James 5

Warning to Rich Oppressors: v.1 - 6

• How much do you trust in money, rather than remembering that "in God we trust?" How much do you think about money, worry over having enough, over your investments? How much do you dream about how to spend it, what you'd like to buy?
  
• Do you tithe? Do you keep a tight reign over what you donate? How do you measure your charity?
• Can you think of any times when you "cheated" a bit to save yourself money? ...Cheated those you needed to pay, tricked someone out of money, fudged on taxes?
• Jesus warns us many times about how a focus on wealth can take the place of godly priorities, like in the parable of the "rich young ruler" in Luke 18:18-29, or can delude us into false security as in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12, or can blind us to our opportunities to learn service and its eternal blessing as in the story of the rich man and the poor man (Lazarus) in Luke 16. What do you do to make sure you maintain the right priorities?

Patience in Suffering: v7 - 12

• What kind of patience does the farmer have for his crop? He is anxious and can scarcely wait in his anticipation. Do you wait for the Lord's return that way? He is careful and diligent to do all he can to maintain conditions conducive to a good harvest. He knows his livelihood depends on it. What would that mean for you in your day-to-day attitudes?
• What would it mean to behave like we expect Jesus to return tomorrow and bring us to accountability?
• How about the patience of the prophets? They suffered ridicule, deprivation, often physical abuse, imprisonment, even torture and death. How do we strengthen our faith for the time ahead?
• Above all things remember that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. How can this help you persevere?

The Prayer of Faith: v13 - 20

• What ever are we going to do to respond to James' admonishments about how we deal with trials and temptations, how we deal with our anger and our offensive speech, with our tendency to profess one thing but behave in a way that can belie that profession?
  
• Do you set aside "regular" time for prayer to your Lord? for praise and worship?
• Do you have friends or small group(s) where you can be transparent and confess your shortcomings and be supported and prayed for? What could be more important?