurd it is for us to be afraid that our heavenly Father will give us anything less than perfect answers to our prayers. Discuss together why we are often so reluctant to pray. One common problem is that we feel we are not very good at praying. Richard Foster remarks, “We will never have pure enough motives, or be good enough or know enough in order to pray rightly. We must simply set all these things aside and begin praying. In fact, it is in the very act of prayer itself – the intimate, ongoing interaction with God – that these matters are cared for in due time.” (10 mins)

Finally this evening spend some time in prayer, either introduced by reading Matthew 7:7-11 again, or else using the Lord’s prayer as a pattern for prayer, saying a line at a time together with space between for silence, meditation or spoken prayers. Encourage as many as possible to pray aloud, however briefly.
7. When you fast Matthew 6:16-18

1. Read Matthew 6:16-18. What is the essential point that Jesus is making here? (Answer: doing anything “for show” will destroy any possible blessing. Fasting will always be directed towards God and not to impress other people.) But note again verse 16 in parallel to verses 2 and 5. Jesus says “When you fast …” Jesus, as all Jews, assumes that fasting should be as natural and as important a part of the life of a true disciple as prayer or giving to the poor. So we will devote this evening to a consideration of fasting.

2. Invite group members to share their experiences of fasting – blessings and difficulties.

3. Why do people fast? Take a look at some or all of these Old Testament passages. (You may like to give individuals or pairs one or two passages each to look at and then invite them to read their passage and briefly summarise what it tells us about fasting.) Fasting for the Israelites was primarily a spontaneous rather than an organised expression of strong feeling and emotion. It was a way of saying to God, ‘I really care about this; I really mean business about this,’ in various situations. Some examples include,

• fasting in preparation to meet with God or consult God: Exodus 34:28; Judges 20:26-27.
• fasting to show sincere repentance: 1 Sam 7:5; Joel 2:12; Jonah 3:5-10.
• fasting as a mark of humility: Psalms 35:13; 69:10.
• Day of Atonement fasting: Leviticus 16:29ff, 23:27-32. Some Christians like to fast before taking Communion.
• Regular obligatory fasts for the Israelites after the Exile: Zechariah 8:19.
• Fasting accompanying prayer, especially intercession: 2 Sam 12:15-23; Nehemiah 1:4ff.

4. What about fasting in the New Testament? Jesus says “When you fast” (Matt 6:16). Jesus Himself fasted in the wilderness. Read Matthew 4:1-4. One of the temptations was to break His fast.
Read Matthew 9:14-15. The disciples did not fast while Jesus was with them, but He taught them that one day, when He is not with them (i.e. NOW) his followers will fast. The idea that fasting is only a part of Old Testament Law and so does not apply to us is mistaken. The early church often fasted Read Acts 13:1-3; 14:23; 2 Corinthians 11:27.

5. Share any parts of the material below which you feel may be helpful to your group. Encourage them to consider a time of fasting and prayer in preparation for the next church meeting, or as part of their intercession for the needs of the world at this time.

What is fasting?
Fasting is deliberately abstaining from food for religious purposes. It is NOT merely dieting. A ‘normal’ fast involves not eating foods, but continuing to drink water. It is fair to assume that even Jesus in the desert continued to drink water (Luke 4:2ff) and more than three days without water leads to serious illness. An ‘absolute’ fast means neither eating nor drinking, but this is rare in the Bible (Acts 9:9, Deut 9:9).
Why fast?
Because our Lord Jesus Christ did! So also did Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Daniel, Anna, Paul and many more. Committed Jews in Jesus’ time fasted twice a week and at the end of the First Century this was the common pattern in the Church too.
Fasting has always been a part of Roman Catholicism. Among early Protestants Luther and Calvin fasted. Wesley urged Methodists to fast every Wednesday and Friday, and wouldn’t ordain anyone to Ministry who didn’t fast twice a week! On February 6th 1756 the King of England proclaimed a day of solemn prayer and fasting for the whole nation!
Many Christians in many denominations today testify to the great value of fasting. It has special value in helping us to hear God’s voice and discover His will, in the area of spiritual warfare, and as an element of intercessory prayer.

The benefits of fasting
Fasting in the Bible is not a commandment required for salvation by all Christians. However, it seems to be assumed that all disciples WILL fast from time to time as a helpful spiritual practice.
Our rich world views happiness as having all our desires satisfied immediately. In these days of `fast food’, ‘moderation’ is unpopular and ‘abstinence’ almost unheard of. But the way of the cross replaces selfishness with self-denial (Mark 8:34-38). Fasting is an antidote to self-indulgence, helping us to develop self-control and strengthening our will to resist other temptations too. Few of us ‘subdue’ our bodies as Paul did in 1 Cor 9:24-27. Fasting as self-denial is an exercise for spiritual ‘athletes in training’.
Our Christianity can easily become purely intellectual. Religion in BOTH the Old AND the New Testament involved the whole person, body and emotions and not just mind and spirit. Kneeling to pray, eating the Lord’s Supper and being baptised allow our bodies to enter our
experience of salvation as well as our minds, and so does fasting, bringing true Biblical peace and wholeness, shalom.

An invitation to fasting
For some Christians fasting means replacing normal meals with lighter foods or much smaller portions. For others it means missing meals altogether. Many spend the time which would have been used for preparing and eating the meal in prayer instead. Others continue with their usual activities and take the pangs of hunger as prompts to prayer. Some choose to give the cost of that meal away to charity, although that is not the main purpose of fasting. Unless medical conditions (e.g. diabetes) prevent such abstinence, doctors generally agree that missing occasional meals can actually be beneficial to health. Many people find it easiest to start in one of these ways.

EITHER – a 24 hour fast
from tea-time one day tea-time the next, missing or reducing the size of breakfast and lunch on Saturday,

OR – a 36 hour fast
from tea-time one day to breakfast the day after next, missing or reducing the size of all meals on the intervening day.

