James: Grace in Action
James
8 November 2020
Healing Prayer
James 5:13-20
by Tan Huai Tze
James concludes his letter with a call to prayer. Prayer is God's vital means of bringing his healing and forgiveness to his people. We pray personally, we ask the leaders of the church to pray for us, and we pray for one another, trusting in God and his promises. In so doing, we are restored to God, and we restore others to God.
1 November 2020
Patience in Dark Times
James 5:7-12
by Tan Huai Tze
James exhorts those going through dark times to be patient, to stand firm and to endure. They can because Jesus is coming again to punish the wicked and reward the righteous. Because of that, we can live in peace with one another, speak God’s word to the world, and see God’s purpose at work even in dark times.
25 October 2020
Financial Planning
James 4:13-5:6
by Tan Huai Tze
We give our money to what we love and what’s important to us. Therefore, how we spend our money is an indicator of our love for God. James teaches us to use our wealth in light of the reality of our frailty, our responsibility to love and serve others, and our accountability before God to use our wealth well.
18 October 2020
Why Can't We Get Along?
James 4:1-12
by Tan Huai Tze
James shows us that the root causes of fights and quarrels in the church are the selfish desires in our hearts. This results in a broken relationship with people and with God. The only way to fix this is through humbling ourselves to receive God’s grace.
11 October 2020
Seeking Wisdom From Above
James 3:13-18
by Joel Sim
James tells us that there are two kinds of wisdom: the wisdom of the world and the wisdom from above. When we recognise that wisdom from above comes only by grace and we acknowledge our own lack of wisdom, we see that the sole way to get this wisdom is through faith in Jesus Christ, our true wisdom.
4 October 2020
Speaking from the Heart
James 3:1-12
by Tan Huai Tze
A mark of genuine and worthwhile religion is the ability to control our speech. But speech is a reflection of what’s in our hearts. Therefore for our speech to be changed, our hearts must be changed by God through the Gospel.
27 September 2020
How Faith Works
James 2:14-26
by Aaron Akins
James demonstrates that faith that does not impact our lives isn’t faith at all. Using examples from the Old Testament, he demonstrates that genuine, living faith reveals itself through deeds.
20 September 2020
No Discriminating
James 2:1-13
by Tan Huai Tze
James says that one of the reasons we don't love the poor is because we favour the rich. But God chooses the poor. Discriminating is incompatible with the Christian faith. It is only when God's mercy becomes real to us, that our discriminating ends, and God's mercy becomes real through us.
13 September 2020
Maturing, Fast and Slow
James 1:19-27
by Tan Huai Tze
To mature, James says we need to be quick to hear God's word and receive it with humility. We also need to obey God's word, being a hearer and a doer. In so doing, God graciously moves us toward self-control, social action and separation from worldly values.
6 September 2020
Becoming Spiritually Whole
James 1:1-18
by Tan Huai Tze
On the path to wholeness, we face trials that test our faith and temptations that reveal our true desires. To press through to maturity, we need to see God's plan to mature us, seek his wisdom and help to get through, and sense that he is not just good, but good to us.