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?

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Read James 1:2-4.  Why do you think James is writing this, and what questions might it raise for his readers?

2. Why do trials have the potential to threaten our faith and steadfastness as disciples?

3. How can trials paradoxically benefit us?  Describe the mechanics of this process. 

4. How should we understand ‘count it all joy’ in verse 2, and what misunderstandings should we avoid?

5. What do you find helpful in finding joy in hard times?  What have you learnt about yourself in this spiritual experience? 

6. In verse 4 James describes someone who is mature, fulfilling the potential and purpose for which God has made us.  Describe the daily life of a person and community who are like this. 

7. What reflections do you have on your own pathway toward this maturity?

8. What things are helpful and unhelpful in supporting others in their times of trail?

Discussion starters:

1. Read James 1:2-8. Name any questions you have that come out of this passage.

2. What role do you understand wisdom to have in trials we face?

3. In reciprocation of relationship James tells us to ask God for wisdom in trust without doubting him, just as God gives freely to us without reproach. Are there things that keep you from asking God for wisdom in trials?

4. Is there a trial you are currently facing that you are able to share with the group (without any compulsion to share any more than you feel willing to share)?

   a. Without offering fixes for the trials this person in facing, listen to one another’s difficulties, helping the person feel heard.

   b. After you have shared about your trial, share what you understand it means for you to ask God for wisdom in that place.

5. Spend time praying for each other.

Discussion starters:

Read James 1:2-11.

1. What do you currently have that contributes most to your sense of security / significance / worth? What would be hardest to lose?

2. If you lost that thing tonight, at no fault of your own, what would that loss seem to say about you?

3. James says the lowly Christian should boast in their exaltation and the rich in their humiliation. What might those kinds of boasting look like in your current circumstances?

4. In which area/s of your life do you most find yourself comparing yourself with others as either better or worse?

5. James says our riches are like wildflowers - beautiful but temporary. What might it look like for you to enjoy the beauty that God has provided in your current circumstances, without making them the thing you boast in?

Discussion starters

• Read James 1:12-18

• James makes a distinction here between a trial and a temptation (even though they are the same Greek word used different ways). What is the difference? How can the same difficult circumstance be both a test of our faith and an occasion for temptation?

• James says we are tempted when we are “dragged away and enticed by our own evil desire” (v.14). Why do you think temptation is often more about what is happening inside us than about what is happening around us?

• Think of a relatively ordinary temptation you experience. What desire is underneath it? What is that desire promising to give you?

• James says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (v.17). How might remembering God's generosity change the way we respond when we are tempted to grasp something for ourselves?

• James contrasts two kinds of “birth”: desire gives birth to sin and death (vv.15), while God gives us birth through the word of truth (v.18). What difference might it make to our lives that God has already begun his new-creation work in us?

Discussion starters:

1. Read James 1:19-27

2. What do you think God’s word has been showing you about yourself recently? And how could you act in response

3. How can we become familiar with biblical teaching, without becoming indifferent to living it out? How do we balance listening with doing?

4. How does the tense of God’s word; “he has perfected”, “I am the true vine and you are the branches”, change our approach to obedience, failure, and spiritual growth

5. What would it look like in your life to move from just agreeing with certain beliefs about yourself and God, and actually practicing them?

Read James 2:1-13

1. All systems of stored wealth (money) are human systems based on trust. Our money is only worth what everyone else believes it is worth. If there was no money in the garden of Eden, why do you think there are so many passages in the Bible about what we do with our money? (If you need examples see Luke 3:14 , Luke 7:41-42 , Matt 6:22 , Matt 25: 24-26 , Mark 12: 41-44 )

2. If Jesus loves poor people, does that mean he doesn’t love us because we’re not poor people?

3. James wrote, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.”

   The New Testament word most often translated as freedom is

   ἐλευθερία  -  eleutheria

   In the way people thought in New Testament times this word was more communal than individual.

   What are the dangers of thinking about communal freedom?

   How do we manage those risks?

4. How do you feel when you read that merciless judgement will be shown to anyone who has not been compassionate (James 2:13)?

5. What are the possible interpretations of the short sentence, “Mercy triumphs over judgement”?