How to Live

Fall 2020 Sermon Series

Series Overview

Image

In the church today, we are pretty good at telling people what they should do, but we are not nearly as proficient at telling them how they should do it. To correct that deficiency, this study of James will help us understand “how to live” so we can put our beliefs into action.

 

Week 1: Introduction

In his short New Testament letter, James focused on how followers of Christ should put their faith into practice. He answers the question: How is salvation demonstrated? By action.

His primary message is two-fold and is communicated explicitly in verses 1:22-25 NLT. It is summed up like this:

Christian living requires us to both KNOW and DO what needs to be done.

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes (blog)
>> Individual/Group Study Guide (PDF)
>> Pastors' Bible Study (video)

 

 

Week 2: How to Live with Patience

In order to live the Christian life, we have to learn to exercise patience. James gives us some practical advice on how to live with patience. As we’ll discover throughout James’ letter, the Christian life is to be lived in cooperation with God. We both have a part to play.

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes
>> Individual/Group Study Guide
>> Pastors' Bible Study (video)

 

Week 3: How to Live in Victory

According to scripture, life is a series of tests. Last week we studied trials – challenges that come upon us from the outside – and we discovered that when we patiently endure them and depend on God to get us through them, we grow in maturity.
 
This week we are looking at temptations - a different kind of test - and learning methods for living in victory over the temptation we face. 
 

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes (blog)
>> Individual/Group Study Guide (PDF)
>> Pastor's Bible Study (video)

 

 

Week 4: How to Live with Others (Part 1) 

Learning how to deal with challenging people is one of the most important life skills someone can learn. People are people and they come with quite a variety of personalities and experiences. We are called to love them all and to treat them well. How does James say we should do this?

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes
>> Individual/Group Study Guide
>> Pastors' Bible Study (video)

 

Week 5: How to Live with Others (Part 2)

The Bible makes it clear there will one day be a Day of Reckoning, a “final exam” of sorts. In Matthew 25 we read that the great multitude of humanity will be divided into two groups before the judgment seat of God – sheep on the right, goats on the left. What determines who is in each group?
 
As the people of God, it is very important how we treat other people, especially those with challenging life circumstances.
 

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes (blog)
>> Individual/Group Study Guide (PDF)
>> Pastors Bible Study (video)

 

 

 

Week 6: How to Live by Faith

When James wrote his letter, people who said they believed were going on about their regular lives – unchanged by the gospel, maybe still worshipping idols or behaving immorally. They were not changed in any way by what they claimed to believe. This is still a problem in our society. Today we look at what James has to say about the issue of dead faith in the church. 

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes
>> Individual/Group Study Guide

 

Week 7: How to Live with a Controlled Tongue

In his letter, James wrote extensively about the importance of controlling the tongue. He even states, "If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless." (James 1:26 NLT). In this sermon Pastor Craig explores several observations James makes about the tongue, including that it is the key to Christian living and can only be controlled by God.
 

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes (blog)
>> Individual/Group Study Guide (PDF)

 

 

 

Week 8: How to Live with Wisdom

James writes that it is not enough to know the right thing to do, we must actually do it. This brings up a question: How do we know what to do in any given circumstance? And secondly, how do we go about doing it? We discover WHAT we should do and HOW we should do it by asking for wisdom from God. "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you." (James 1:5 NLT).

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes
>> Individual/Group Study Guide

 

Week 9: How to Live in the World

How many of us know the right thing to do and simply don’t do it? In this message Pastor Terry Tatum discusses four principles for how we are to live in the world…
 
1) Recognize (evil and dangers) - James 4:4
2) Receive Christ (Submit) - James 4:7a
3) Resist (the Devil) – James 4:7
4) Repent (Humble yourselves) - James 4:8-9
 

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes (blog)
>> Individual/Group Study Guide (PDF)

 

 

 

Week 10: How to Live with Wealth

Jesus made it very clear that material possessions pose a threat to a person’s spiritual well-being and went so far as to say, “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24c NIV)

The problem with wealth is that if we don’t have it, we are tempted to want it. And, if we do have wealth, we are tempted to use it in unwise and ungodly ways. So how do we live with (and without) wealth? Join us to explore James' teaching on this subject. 

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes
>> Individual/Group Study Guide

 

Week 11: How to Live with Power

 

You and I live in a world that tries to convince us that power is found in a position or by accumulating wealth or knowledge or fame. But James gives us a radically different formula for how to live with power: Pray – Praise – Profess.

Study Resources:
>> Pastor's Notes (blog)
>> Individual/Group Study Guide (PDF)