Fasting is a sacrificial physical and bodily expression of our commitment to worshipping and witnessing together. It can focus our thinking and praying,

Practical hints: it is not helpful to have a large meal as the last meal before the fast, or to over-eat to make up afterwards. For those unaccustomed to hunger, frequently sipping water or fruit juice can be very helpful. “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster offers very helpful advice on fasting.

8. Treasures in heaven Matthew 6:19-24

In Matthew 7:3 Jesus challenges us, “first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” When it comes to the lure of riches, it is much easier to see the weakness and failings of the world around us than to recognise our own sins. Make sure that in this week’s study the focus is on what God requires of US in our everyday lives as believers and disciples, not just on the abstract “evils of materialism”.

1. Freeport Designer Village in Braintree once used this advertising slogan.
“Ours is a shallow meaningless consumer society where we are defined by our possessions. Enjoy!” Discuss (5 minutes)

2. Read Matthew 6:19-24. Jesus is talking here about materialism and greed. Ask the group how big a problem they feel this is to be in their own lives – not just in the world around us? Ask them to suggest some examples of how THEY struggle with temptations to greed or putting their trust in Money? (5 minutes)

3. Read Matthew 6:19-21. Ask the group for some examples of ways people store up treasures on earth? Is it POSSIBLE to live in a modern consumer society and NOT store up treasures on earth? (10 minutes)

4. How ‘Christian’ is it to be motivated by the desire to store up treasures in heaven? (It must be alright, because that is what Jesus commands us to do!) What should we be doing to store up treasures in heaven? (5 mins)

5. Read Matthew 6:22-23. What is Jesus talking about here? (Answer: In Greek/Aramaic there is an underlying double meaning in the words. Having “good eyes” means (i) to be single minded with undivided loyalty to God and (ii) to be generous. See Proverbs 22:9 “a generous man”. Having “bad eyes” means (i) to be unable to see where you are going but also (ii) to be ungenerous, or mean. See Deuteronomy 15:9 “show ill will”.) (5 mins)

6. It was in the 1987 film “Wall Street” that Michael Douglas’s character Gordon Gekko proclaimed the slogan on which so much of the world economy has been built. He said, “Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind. Greed is good.”
Read Matthew 6:24. Jesus warns against serving the false God of Money, or Wealth. Read Colossians 3:5. We should “put to death … greed, which is idolatry.” In what ways can we be tempted to serve and worship and trust in the false god of Money instead of serving and worshipping and trusting in God? (Suggestions: by entrusting our futures to savings and pension schemes instead of to God? By putting our careers before our witnessing and Christian service? By judging other people superficially by their income and possessions? By coveting the newest, the best or even the best value rather than being satisfied with what we already have? By ever thinking “time is money”?)
How can we overcome such temptations? (10 minutes)

To think and pray about: The story is told of an occasion where St. Thomas Aquinas was walking with a prelate through one of the grand cathedrals of his day. Referring to a coffer filled with precious coins, the prelate remarked, “Behold, Master Thomas, the church can no longer say, as St. Peter, ‘Silver and gold have I none!’” St. Thomas was apparently quick with his retort, “Alas, neither can we say what follows, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.’”
9. Don’t Worry – Be Happy Matthew 6:25-34

1. What are we worried about? e.g. How do members of the Group feel about the Credit Crunch? Or about the possibility of Recession? Or all the problems in the Eurozone? How do we feel about interest rates being so low and inflation relatively high? What about the high levels of unemployment, including youth unemployment, and decreasing job security? What about the state retirement age going up?
What other things are people worried about? Health worries? Fear of crime? The way the world is changing so fast?

2. Read Matthew 6:25-34. Jesus tells us not to worry about what we will eat and drink and wear. Jesus says in effect, “Don’t worry, trust God.” What steps can we take so that we worry less about life and its problems?
(Hints: e.g. praying to a Heavenly Father who knows what we need, verse 32, and realising that worrying doesn’t accomplish anything, verses 27 and 34.)

3. What could we as Christians and as a church be doing to support or help folk around us who are weighed down with worries? e.g. Money Management or Debt Counselling courses? A support group for Carers? Prayerfully consider if there are any new ways God wants us to serve our neighbours in North Springfield?

4. Read verse 33 again. What does it mean to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” in our everyday lives? Does this verse promise (as some teach) health wealth and prosperity to all who serve God? If not, why not? You may like to refer to Luke’s version of the Beatitudes which are accompanied by a set of “woes” in Luke 6:20-26 especially verses 24-25, “woe to you who are rich” etc. (10 minutes)

5. Pray for each other specifically about the worries we are facing.

10. Judging and discerning Matthew 7:1-6 and 7:15-20

This study highlights two seemingly opposing challenges facing disciples. Firstly, not to judge other people, but secondly, to show discernment so that we are not led astray by false teachings. How can we balance these two responsibilities?

1. Read Matthew 7:1-6. It is so easy to be critical of other Christians. What kinds of things can we judge each other over? (e.g. doctrines; lifestyle; “levels of spirituality”; use of money c.f. study 8.) Try to find some specific examples.
How can we move towards being less judgemental in these things? (Possible answers: e.g. by getting to know each other better, understanding and loving each other more, etc.) (15 minutes)

2. Read Matthew 7:15-20. What does Jesus mean by “false prophets”? (Answer: NOT “those who prophesy falsely” but rather those who bring false teaching or leadership which draws the focus away from God towards themselves.) Can you suggest any examples in the world today? (5 minutes)

3. What in practice does Jesus mean in verse 20, “By their fruit you will recognise them.”?
(Answer: lifestyle, consistent witness.) (5 minutes)

4. Read Acts 20:28-31. From the earliest days the church has been torn apart by false teaching. How can we make sure that we stick to what we believe to be true without falling into the trap of judging other people? Note that “not judging” is a command for every individual Christian, whereas discerning truth from error is the responsibility of the corporate church, and especially church leaders. If we disagree with other Christians, how can we make sure that we “disagree agreeably”? (10 minutes)

5. Read John 17:20-23 and 2 Tim 1:13-14. How should “not judging but discerning” work out in practice within our own fellowship (e.g. for members with opposing views at a Church Meeting), or when working alongside other churches (e.g. in Churches Together in Chelmsford, or Chelmsford and District Evangelical Fellowship) (10 minutes)

The background material overleaf, PETER’S PRINCIPLES ON WORKING WITH OTHER CHURCHES, may be of use to you.

