If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 
James 1:5 (NLT)

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
James 1:19-26 (NLT)

Discussion Questions
  1. Have you ever owned a Magic 8-Ball or played with a friend’s? What did you ask it?
  2. This week’s text revealed James’ understanding of wisdom. How would you describe the idea of wisdom in your birth culture? In our current North American culture? What are some different ideas about what wisdom is? According to this week's sermon, what is the Biblical understanding of wisdom? 
  3. James’ good news about wisdom comes in verses 5 and 21b – what does James claim about wisdom that can give us hope? 

In verses 19-27, James describes some practical outcomes of living in God’s wisdom.

v. 1:19-20, 26

  1. How have you experienced human anger and the tendency to speak before listening? In yourself, in others? What has been the result of those interactions?
  2. Describe a time when you held your tongue and were glad you did. What did you learn by being “slow to speak”? 
  3. Pastor J-M suggested that our current culture (online especially) is a “trigger finger” culture (“shoot first, ask questions later”). How might James’ instructions change how Christians interact with those who disagree with us? 

v. 1:21a 

  1. What are some attitudes, actions, habits that choke out the growth of God’s wisdom in us?
  2. Is there one particular sin that you are having trouble letting go of? Who can you ask to support you in prayer? What steps will you take to ask for help in releasing it? 

v. 22-24 

  1. In your opinion, how much of our current church activity is like looking in a mirror and then forgetting what we look like? What might we do to change that?
  2. Describe a time you received God’s blessing through obeying Him.
  3. “The perfect law that sets you free” (v 25) connects with Jesus's “new commandment” (Jn 13:34-35). How does God’s wisdom free us to love? 

Pastor J-M suggested that we look at our mission in the world differently when we receive James’ teaching on wisdom: 

  1. Are you optimistic about the transforming power of Jesus? Do you believe he is “the way” in the sense that he embodies the ultimate wisdom of God? What might your non-Christian neighbours think of this claim? 
  2. Do we love what God loves? James's summary of “true religion” in 1:27 speaks about “widows and orphans.” How are you personally working toward protecting the vulnerable? How can our church do this together? 
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