Men's Workout #56 - August 25, 2018

OPENING HYMN AND PRAYER

We started off by singing hymn #133, "All Glory Be to Christ."

REVIEW & MEMORY VERSE RECITATION 

Last week, we completed going through the book of James, so we spent our time today reviewing and reciting the book together. As we have in the past, we spent a few minutes to review a number of verses, then recited them together in unison, taking some time in between to consider propositions.

We recited James 1:1-4 after 3 minutes of review. Some propositions we considered together:

  • Christians can have joy through trials
  • For the Christian, trials have a purpose
  • Trials are a test of our faith
  • A note on trials: this is not talking about a specific type of trial, but every kind of trial
  • A note on the word "perfect": this is talking about maturity and completeness, not flawlessness.

We recited James 1:1-8 together after another 3 minutes of review. Some propositions we considered:

  • God gives us wisdom when we ask
  • Praying without faith shows instability
  • A note on "wisdom": this is not talking about any kind of wisdom, but specifically biblical wisdom. This was written to Jews who understood what the old testament said about wisdom - the call of wisdom is to seek wisdom, she can be found!

James 1:1-11 - some propositions and notes:

  • Everyone will die - man is finite and temporary
  • The rich man is always in a pursuit - maintaining wealth requires a lot of energy
  • The rich man should often think upon death, because we all fade away
  • You don't control your future - we can recall stories of rich men who have saved up much for retirement, only to pass away early or unexpectedly.

James 1:1-15 - some propositions and notes:

  • God cannot be tempted, it is not possible or feasible
  • Christ in His incarnation was tempted because he has full humanity, but never fell to temptation

  • This temptation is a desire to sin

  • A wise man is always dealing with his desires - as God's people we need to cut this chain reaction of sin. Best place to deal with sin is at it's roots, at inordinate desires (lusts). There is also some value to arrange circumstances, but the primary work is with his own desires

James 1:1-18 - some propositions and notes;

  • God is the creator
  • God is good
  • God is consistent