PETER’S PRINCIPLES ON WORKING WITH OTHER CHURCHES

Church unity is no optional extra for Christians. It should be at the heart of our agenda because it is at the heart of God’s agenda! (John 17:20-23) But great difficulties arise when it comes to working out church unity in practice.

Jesus’s prayed for Christians, for those who are truly part of His body. The New Testament is full of warnings about false teachers who seek to deceive the church from inside the church. See e.g. Matt 7:15-23; Acts 20:28-31;Revelation 2:14-16, 20-24. Christians and especially church leaders have a solemn responsibility to `guard the gospel’.

`What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.’ (2 Tim 1:13-14).

So it is too simplistic to say that we are obliged to work and worship with all who call themselves Christians. Whilst it is not appropriate for individual Christians to make judgments about whether other people are truly saved, it is absolutely vital for churches and church leaders to know what the Bible teaches and to defend the truths of the gospel against any deception or dilution. We must avoid the traps of pride and self-righteousness, but we must also make sure that we are faithful, in love, to the truth as we have received and believed it. We should be prepared to enter into dialogue with any others who call themselves Christians. But we can only work and worship alongside others who worship the same Lord and preach the same gospel.

So I adopt the following principles in regard to working with other churches. I am delighted to worship and work alongside in evangelism and pastoral care all Christians and churches who in their belief and practice,
 acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and God within the Holy Trinity;
 recognize the fallen-ness of humanity and the need for personal repentance and faith in order to receive God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life, which comes through grace alone on the basis of Christ’s atoning and substitutionary death on the cross;
 look for the working of God the Holy Spirit as the indispensable element in the life of any Christian and any church;
 submit to the Bible correctly interpreted as the supreme authority for faith and practice.

The church meeting (rather than the Minister or any church representative) ultimately makes the decision about any proposed joint activities, and these must therefore be discussed well in advance. Members are free to follow their own conscience about events and activities they participate in, but no-one (not even the Minister) should be seen as representing the church unless appointed to do so by the church meeting. The church should not be prepared to give an open-ended commitment of co-operation to any other church or body, which would erode its own solemn responsibility to guard and proclaim the gospel. I stand opposed to so-called `multi-faith’ worship and the preaching of any other gospel, including any implications of universalism.

In considering possible co-operation the church should always be concerned that the proposed activity will prove to be the most effective witness to Jesus Christ and/or the most helpful in building up believers. On occasions involvement may be constrained by the Church’s overall priorities and by the limits of its church’s resources including time and money.

Rev Peter Thomas 1994, 2011
11. Hearing and doing Matthew 7:12-14 and 7:21-29

We use this final study to survey and sum up the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.

1. Ask members of the group to share which verse (or two) in Matthew 5-7 has spoken to them most powerfully, or which of the studies have been the most helpful or challenging to them. Discuss how our lives will be different as a result of these studies. (10 minutes)

2. Read Matthew 7:12-14. This begins with what some call “The Golden Rule”, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” Ask the group for some examples of what this means to them in daily life? Is this an adequate basis for Christian morality and ethics? (Answer: At one level, yes. However since it is very possible to follow this rule without any reference to God at all, or whilst worshipping other gods, by itself the Golden Rule is not sufficient. Many people think that all they need to do to be Christians is to try their best to live according to this Rule. They are misguided.) (5 mins)

3. Read verses 13-14 again. Ask the group to suggest some practical examples of “the small gate and the narrow road” and “the wide gate and the broad road” in everyday life. How can we distinguish these paths? (10 minutes)

4. Read Matthew 7:21-23. What reasons are given here to explain why Jesus will reject some people on the Day of Judgement? How can we make sure we do not make the same mistakes as these false disciples? (Answers: they were trusting in their own good works instead of God’s grace, claiming the authority of Christ but not entering into a personal relationship with Him.) (5 minutes)

5. Read Matthew 7:24-27. What is the essential message of the two house builders? (Answer: the difference is NOT between people who know Jesus’s teaching and people who are ignorant of that teaching. The distinction is between people who put what they know into practice in their daily lives and people who know the truth but do NOT put it into practice.) (5 minutes)

6. Again ask the group, which part of the Sermon on the Mount do they find hardest (not to understand but) to put into practice in their daily lives? Read James 1:21-25. Pray for each other that God will help us to “be doers of the word, not hearers only.” (10 mins)

The aim of this series of studies is to deepen our relationship with God. The way any relationship grows is by getting to know more about the other person. Discovering more about the Person and the character of God will help us to pray better, to worship better and to trust God more in every part of our lives.

So each week we will study Scriptures about an aspect of God’s character, or consider the implications of one of the names God has revealed Himself by. Some will be obvious, others perhaps less familiar. Our interest is not abstract theology, but devotional and pastoral. An important aspect of each study will be a time of prayer, worship or meditation to apply and express what we have been talking about. In ten studies between now and Christmas we will consider what it means to call God Faithful, Just, Light, Sovereign and Father. We will think about Jesus as Son of Man, Lamb of God, Messiah and Lord, and about the Holy Spirit as our Helper.

Each study will include a number of passages or groups of passages on the theme. You may choose to look at these in the whole group passage by passage, and there will usually be some logic in the order presented. Alternatively you might divide the group up into pairs, and invite each pair to look at one or two passages for a few minutes by themselves, and report feed back what they have discovered to the group. Either way, do leave time both to discuss the implications of the theme for our relationship with God, and to express this in a time of prayer, worship or reflection together.

Let me repeat, our aim is not just to find out more about God. Our aim is to deepen our relationship with God!

