If the gospel is true, how should we live? You could say this question is the question James is wrestling with and setting out to answer in this very short and practical letter. The book of James was written so that people like you and me can understand how we should apply the gospel to our everyday lives.

In 2021, at the First Congregational Church of Hamilton, I taught a verse-by-verse gospel-centered series through this wonderful book. In this series I was part of a teaching team, and so you’ll notice that a handful of passages in James I didn’t preach on are omitted below.

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1. James 1:1 – “A Servant of Jesus”
In this introductory message, we consider the overall theme of servanthood and what it means to be a single-minded servant of Jesus

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2. James 1:2-4 – “How to Face Trials”
Trials are an inevitable part of life in a fallen world. Naturally, we ask ourselves, how do I avoid the trial, remove the trial, or get out of the trial. But what if there was a better question we could be asking—how should I face the trial? In this passage, James teaches us how to face the various trials of life and to do so with joy.

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3. James 1:5-8 – “How to Gain Wisdom”
What do we need to face trials with joy? We need wisdom. But wisdom is much more than knowing a bunch of facts and information. In this passage, James teaches us how to gain the wisdom we need to effectively navigate the trials and complexities of life.

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4. James 1:9-11 – “Applying Gospel Wisdom”
What does it look like to apply the wisdom of God to our changing circumstances? In this passage, James offers us two basic case studies on how to apply the wisdom of the gospel to our everyday lives.

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5. James 1:13-15 – “Understanding Temptation”
Temptation is common to all of us. Because of our fallen humanity, each of us experience temptations from within and temptations from without. And understanding the deceptive dynamics of temptation is part of growing in wisdom and spiritual maturity. In this passage, James teaches us some key truths about how temptation works.

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6. James 1:13-18 – “Overcome Temptation”
Temptation is a deceptive trap that is difficult to overcome, but it can be overcome. Through the mind-renewing truth of God’s Word and the new I AM power that resides in each believer, we can learn to overcome the power of temptation. In this passage, James teaches us some key principles in the fight against temptation.

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7. James 1:19-21 – “Receiving the Word of Love”
In this passage we turn our attention to the subject of God’s Word. Just as James taught us how to appropriately approach the trials of life, now he’ll teach us how to appropriately approach the Word of life. How do we make the most of our engagement with God’s Word? How do we relate to the Bible in a way that transforms our lives?

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8. James 1:21 – “Receiving the Word of Power”
In this message, we consider the second key attitude in approaching God’s Word—expectancy. Are we coming to the Bible with a spirit of expectancy? And if so, what are we expecting it to do? What should we expect? This message highlights the dynamic influence of God’s Word in our lives.

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9. James 1:22-25 – “Hearers and Doers”
How can you tell if you’re personally receiving the Word or not? In this passage, James teaches us the most fundamental test of Word-reception—our actions. Who are we? Are we hearers who forget, or hearers who act? This message highlights the importance and blessing of putting God’s Word into practice.

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10. James 1:26-27 – “When Your Religion Becomes Real”
What does it practically look like to be a doer of the Word? How do we break free from just “going through the motions” of religion, and start living a life that’s on fire for Christ? In other words, what does it look like when your religion becomes real? In this message, we’ll focus on three key areas of life where Jesus always brings about a profound change.

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11. James 2:1-7 – “Building a Healthy Community”
As we live in the world but not of the world, what are some of the unhealthy cultural norms we need to be careful to avoid? Partiality hits the top of James’ list. A healthy community is an unbiased community, a church that avoids the pitfalls of favoritism and partiality.

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12. James 2:14-26 – “The Problem Plaguing the Church”
This message focuses on the problem of empty professions of faith—people claiming to believe in Jesus but denying the reality of that claim with their lives. What does genuine saving faith look like? How can we tell if we have saving faith in Jesus or not? And what’s the relationship between our faith and our works?

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13. James 3:13-18 – “The Wisdom-Shaped Community”
Our world is in desperate need of wisdom. But what is true wisdom and how do we determine if someone is really wise? In this passage, James teaches us the marks of true and false wisdom and how to develop true wisdom in our lives.

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14. James 4:1-2 – “Conflict: It’s Causes and Cures“
Conflict is inevitable. Quarrels and fights amongst one another are the result of the Fall, but what causes these conflicts to spring up and persist in the first place? In this passage, we discover the causes and cures for the conflicts in our lives.

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15. James 4:1-3 – “Learning to Pray”
Prayer is hard. In fact, prayer is so hard, many of us only pray when there is a significant problem we’re facing in our lives. What are some of the key things that makes prayer so difficult, and how do we overcome them? How do we discover the freedom and joy of an intimate prayer life with God?

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16. James 4:1-6 – “The Church and the World”
When someone becomes a Christian, they experience a new longing to join together with other Christians in a particular church. But what are we joining when we join the church? What is the church’s relationship to the people in the world and the pattern of the world? This message considers the unchanging role of the church amidst the ever-changing fashions of the world.

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17. James 4:6-10 – “Returning Back to God”
What do we do when we’ve wandered from the path of God and broken fellowship with God? In this passage, James teaches us some key steps in returning back to God and restoring the fellowship.

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18. James 4:11-12 – “Pulling up the Weeds”
If the church is a garden of grace, what are the weeds that will keep our garden from blooming as it should? In this message, we learn of two weeds that must be continually pulled from our garden if it’s to grow healthy and be a blessing to others. What are the weeds, and why should do everything we can to remove them?

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19. James 4:13-17 – “Your Life and God’s Will”
How should our view of God and our view of life affect the way we make our choices and plans? Is it possible to know God’s will for our lives? In this message we rediscover how we should relate all our decisions and plans to the providence and direction of God.

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20. James 5:7-12 – “Learning Patience”
Suffering raises questions. Difficulties in life always raise difficult questions in our hearts and minds that can challenge our faith in God. In the midst of so many unanswered questions, how can we remain steadfast and endure? How can we develop hearts that are patient under trials? In this passage, we discover the nature and source of Christian patience.

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21. James 5:13-20 – “When Grace Transforms A Church”
The gospel of grace is meant to radically transform the community of God. Grace messes with us in the best possible way. But how so? In this message, we conclude our study of James by looking at three ways that God’s grace personally changes us and then transforms the culture of any church.