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Be Patient and Stand Firm |
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LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE
Wednesday Night, November 28, 2007
“Be Patient and Stand Firm”
James 5:7-12
5 Minutes - Welcome / Prayer
5 Minutes - OPEN
Slowly read the text and note the key phrases and words.
We don’t like pain and suffering. We’d like to escape it, but the reality is that trouble and heartache is just a part of living here on planet earth. The big question is how to deal with the pain and suffering that comes our way!
James gives us an answer that at first glance seems shallow. He just says, “Be patient.”
Patience? Have you noticed this is a place where your faith in God gets tested?
15 Minutes - DIG
How have you noticed that as you bear through the trials you have faced with patience that God worked within you and matured you into His likeness?
With many of his readers being agrarian laborers, James’ reference to a farmer would have been a very appropriate illustration. What are some of the reasons you can identify that make farming a profession that demands patience?
Would you do well as a farmer?
Through all of the sufferings and trials that we endure through life, what is the one thing that we are waiting for (v. 7)? Why should we live our life with a greater anticipation of the Lord’s coming?
Why do you think in this section that James makes a point that amidst the trials we face we should keep in mind not only the Lord’s Second Coming (vv. 7-8) but also the fact that He is also beside us right now (v. 9)?
How does impatience lead to grumbling and complaining about our circumstances . . . or about the actions of others? Are you a grumbler?
James’ reference in this section of the patience and perseverance of the prophets and Job serve as worthy of our imitation. Take a minute and look at how God blessed Job in the end with far more than he had at the beginning of his trials (Job 42:10-17).
The central message is that those who persevere will be blessed by God – “the Lord who is full of compassion and mercy” (v. 11).
And then there is a command in verse 12 that we don’t give much attention – “Above all, my brothers, do not swear – not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No’ no, or you will be condemned.”
Note the emphasis James places on these two points:
• “Above all . . .”;
• “. . . or you will be condemned” – meaning to ignore such comes with stiff consequences;
So what exactly is swearing?
In times of distress, Christians can easily use God’s name in a careless and irreverent way. There is no doubt that James is warning against such, but probably the bigger issue is that of taking an oath to guarantee a promise. It seems his primary point is to call Christians to a standard of truthfulness and tongue control that just saying “yes” or “no” is a binding promise, a guarantee of truth. Several times in James’ letter he made the point that there is no room for careless, half-baked talk, or promises unfulfilled.
15 Minutes - REFLECT
How would you sum up this passage in one sentence?
James’ instruction in verse 8, “Be patient and stand firm . . .” seems to be the central message of this section. While we’ve given most of our attention in this discussion to the idea of patience, describe in your own words what it means to “stand firm.”
Describe some ways that you have seen God bless your life through your perseverance through some significant trial in your life.
5 Minutes - CLOSING PRAYER
From this discussion, what are those things you feel compelled to pray about tonight? Pray about these matters one by one and bring them before your Heavenly Father.
Pray! Pray! Pray!
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