1. God is ‘Faithful’

1. What images do the words ‘faithful’ and ‘faithfulness’ bring to our minds? (e.g. an ancient butler, ‘the faithful retainer’? ‘a faithful friend’, a pet dog? A ‘faithful wife/husband’?)

2. What do the words ‘faithful’ and ‘faithfulness’ actually mean?

3. How did God reveal His faithfulness? Exodus 34:5-8; Deuteronomy 7:6-11; Psalm 145:13. How is God’s faithfulness related to His eternal nature and unchanging character?

4. How should we respond to God’s faithfulness in prayer and worship? See Psalms 71:22; 89:5-8; 98:1-3; 100:4-5; 117:1-2.

5. How does God’s faithfulness help us in practical ways? 1 Corinthians 1:7-9 and 10:13;
2 Thessalonians 3:3; Psalm 143:1; Psalm 146:5-10.

6. Invite the Group to share any experiences they have of God’s faithfulness to them in their own lives.

7. Since God is faithful, what implications should that have for OUR behaviour? Suggest some practical examples (e.g. in family life, in the workplace, in church).

8. What are the implications for our prayer, worship and life of faith that God is the Faithful God?

9. Now spend some time responding to God, the Faithful God, in reflection, praise and prayer!
2. God is ‘Just’

God is the just and righteous God. The focus of these studies is “Knowing God Better” and the implications of aspects of God’s character on our personal relationships with Him.

1. The God of the Bible is a Just and Righteous God. How should that affect our attitudes to global issues of social justice such as world poverty, exploitation, fair trade, debt relief, etc.
Read Isaiah 51:4-6 and 58:5-10; Psalm 89:14-16 and 140:12; Proverbs 31:8-9; Deut 15:1-11.

2. How should God’s justice impact on our own behaviour, in areas such as social action and ethical lifestyle? Read Psalm 146; Psalm 9:7-10; Matthew 25:31-46; Amos 5:21-24.

3. Invite the Group to share any times when they have experienced the Justice and the Righteousness of God in their lives. If they find it hard to think of examples, discuss why this might be. Is it possible they may have had more experiences of the Just and Righteous God BEFORE they were believers than since they have been saved?
How true is it that Christians focus so much on the love and grace of God that they neglect or even forget the Justice and Righteousness of God? Read Romans 3:21-26.

4. He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ (Micah 6:8) What impact do the justice and righteousness of God have on our relationship with Him? What does it mean to “walk humbly with your God”? In what ways should the fact that God is Just and Righteous affect our prayer and worship?

5. Spend some time in prayer, worship or reflection responding to the God who is the Just God.

3. God is ‘Light’

“God is Light” is a metaphor, a symbolic representation of a deep truth. Metaphors touch not only our minds but also our hearts. So parts of the study tonight are designed to engage our emotions as much as, if not more than, our minds. N.B. the final meditation will require preparation beforehand.

N.B. SOME GROUPS MIGHT FIND THE OPEN-ENDED REFLECTIVE APPROACH IN STUDY 3 TOO DIFFERENT! If that is the case and you prefer “straight” Bible Study you may wish to jump over questions 4 and 5 and move directly from 3 to 6.

1. Read 1 John 1:5-7. When we read “God is Light” what images does that bring to our minds? What ideas do the metaphors ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ in Scripture represent? You may like to read Numbers 6:22-26; Psalm 27:1; Isaiah 60:1-3, 19-20; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6;

2. Read John 8:12; John 9:5. What did Jesus mean? See also John 1:3-8, Revelation 22:5

3. Read 1 John 1:6-7 again. What does it mean to “walk in the Light”? See Matthew 5:14-16.

4. For some people light conveys safety and darkness makes us afraid. How do the ideas of “light” and “darkness” make us FEEL? How does the truth that “God is Light” make us FEEL? How should that affect our prayers and our worship?

5. “God is Light”. So ask the group “What colour is God?” Why do they think so?

6. Spend some time in meditation and prayer on our theme, “God is Light”. Light a candle (or one each) or use any other unusual light source (a multi-coloured lamp?) to inspire you.
4. God is ‘Sovereign’

1. God is described as Sovereign, Ruler of all, almost 300 times in the Bible. He is in control of the whole of His creation, and has “the last say” over everything that happens. Begin by asking the Group what they understand by “the Sovereignty of God.”

2. Are there any areas of life where we find it difficult to believe that God is Sovereign?
(e.g. Innocent suffering? Natural disasters? Specific crimes?)

3. What do these passages of Scripture tell us about God as Sovereign? You may like to invite pairs to look at different passages for a while, then report back. Read Acts 4:23-31; Isaiah 14:24-27; 40:10-31; 43:10-13; Amos 7:1-9; Proverbs 21:30-31; 2 Samuel 7:18-29. Ezekiel uses the title “Sovereign Lord” over 200 times! Read Ezekiel 11:7-16; 12:23-28.

4. Invite the Group to share any experiences they have had which have confirmed God’s Sovereignty over their lives and over His world.

5. Then invite the Group to share any experiences in their own lives which have caused them to doubt that God is Sovereign, to doubt that God is really in control! (Treat sensitively – some of these experiences, which might include bereavement, illness, bad treatment by other people, etc, could be very painful to recall.) Is God really in control of everything? Or does human free will sometimes over-rule God’s Sovereign rule?

6. How should the truth that God is Sovereign affect our prayer, worship and life of faith? Spend some time in prayer, praise and reflection for the Sovereign God.

5. God is ‘Father’

1. Ask the Group, “Who do they pray to?” In other words, how do they address their prayers? To “God”, to “Jesus”, to “Lord”, to “Father”? Which aspect of God do they imagine (maybe even visualise) while they are praying? (There is no “right answer” to this question!)

2. The Christian name for God is “Father.” Jesus the Son of God Has made it possible for us to become God’s children and know His Father as Our Father. Remind yourselves of this glorious truth! Read John 20:17; Luke 15:11-24; Galatians 3:26-4:7; Psalm 103:8-14.

