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We pray for changes to happen inside our hearts. The change that I need right now is: PAUSE We pray for you to bless us, Lord, and to give us hearts full of love so that we can be a blessing to others. PAUSE Live in us, Jesus. And God’s children said, Amen! Say: “Let’s get some good words coming out of us this morning by sharing what we appreciate about each other.” Encourage groups to give words of affirmation and appreciation to each person in the group. Bring the whole group together, share your own words of affirmation for them, and dismiss them with God’s blessing. INSIGHTS FROM SCRIPTURE: James, the writer of this epistle, was most likely the brother of Jesus. He was a very influential man in the early church, as he was a leader of the Jerusalem Council, (Acts 15:13) and Paul also referred to him as a “pillar” of the church in Gal 2:9. The book of James is based on action and the outward changes in a believer’s life due to their inward transformation: “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do...faith without works is useless.” (2:18b, 20b) He teaches that if a person establishes their theology in this way—being shallow, empty, and fruitless—they are apt to become proud, boastful, and malicious in their speech. James is trying to warn people about that. I believe the deeper principle that James is trying to teach us is that we cannot change our actions without first having our heart changed, and once our heart is truly changed, we cannot help but change our actions. These convictions gave James a deep pure faith, which he was martyred for in A.D. 44. |
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