From Childhood to Completion

I have started a preaching series on the book of James. The sermons will be done monthly, and the first one is now available to listen to online, here on my blog.

The theme of James’ letter is maturity. He presents completion, perfection as the aim - chapter 1 verse 4 for example. What stops believers from becoming mature? Problems! Each section in the book of James contains a problem. But with each problem comes an opportunity to become mature, to become more like Christ. Finally, with each problem and opportunity comes a warning - that if the problem is not dealt with, there will be consequences.

The below table outlines the epistle, and you can hear the 30 minute introductory sermon by clicking the play button below. To download it, right click here and select ’save target as’. The MP3 file is 14Mb.

Passages	Problems	Warnings	Opportunities
1 v 2 – 18	Lack of wisdom v 5, 13	Spiritual death v 14 – 15	Spiritual maturity v 3 – 4, 12
1 v 19 – 27	Spiritual passiveness v 21 – 22	Worthless religion v 20, 26	Blessing in life v25
2 v 1 – 13	Favouritism v 1 – 3	Evil thinking v 4, 9, 10	God’s approval v 8
2 v 14 – 26	Unchanged life v 14	Useless ‘faith’ v 17	Complete faith v 22
3 v 1 – 12	Wild tongue v 2	A corrupt life v 6	Leadership and praise to God v 1, 9
3 v 13 – 18	Selfish spirit v 14, 15	Evil practice v 16	A righteous harvest v 17 – 18
4 v 1 – 17	Proud desires v 1 – 3	Hatred towards God v 4, 17	Humility v 6 – 7, 10
5 v 1 – 12	Impatience, grumbling v7, 9	Judged as guilty v 9	Blessing from God v 11
5 v 13 – 18	Practical welfare v 13, 14	Ineffective prayers v 16	Powerful prayers v 16