3. Ask the Group, what does it mean to each one of them to be God’s precious child, and to know God as Father? In what ways is our relationship with God the same as that with our earthly parents? In what ways is it different? (For different reasons, some people may find it difficult to relate to God as Father and may prefer to think of God as e.g. the Perfect Parent.)

4. How might knowing God as Father affect our prayers? Read and reflect on Luke 11:2-4, 9-13; Matthew 6:25-34; Romans 8:15-18; Ephesians 1:3, 16-19; 3:14-19; 6:23.

5. Spend some time in prayer, worship and reflection on the theme of the Fatherhood of God.

6. Jesus is ‘The Son of Man’

To begin with, just a reminder that this series is about Knowing God Better. So the principal purpose on these occasions is to learn things which help us develop our relationships with God, particularly in prayer, worship and everyday Christian living. How do these various titles of Jesus Christ affect the way we think and feel about our Saviour, how we speak to Him and how we trust and depend upon Him in our daily lives?

1. The title “Son of Man” is used more than a hundred times for Jesus in the Bible. What do these verses (or any others you can think of) teach us about Jesus? Individuals or pairs might take a verse each to think about for a couple of minutes and then report back.
Matt 8:20; 11:19; 16:13-17; 17:22-23; 20:28; 26:24; Luke 19:10; John 3:13.

2. How important is in to you in your prayers that Jesus is Son of Man, completely human, and therefore understanding totally everything we go through? Read Hebrews 4:14-16.

3. Recall and share specific occasions when specifically the HUMANITY of Jesus has made a real difference to your praying or your worshipping.

4. The Bible also speaks of the glorious “Son of Man”. Read Luke 21:25-28; Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 1:12-18. What impact does THIS vision of Jesus Christ as Son of Man have on our worship and our prayers? When we pray, is our focus more on Jesus the Man or Jesus the Son of God? How might tonight’s study deepen the ways you pray?

5. Spend some time in prayer and worship to Jesus Christ, “Son of Man”.

7. Jesus is the ‘Lamb of God’

1. Ask the Group to tell each other about the occasion when it first struck them that Jesus Christ laid down His life for them individually and personally. (e.g. was it a church service, Billy Graham rally, time of prayer?) Can they remember how that realisation made them feel?

2. What does the image of Jesus as Lamb of God mean to you? What might it have meant to a Christian who had first been a Jew? Look at the Old Testament background to the sacrificial lamb. Read Genesis 22:7-8; Exodus 12:1-14; Isaiah 53:4-7

3. Look at how the New Testament takes and extends the idea of the Lamb of God.
Read John 1:19; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18-20; Revelation 5:1-10; 7:9-10; 21:22-22:5.

4. Of course it is significant that Christ is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” at times of repentance and confession. But how does it affect your OTHER prayers that Jesus sacrificed His life for you. For example, how does Christ’s death on the cross affect our intercessions?

5. “Breath prayer” are simple one sentence prayers which we can say in one breath at many times during the day. The oldest recorded “breath prayer” is this. “Jesus Lamb of God have mercy on me.” You may like to encourage the group to use this prayer in the week ahead.

6. Spend some time in prayer, worship and meditation on the Lamb of God who takes away YOUR sins.
8. Jesus is ‘The Messiah’

This is NOT a study on the place of Israel in the purposes of God! It continues our series on “knowing God better.” It explores the question of how our personal relationship with God is affected by the historical facts that Jesus came as the Christ, the Jewish Messiah, and that His racial, ethnic, cultural and religious identity was not as a “Christian” (whatever that means) but as a first century Palestinian Jew. Just what was Jesus like as a man? First and foremost, Jesus was a Jew!
You may prefer to avoid giving the game away by not revealing tonight’s title too soon!

1. Ask the Group, “When you think about Jesus, how do you picture Him?” Some people may think of Robert Powell in Zefirelli’s “Jesus of Nazareth.” Others may think of Jesus as portrayed in “The Passion of the Christ”. Others may imagine Jesus “just like one of us”.

2. Then ask, “How would everyday life for Jesus have been different from our lives today?” Folk might mention factors such as subsistence farming rather than supermarkets, lack of electricity, education, transport, communication, simplicity and a slower pace of life. They might think of the problems of poverty, shorter life expectancy, or living under the occupation of the Romans. Note how soon or how long it takes before somebody remembers that Jesus grew up and lived as a practising Jew. Discuss “In what ways would his Jewish identity have shaped Jesus’s everyday life and culture?” (e.g. synagogue and Temple, centrality of Old Testament Scriptures, Jewish festivals, Sabbath observance etc.)

3. I remember a striking talk given by the African evangelist Morris Stuart with the simple title, “Jesus was black”. We can easily forget that Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah. This translated into Greek as “The Christ” meaning “the Anointed One”. What do the following verses teach us about Jesus as Messiah, fulfilling God’s Old Testament promises to Israel?
Read Matt 16:13-16; Acts 2:36; Rom 1:1-4, 16; John 1:41. Note also that Jesus was indeed “the King of the Jews” in Matthew 26:68; 27:17, 22; And the Early Church freely applied prophesies about the Messiah such as Psalm 110:1 to Jesus e.g. Acts 2:34-36.
For OT background on the Messiah, you could look at Isaiah 9:2-7; 11:1-9; 61:1-7.

4. Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
In what ways does Jesus fulfil the Old Testament? How does that affect our Christian faith?

5. Another not unrelated question, but one needing sensitive treatment. “Jesus was born as a man. Not as a woman. What effects does that historical fact of gender have on our relationship with God?” How might men and women answer that question differently? Does the maleness of Jesus (or of God as Father) help or hinder our relationships with God?

6. Jesus was a Jew, with all that implied in terms of customs and practices, history and hopes. His racial, ethnic, cultural and religious identity was as a first century Palestinian Jew. How should Jesus’s Jewish identity affect our worship, prayer and daily walk with God? Does the fact that we are not Jews introduce a distance between us and Jesus? Or does having a clear picture of what kind of man Jesus was and the kind of life He led actually bring us closer to Him, and He to us?

