#BibleStudy Thoughts on the Questions from James Ch 1 on 02-02-2020

#BibleStudy Thoughts on the Questions from James Ch 1 on 02-02-2020
For as many Sundays as needed, my Sunday school class will explore the context and content of the practical content of the Letter from James. 

This is Wednesday. What follows are bits and pieces of the discussion in class on the questions posted two days ago.

If you miss getting the questions on Mondays, I invite you to copy and paste the questions from those posts into a word.docx and fill in blanks or answer questions on your own. You can compare your thoughts to those of my class members each Wednesday. If your answers don’t match my class’s answers, that doesn’t make your answers wrong. If you like more information about what was said in class, email me at the address at the end of this post.

I hope you enjoy exploring this practical book along with us. Each Sunday's discussion ends at the last question in black print. Photos included are of the "whiteboard" list I generated during the discussion and are nothing but time savers for me.

 Questions in this print are yet to be answered.

I invite you back next week!

Chapter 1

Verses 1-8
V1: Opening greeting. 
Who are "the twelve tribes scattered among the nations"? 

  • Jews outside Israel. 
  • Part of the dispersion.
V2-3: Why "pure joy"? 

  • Joy is stronger than happy.
  • Some translations have "all joy."
  • Joy is from God.
What does James mean by that? 

  • You can fake being happy, but not being joyful.
How do trials test our faith? 

What are some other examples of those who faced trials? 

  • Everyone in the world is the correctest answer.
  • When I pray "God use me" do I really mean it?
Is there evidence of joy on their part? 

  • Eventually!
  • Joy or contentment? What's the difference?

I got the following from https://theodoragoss.com/2012/09/10/contentment-and-joy/. It was not part of my class's discussion. I offer it to stimulate your thinking not because I think it's Biblical or true.

  • "Joy is not contentment. It’s caused by action, change. Joy can be the result of dissatisfaction: indeed, perhaps it requires dissatisfaction."
  • "Contentment is the feeling of being peaceful, satisfied with your circumstances."


V3-4: What progression of the Christian life is illustrated in these verses? 

  • There was consensus that our Pastor's sermon on Sunday illustrated a progression in the Christian life that fit here. 
  • My reconstruction of the message from my sermon notes is tomorrow's Timeless Truths blog at this URL.

What do other Scriptures have to say about trials and suffering? 

Why is suffering THE only way to mature? 

V5-8: How does the word "lack" tie vv4-5 together? 

Why is it so nice that God gives "without finding fault"? Can you think of an example of when you got something from a "fault-finder" - how did you feel when you finally got it? 


What does wisdom have to do with facing trials? 

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