Godliness from Head to Toe

Jonathan Lamb

Description

One of the biggest questions facing Christians today is, ‘How can I live wisely?’. Given all that we say about the Christian faith, is it possible to live an authentic, credible Christian life that demonstrates faith that works? Covering a wide range of practical challenges - whether trial and temptation, or poverty and riches, or our use of words, or our patience in suffering, or our struggle with the world, the flesh and the devil - James helps us become wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ.
This book is ideal for individual or group use and includes questions, discussion points, ideas for action and further study.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 30 juin 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783683932
• Langue: English

Extrait

Faithfulness, clarity and relevance. As Jonathan Lamb notes, these are the criteria and hallmarks of effective biblical preaching that Langham Preaching seeks to inculcate. So what score can we give this book on each point? On faithfulness and clarity – top marks. We are taken through the whole text of James with careful explanatory attention to every detail of the text, but in a way that is crystal clear and most helpfully signposted all the way. The thematic division in the five main sections is imaginative and memorable, but it does also clearly reflect the passion and purpose of James and draws out the breadth of his wisdom and challenge to all followers of his brother Jesus. And relevance? Well, there are ample resources for that purpose too: multiple short and apt illustrations and abundant questions for personal or group reflection, response and application. Everything you need, in fact, to prove the real-life relevance of God’s word. But in the end, as James said, it’s not just hearing (or reading) the word that counts, but doing it. So only you the reader or Bible-study group making use of this book can finally give it a score on that point. Test it and see. You will most definitely not be disappointed.
Chris Wright, PhD
International Ministries Director, Langham Partnership
From confusion to confidence, from mourning to mending, from faith to action, God’s word brings purpose, hope and comfort to God’s people in every generation. God’s word also challenges and warns against serious inconsistency, as well as a drift towards an easy religion and faith shaped by personal expediency rather than godly determination. The Langham titles on the books of Nehemiah, Habakkuk and James by Jonathan Lamb bring alive God’s word in a clear, faithful and relevant manner. They challenge us to live consistent, authentic Christian lives in a morally bewildered and spiritually confused world, with God’s purpose and for his glory. I highly recommend them to you.
Rev Dr Patrick Fung
General Director, OMF International
We need sermons that are authentic to the text of Scripture, lucid in conveying its truths, and courageous in applying the word of God to our lives today. In the expository ministry of Jonathan Lamb you will find all of these characteristics, and the sermons contained in this book bear witness to this commendation. They once blessed a live audience and have since continued to bless many more people through the printed page, along with the additional questions and application. May your soul be enriched as you find the big questions of life answered from Scripture in studying these passages yourself!
Conrad Mbewe, PhD
Pastor, Kabwata Baptist Church
Chancellor, African Christian University, Lusaka, Zambia
Rather than exhorting us to practice what we preach, Jonathan Lamb challenges us to think of how thin our message would be if we preached what we practice. He challenges us to face a simple question: What’s the point of believing something unless it works out in our behaviour and relationships?
Charles Price
Author and Teacher
Minister-at-Large, The Peoples Church, Toronto, Canada
This study guide to James is clear, relevant and practical – all the qualities I associate with the expositional gifts of Jonathan Lamb. When the world turns its back on institutional Christianity, often the most powerful witness left standing is Christians in community demonstrating a faith that behaves. The solid achievement of this book is that it addresses with a memorable outline what godliness looks like, in actions as well as words.
David Coffey, OBE
Global Ambassador, BMS World Mission
Past President, Baptist World Alliance

Godliness from Head to Toe
An Introduction to the Book of James
Jonathan Lamb

© 2018 Jonathan Lamb
Published 2018 by Langham Preaching Resources
An imprint of Langham Publishing
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-893-7 Print
978-1-78368-393-2 ePub
978-1-78368-394-9 Mobi
978-1-78368-395-6 PDF
Jonathan Lamb has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, Anglicised, NIV®. Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-893-7
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB
Contents

Cover


Introduction


Using This Book


Using This Book for Personal Study


Using This Book in a Small Group: A Note to Group Leaders


Preaching from James


Section 1 – Feet: Walking the Way of Wisdom – James 1


Feet: Walking the Way of Wisdom


Introduction to Section 1


1 Walking Wisely under Trial


1. Perseverance (1:3)


2. Maturity (1:4)


3. Wisdom (1:5)


4. Perspective (vv. 9–12)


2 Walking Wisely When Facing Temptation


1. The Way of Death (1:13–15)


2. The Way of Life (1:16–18)


3 Walking Wisely by the Truth


1. Listen (1:19)


2. Accept (1:21)


3. Obey (1:22)


Review of Section 1: James 1


Section 2 – Hands: Doing the Works of Faith – James 2


Hands: Doing the Works of Faith


Introduction to Section 2


4 Faith and Favouritism


1. Because of Jesus’s Example (2:1, 7)


2. Because of God’s Call (2:5–7)


5 Faith and Obedience


1. Law and Love (2:8–11)


2. Judgment and Mercy (2:12, 13)


6 Faith and Action


1. Religious Words (2:15–17)


2. Orthodox Belief (2:18–20)


3. True Faith (2:21–26)


Review of Section 2: James 2


Section 3 – Lips: Speaking the Words of Truth – James 3


Lips: Speaking the Words of Truth


Introduction to Section 3


7 Words


1. The Importance of Words (3:1, 2)


2. The Power of Words (3:3–8)


3. The Potential of Words (3:9–12)


8 Wisdom


1. True Wisdom Produces Good Living (3:13)


2. True Wisdom Produces Right Attitudes (3:13, 17)


3. True Wisdom Produces Peaceful Relationships (3:16, 18)


4. True Wisdom Is God’s Gift (3:17)


Review of Section 3: James 3


Section 4 – Hearts: Living in Submission to God – James 4:1–5:6


Hearts: Living in Submission to God


Introduction to Section 4


9 Living as a Friend of the World


1. We Flirt with the World (4:1–5)


2. We Think We’re in Control (4:11–17)


3. We Think This World Is All There Is (5:1–6)


10 Living as a Friend of God


1. Depend on God’s Grace (4:6)


2. Submit to God’s Rule (4:7)


3. Resist God’s Enemy (4:7)


4. Come into God’s Presence (4:8)


5. Live by God’s Standards (4:8–10)


Review of Section 4: James 4:1–5:6


Section 5 – Knees: Depending on the Grace of God – James 5:7–20


Knees: Depending on the Grace of God


Introduction to Section 5


11 The Patience of Hope


1. Waiting for the Lord’s Return (5:7–9)


2. Living by the Lord’s Standards (5:9, 12)


3. Counting on the Lord’s Compassion (5:10, 11)


12 The Prayer of Faith


1. Trust and Acceptance (5:13)


2. Faith and God’s Will (5:14, 15)


3. Confession and Community (5:16)


4. Persistence and Promises (5:16–18)


Conclusion


The Fellowship of Love (5:19, 20)


Review of Section 5: James 5:7–20


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Introduction
At first sight, the letter of James seems to be a disturbing and uncomfortable piece of writing. We can’t avoid its insistent demand to not merely listen to God’s w