In the book of James, we have a very practical command: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). Or, as the ESV puts it, “Be doers of the word.” James urges people who listen to God’s Word to demonstrate a sincere commitment to the Lord by reacting to what they hear with obedient action.

(James 1:13–17) When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 

¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

1. How many of you have dealt with Adversity?

• James (chapter 1) deals with the way the Christian should handle adversity. 

• This letter was written during a very critical transitional period in the history of the church. 

• This lesson may also come at a very critical transition time in your life as a Christian. 

Believers have the indwelling Spirit of Christ, the Comforter who proceeds from the Father (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit assists believers in prayer (Jude 1:20) and “intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:27). He also leads the believer into righteousness (Galatians 5:16–18) and produces His fruit in those yielded to Him (Galatians 5:22–23). Believers are to submit to the will of God and walk in the Spirit.uence and power. 

Change for its own sake is neither good nor bad. It depends on the direction the change takes you. We should be willing to change our minds and our lifestyles when we are shown from God’s  Word that we are wrong. We should embrace change, no matter how hard it is, when it comes from God. But we must respect that some things never change and are not meant to pretending we can change God or His Word to fit our preferences is a dangerous idea and only leads to destruction.

Do you remember picking teams for P.E. Everyone chooses the tallest, fastest, most athletic, most popular to be on their team. But God is not like that. His criterion for choosing is not based on us.

Pollster George Gallup contends that fewer than ten percent of evangelical Christians could be called deeply committed. Most of those who profess Christianity don’t know basic teachings and don’t act differently because of their Christian experience. George Barna found that almost half (46%) of evangelicals read their Bible only once a week or not at all.

People experience anxiety when they think about the future; however, it does not have to be that way. For those who know God, thoughts of the future bring eagerness and comfort. For example, describing a woman who knows and trusts God, (Proverbs 31:25) says, “She smiles at the future.”

Intro:

We talk and preach a great deal about morals sins-for example fornication, adultery, pornography, and the like. Rarely do we look at our financial sins and temptations and the warnings Jesus gives us in the Bible about wealth. Let us look at some of these Scriptures in the Bible and examine our hearts.

A primary teaching of the New Testament is proper management (stewardship) of the money God has blessed us with.

One of the sad facts of our time is the financial struggle and poverty that so many people in the world experience day by day. Even sadder is the number of born-again Christians who and in severe debt, poverty, and financial bondage.

The purpose of the Study is to identify some very basic and simple teaching, commands, and principles in God’s word about money, wealth, and prosperity.

Introduction:

God has given us a choice. Each of us has been given the ability to choose life or death, in everything we do, think, or say. Each day is an opportunity to move forward into favor or backwards into consequences and adversity. God doesn’t make these choices for us. We have been blessed with free will to choose the course of our lives. The life we live today exists because of the choices we’ve freely made along the way.

What Is Money?

Money is a system of value that facilitates the exchange of goods in an economy.

So many people in our world today are struggling financially and in need of money. Even sincere and devoted Christians are deeply in debt and financial bondage. They love God. Their faith is certain, and their motives seem pure. Yet they ask, Why am I always broke and in financial crises?

Calling- God's initiative to bring people to Christ and to participate in his redemptive work in the world.

Pentecost- Pentecost is a Greek term that means “fiftieth,” and the Feast of Pentecost took place 50 days after Passover.

Intro:

Honor in the Bible means “esteem, value, or great respect.

To honor someone is to value them highly or value upon him.

Confidence is a popular subject today. We are told to think confidently, to be self-assured, to live boldly. In many ways, the theme of modern society is to be self-confident. If the Bible teaches us to be confident, what should we be confident about?

Many things in life have good news and bad news associated with them. Emphasizing one side to the exclusion of the other is not the whole truth. The same is true of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Are you an effective witness?

Effective- successful in producing a desired or intended result.

A “witness” is someone who attests to a fact, so in order to be an effective witness for Christ, one must have firsthand knowledge of Him. John the Apostle speaks of this in (1 John 1:1-3), when he says, “That . . . which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at, and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life.” We who have experienced new life in Christ give an account of His love and forgiveness, both verbally and in the way we live our lives. This is witnessing.