Discussion starters:

1. Read some background information and watch this video on the Book of James from the Bible Project.  What stands out to you?  https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-james/

2. Why is answering ‘Who am I?’ so hard to do?  How would you answer question this for yourself at the moment? 

3. What forms our sense of identity?  How should we approach our understanding of ‘identity’, and why is identity important for how we live daily life? 

4. Consider Jacob/James who introduces himself as the author of this letter in James 1:1 without any qualification to indicate who he is, but whom we believe is the half-brother of Jesus.  Think about what it was like for him to change from scepticism and hostility towards Jesus (John 7:5; Mark 3:2-21), to giving allegiance to Jesus and becoming a ‘pillar’ of the church (Gal 1;19; 2:9; 1 Cor 15:7), leading the messianic community in Jerusalem.  How does he model ‘Christian identity formation’ to us?  What can we learn from his example in our own challenges to ‘become who we are’? 

5. Jacob/James describes himself as a ‘slave/servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ’.  What did ‘choosing’ this as his identity and daily vocation mean for him?  How does appreciating why he wants his readers to understand him in this way direct our reading of his words?  How do you think his paradoxical self-understanding as a ‘slave/servant’ shaped how he exercised leadership and authority within the church?  (Perhaps as a case study, examine how he does it even when Peter and Paul are present, in Acts 15).  

6. Why do you think Jacob/James wants his readers to understand themselves as ‘the twelve tribes of the diaspora/dispersion’?  How would connecting them to the history of Israel, which has now taken a decisive turn through the coming of Jesus (compare Acts 15:12-18; Mark 3:13-21; Matt 19:28-29), equip them to understand their present lives?  How should it do this for us?  How might we actively nurture our identity as this ‘community of relationships connecting’ in continuation of the story God is enacting in history?