7. Spend some time in worship and prayer to Jesus the Messiah.

9. Jesus is ‘Lord’

1. Ask the Group again (as you did in Study 5) WHO they address their prayers to? The most common name of God used in most Christians’ prayers is probably “Lord”. So ask the Group, when they pray “Lord” who do they have in mind? e.g. “Almighty God, Lord of Heaven and Earth” or “Jesus Christ, Lord of all.” Is “Lord” to them the Father or the Son?

2. What do we actually mean when we pray to our “Lord” or the “Lord”? I am convinced that there is often much less “content” in the word “Lord” than there should be when we use it time and time again in our prayers. It has become just a convenient label, rather than the true Name of God on our lips.

3. So what SHOULD it mean for us to call Jesus “Lord”? Reflect on the following passages. Matthew 5:21-23; John 20:26-29; Acts 4:23-31; Romans 10:8-13; 1 Corinthians 12:1-3; Philippians 2:6-11; 3:7-11; Revelation 4:11; 15:3-4; 19:6-8, 11-16.

4. Remind the group that in the days of the Early Church there was only one Lord recognised in the Roman Empire and that was the Emperor. Christians were martyred because they refused to utter the words “Caesar is Lord”! How can we make sure that we do not trivialise the title of “Lord” in our prayers or our worship?

5. Spend time in prayer and worship to Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

10. The Holy Spirit is ‘The Helper’

1. Begin by asking the group, “What contributions does God the Holy Spirit have in our praying and our worshipping? How does the Spirit help us in our relationship with God?

2. Ask “Should Christians ever pray directly to the Holy Spirit?” “Should Christians ever worship God the Holy Spirit?” Some evangelical traditions would answer these questions very definitely no. Some charismatic traditions encourage prayer to and worship of the Holy Spirit. Some traditions explicitly call down the Holy Spirit by prayers such as, “Come Holy Spirit”. What do the Group think of these practices? (You may remember that I do sometimes use prayers such as, “Come Holy Spirit” or “Holy Spirit, fill this person.”)

3. Read Romans 8:27-28. Encourage the group to share their personal experiences of when and how the Holy Spirit has helped them in their praying, and in particular guided them to know specifically what to pray for. (These verses may refer to the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues, and folk may wish to share testimony or discuss tongues as a form of private prayer, but Paul clearly has other kinds of spiritual experience in view here as well.)

4. Read Ephesians 6:18. What do we think Paul means by praying “in the Spirit”? Can members of the Group give any examples of “praying in the Spirit” from their lives?

5. Read what Jesus promised about the Holy Spirit as our Helper in John 14:15-21, 23-27, 15:26-27, 16:7-16. What do these passages teach us about the Holy Spirit’s work in our devotional lives? Ask the group to share their experiences of the Holy Spirit helping them.

6. Suggest practical ways steps we could take to invite the Holy Spirit to help us more in our personal prayers, in our prayer meetings and in our prayer and worship on Sundays?

7. Invite the group to share specific ways in which their prayer and worship have been enriched by this series on Knowing God Better. Then spend time in prayer 

1. Trials and Temptations James 1:1-18

2. Faith and Actions James 1:19-27 and 2:14-26

3. The Dangers of Favouritism* James 2:1-13 and 5:1-6

4. Taming the Tongue James 3:1-18

5. Submitting to God James 4:1-16

6. Patience and Prayer James 5:7-20

Introduction
Due to uncertainty about the identity of the author, who describes himself as ‘James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ’ ( 1:1 ), this Epistle did not receive general acceptance in the West until the 4th century. James the son of Zebedee was martyred too early to have been the author. Some modern scholars, noticing the almost complete lack of references to distinctively Christian doctrines and the fact that Jesus Christ is explicitly mentioned only twice, have rejected the idea that it was composed by any Christian. The address ‘to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion’ ( 1:1 ), probably referring to scattered Jewish-Christian congregations, the homiletic character of the work, its Jewish-Christian flavour, its concern with a communal ethic and community solidarity, its echoes of the sayings of Jesus which became embodied in the Sermon on the Mount (c.f. 2:13 and Mt. 5:7 ; 3:12 and Mt. 7:16 ; 3:18 and Mt. 7:20 ; 5:2 and Mt. 6:19 ; 5:12 and Mt. 5:34–37 ), and the note of authority with which the author speaks are all consistent with the tradition that he was James the Lord’s brother, first ‘bishop’ of the church in Jerusalem. The resemblances in Greek words and phrases between the Epistle and James’ speech at the Council of Jerusalem (c.f. 1:1 and Acts 15:23 ; 1:27 and Acts 15:14 ; 2:5 and Acts 15:13 ; 2:7 and Acts 15:17) may afford possible supporting evidence. It seems logical to suppose that either James himself composed the work, or else a secretary or later redactor compiled it from James’ sermons. The situation of the church in the Epistle fits an early date of origin for much, if not all, of the contents: a date before the Council of Jerusalem ( 48/49 AD) would best explain the data .

Teaching
The Epistle concerns itself with the need for Christians to resist the pressure to compromise with the world, especially with respect to the use of wealth. It supplements and in no way contradicts the teaching of Galatians and Romans on the matter of justification.
‘Whenever faith does not issue in love, and dogma, however orthodox, is unrelated to life; whenever Christians are tempted to settle down to a self-centred religion, and become oblivious of the social and material needs of others; or whenever they deny by their manner of living the creed they profess, and seem more anxious to be friends of the world than friends of God, then the Epistle of James has something to say to them which they reject at their peril.’
Now evangelicals are again concerned about social righteousness, the use of wealth and communal life, this Epistle deserves special study. It draws attention to community-building virtues and to the destructive social force of improperly used wealth. In an age when the severity of the divine nature and the transcendence of God tend to be forgotten, the balance is redressed by the emphasis laid in this Epistle on the unchangeable God ( 1:17 ), the Creator ( 1:18 ), the Father ( 1:27 ; 3:9 ), the Sovereign ( 4:15 ), the Righteous One ( 1:20 ), who must not be tested by evil men ( 1:13 ), to whom humanity must submit in humility ( 4:7 , 10 ), the Lawgiver, the Judge, the Saviour and Destroyer ( 4:11–12 ), who tolerates no rivals ( 4:4–5 ), the Giver of wisdom ( 1:5 ) and grace ( 4:6 ), who promises a crown of life to those who stand the test of faith and love him alone ( 1:12 ).

1. Trials and Temptations James 1:1-18

The first section of the letter, which may have been the earliest writing in the New Testament, introduces themes which we will explore in more detail later (so e.g. we will miss out vv 9-11).

1. Begin by reading James 1:1-18. Invite the Group to comment on any verses which strike them particularly.

2. Read verses 2-4 and 12. What kind of “trials” were the first readers facing? What kinds of trials do WE face as Christians in our life of faith?

3. Read verses 2-4 and 12 again. “Perseverance” is an under-rated quality. Ask the Group to suggest examples of situations where they have persevered (or should have, but did not).

4. Read verses 5-8. James here is very critical of “doubt”. But what does he mean by “doubt”? (Opposite of believing = not believing that God will answer prayer.) Is all doubt wrong? What kinds of things do members of the Group have doubts about?

5. Read verses 13-15. How well do these verses fit into our own experiences of temptation? Do we recognise that it is our own desires which lead us into sin, even as Christians? How do these verses help us to resist temptation?

6. Read verses 16-18. God is “the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Meditate on this glorious description of God who is OUR Father.

7. What encouragement do these verses give to Christians who are struggling with their faith or in different kinds of trials and temptations? How does this passage help us to persevere?

8. Pray for each other in the problems of life any may be facing this week.

2. Faith and Actions James 1:19-27 and 2:14-26

1. Ask the Group, “Are we saved by faith alone? Or by our actions?” Which is more important – what we believe, or how we live?

2. Read James 1:19-27. Make a list of things which James considers to be expressions of true religion. (You can easily find ten, especially in vv 19-20, 21, 26, 27).

3. Read verses 22-25 again. The challenge is to be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (Authorised Version). Can the Group suggest any examples where we know the theory but fail to put it into practice? Does your list from question 2 help here?

4. Read James 2:14-26. Invite the Group to suggest practical ways in which we show our faith by our deeds i.e. things which we do because we believe in God which we would not do if we did not believe. Again the list from question 2 may help. (Note – things which non-Christians also do, even though they do not have faith, do not count!)

5. “Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.” (v.17). That is actually a very challenging sentence! Can the Group suggest any examples they have seen of faith without actions? (Perhaps e.g. a professing Christian showing no love or compassion? The ways some Third World church leaders enjoy lives of privilege disregarding the needs of the poor in their churches?)

6. Answering question 1 – we are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone! Has this study convicted any Group members over any areas of life where they need to begin to put their faith into actions?

Background – Comparisons between the meaning of “faith” in James and Paul
The Epistle supplements and in no way contradicts the teaching of Galatians and Romans on the matter of justification. James does not use the word ‘justified’ in 2:21 with reference to the occasion in the Abraham narrative to which Paul refers, Genesis. 15:6 , but with reference to Genesis. 22 , a declaration of justification on the occasion of the binding of Isaac, itself the crown of a life of charity and faithfulness flowing from the faith of Genesis 15:6 .
Roman Catholics have always valued the Epistle highly as affording evidence for the doctrines of justification by works, auricular confession ( 5:16 ), and extreme unction ( 5:14 ). On the other hand, Protestants—unduly influenced by Luther—have tended to regard it as somewhat sub-Christian. But Calvin pointed out that this Epistle contains nothing unworthy of an apostle of Christ, but on the contrary gives instruction on numerous subjects, all of which are important for Christian living, such as ‘patience, prayer to God, the excellency and fruit of heavenly truth, humility, holy duties, the restraining of the tongue, the cultivation of peace, the repression of lusts, the contempt of the world, and the like’. Many modern evangelicals have begun to see the folly of underemphasizing the ethical implications of justification and the place which good works should occupy in the Christian life. As R.V.G. Tasker has said,
‘Whenever faith does not issue in love, and dogma, however orthodox, is unrelated to life; whenever Christians are tempted to settle down to a self-centred religion, and become oblivious of the social and material needs of others; or whenever they deny by their manner of living the creed they profess, and seem more anxious to be friends of the world than friends of God, then the Epistle of James has something to say to them which they reject at their peril.‘

3. The Dangers of Favouritism James 2:1-13 and 5:1-6

This study draws together two passages, the first on the dangers of showing favouritism towards the rich and powerful and the second on the dangers of riches themselves. You may like to tackle either or both. Or you could spend two weeks on this study!

1. Read James 2:1-13. Ask the Group to pick the verse which is most striking in this passage.

2. Ask the Group, “When you have visited other churches, what kind of welcome have you received?” What are the best and worst experiences Group members have had visiting other churches? Have they seen or experienced favouritism?

3. What kind of welcome does North Springfield Baptist Church give to visitors, guests and strangers? Are there any ways in which we show favouritism? e.g. Do we welcome guests brought by members more warmly than complete strangers? Does our welcome depend on the age, race, appearance of the visitor? As well as Sunday services, consider the kind of welcome we give at other events and activities of the church.

4. What suggestions can the Group make of ways in which we could be more welcoming? Are there things we could do, or not do? Are there changes we could make to our premises, or to our literature or our websites? All suggestions welcome – please forward to Peter.

5. Read James 2:8-11 again. Apart from in welcoming new people, are there any other ways in which we risk showing favouritism? Is it showing favouritism if the church gives more time, energy and resources to pastoral care of believers rather than unbelievers, or in helping people who are easy to help rather than helping those who are more demanding and challenging. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10) Is this favouritism?

6. Read James 5:1-6. These words were written by James to Christians!! Are there any ways in which they could possibly apply to us? Consider for example:-
“You have hoarded wealth.” Is it possible for Christians to have too much money saved up in the bank for a rainy day? What should we be using that money for instead?
“You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.” How many of our “necessities” would be regarded as “luxuries” by the vast majority of the populations of the world?

7. Look back at James 2:5-7 again. In challenging “you rich people” (5:1-2) James almost gives the impression that being rich is in itself a sin. Does the sin lie in “ill-gotten gains” exploiting the poor? Or is it the case that in a world of striking poverty and so much unnecessary preventable suffering, keeping our riches rather than spending them on caring for the poor is itself a sin of omission?

8. How should our lives and our church change in response to this teaching in James?

4. Taming the Tongue James 3:1-18

The “theory” of this evening’s study is simple and obvious. The “practice” is a lifelong battle for self-control. In asking Group members to talk about things they have said, or have been said to them, do not press too hard and remember that some of the things people recall may bring back painful memories. The discussion will need sensitive leading so be ready to move on to somebody else if a person begins to become upset. For timing and flow, you may want to miss out question 7.

1. Read James 1:19. “Be quick to listen and slow to speak.” Wise words which we all wish we could remember to live by! There is a verse in Proverbs which can be translated “Every time he opens his mouth he puts his foot in it.” Invite the Group to recall occasions when they spoke and then wished they had remained silent – preferably funny incidents to begin with. If you can think of a good humorous example from your own experience to get things started, so much the better.

2. The old proverb says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me.” Is that true?

3. Read James 3:1-12. This passage is about ways in which our speech can hurt other people. Ask the group to recall occasions when they have said something which has hurt or upset somebody else. What caused them to say such a thing? (Was it accidental or deliberate? Spite or jealousy or anger or carelessness?) When we know we have said something and somebody else has been upset, what as Christians should we do to put things right? Is it always best to apologise? Or is it sometimes better to “let sleeping dogs lie”?

4. What steps should we take to gain greater control over our speech and language? e.g. Stop and think before we speak. Pray harder! Avoid TV or books which give us bad examples of hurtful speech. (e.g. Does watching chef Gordon Ramsay shout and swear at his staff lead us to think that such behaviour is acceptable?) What does Philippians 4:8-9 command?

5. TREAD GENTLY with this question! Ask the Group to recall any occasions where other people have said things which have been hurtful to them? Or situations where they regularly experience hurtful remarks (e.g. at work, with difficult family members)?
How can we cope when other people hurt us with their speech? (e.g. by prayer, talk through with friends, counselling.) Should we confront those who regularly hurt or demean us? Or should we condition ourselves to ignore their words?

6. Our speech can bless as well as curse. To move to a more positive note, invite the Group to share examples of things which have been said to them which have encouraged them and built them up. What steps should we take to bless and encourage each other more?

7. Read James 3:13-18. List the characteristics of “the wisdom that comes from heaven”. Then list the characteristics of the wisdom which is “earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.” How can we know and live out God’s wisdom more in our daily lives?

8. Pray through any issues which have come to light in the course of this study. Mention to the Group that Peter would be most happy to chat with anybody who feels they have experienced hurts in the past which still need healing.

5. Submitting to God James 4:1-16

1. Ask the Group, “Are there any prayers you have prayed which God has not answered?” How can we tell the difference between the answers such as “No, not ever,” “Yes, but not yet” or “Keep on asking”?

2. Sometimes there are good reasons why we do not receive what we want from God.
Read James 4:1-3. Can the Group suggest any examples in their lives or in the life of the church where “You do not have because you do not ask”?

3. “You ask with wrong motives.” Can the Group suggest any examples of this from their own experience? How can we make sure our motives are right when we pray?

4. Read James 4:4-10. What ways are we tempted to fall into the sin of “friendship with the world”? If you did not look at James 5:1-6 in Study 3 questions 6 and 7, you could do so.

5. Verses 6-7 are tremendous promises! Can any members of the Group share testimonies of an occasion when they have resisted the devil and drawn near to God, and then experienced that great joy and peace when God has drawn near to them?

6. These are not verses to talk about so much as to respond to. So set aside some time to meditate on this passage and respond inwardly to God in prayer. I suggest the Leader reads the verses, with substantial pauses between each phrase as follows.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (PAUSE) 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. (PAUSE) Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (PAUSE) 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. (PAUSE) Wash your hands, you sinners, (PAUSE) and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (PAUSE) 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. (PAUSE) Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. (PAUSE)10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

6. Patience and Prayer James 5:7-20

1. Read James 5:7-12. Ask the Group which verse, if any, strikes them as important or helpful? The passage may seem irrelevant to many. We looked at Trials and Temptations in James 1:1-18 in Study 1. On Sunday we will mark Suffering Church Sunday.

2. Read James 5:13-20. If we are sick we usually just go to the doctor. What part should prayer by the Elders with anointing with oil (vv 14-15) play in the life of the church? Is it relevant that James wrote in an age before modern medicine and pharmaceuticals were discovered?
We tend to save anointing for “serious” illnesses. How then should we pray for the sick?

3. We do not practise what the Roman Catholics used to call “the sacrament of Confession.” When we have already confessed our sins to God, what is the point of confessing our sins to other Christians (v 16)? (e.g. to be assured of forgiveness, to ensure sincere repentance, to enlist another in “watching over us” to make sure we do not fall into the same sin again.) If such confession is a good thing, how in practice should we do it more?

4. Can the Group suggest any examples of persevering and earnest “Elijah” prayer bringing miraculous answers from their lives or Christian experience?

5. Verses 13-18 and 7-11 are clearly connected. How true might it be that those believers who experience miraculous answers to prayer are those who have previously learned patience through trials and temptations? Is it the case that we find persevering and earnest prayer difficult because we have not learned perseverance through suffering? Pray about prayer!