Untitled Sermon (5)

Recap - Week 6

Trials

We should count all of these as joyful and also see them as a deepening our faith.

Doer’s of the Word

We can not be at the for front for Christ if we do not know who he is. It starts with diving into the word and understanding it. From there we start to let it renew our hearts and minds. Then we can become doers of the word.

Favoritism

With a firm understanding of the word and once we start to live it out, our reflection should mirror Christ. In this, there are no favorites. We are called to love every one as our neighbor. We must stop and think about those who are off our radar.

Letting go of Pride

Last week we looked at pride and how this can easily creep into our lives. We have to keep this on our minds as our nature causes us to slip into being prideful.

Slide

James 5:13–20 ESV

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:13–15 ESV

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

1. Verses 13–15 give examples of specific needs in the community and how they can be met by those experiencing them.

Text:

1. Verses 13–15 give examples of specific needs in the community and how they can be met by those experiencing them.

Topic: Prayer, Community, Confession

James gives a stark contrast between suffering and cheerfulness, showing us that there is always a proper response to life’s circumstances, whether bad or good.

Application Point: We must continually do our part in praying, serving, and confessing to our brothers and sisters.

Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

James shows us that we as believers can feel confident in the fact that our specific needs can be met and dealt with.

1. Verses 13–15 give examples of specific needs in the community and how they can be met by those experiencing them. James gives a stark contrast between suffering and cheerfulness, showing us that there is always a proper response to life’s circumstances, whether bad or good. James shows us that we as believers can feel confident in the fact that our specific needs can be met and dealt with. Sometimes, in life, we categorize our issues and our circumstances on the backburner, as not important enough for God’s or our community’s concern. However, we serve a God who hears us when we pray and deals with each person’s specific needs in the community.

Sometimes, in life, we categorize our issues and our circumstances on the back burner, as not important enough for God’s or our community’s concern.

However, we serve a God who hears us when we pray and deals with each person’s specific needs in the community.

James 5:16–18 ESV

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

2. Verses 16–18 begin a discourse on the effectiveness of prayer.

2. Verses 16–18 begin a discourse on the effectiveness of prayer.

When we pray, we are utilizing the gift God gave us of intimate communion with him.

Thus, whenever we pray, it is effective, because we know he hears us.

We, as Christians, must become comfortable with vulnerability and accountability—James commands us to confess our trespasses to one another (v. 16).

Confession amongst our brothers and sisters, as well as prayer for each other is a major goal of maintaining unity and love within the body of Christ.

However, James also says that fervent prayer of a righteous person is “powerful and effective” (v. 16).

The example James gives is that of Elijah, who prayed earnestly for the rainfall to stop—and later, to start—and got what he desired from the Lord (vv. 17–18).

3. When playing the game “Telephone,” each person whispers the statement they’ve heard from their neighbor into their opposite neighbor’s ear.

Usually, the statement sounds much different by the time it reaches the last person, thus making the original statement ineffective or nonsense.

Use this game to illustrate how Telephone might cause communication issues and barriers, but our communication with God is always direct and effective.

4. “Mutual confession leads to mutual prayer.

The prayer of faith (cf. v. 15) is not exclusively a prerogative of the office of elder but is a shared responsibility among the members of the church.

The believers are to intercede for one another, both in the greatest matter of ministry, that confession that appropriates forgiveness, and also in the great matter of healing sickness.

This mutual intercession is a prime New Testament example of the evangelical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers

(cf. )” (Kurt A. Richardson, James, The New American Commentary 36 [Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997], 237).

5. Sometimes we don’t realize the great rewards or consequences that come with the responsibilities we have.

One simple action on our part can change a person’s life forever, whether it’s a kind gesture, sharing wisdom, or praying with them through a hard situation.

James 5:19–20 ESV

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James says something similar in verses 19–20.

James says something similar in verses 19–20.

The person that brings back someone from wandering away from the truth has done a great service to them.

Specifically, they save this person from death by helping them come back to the Lord of grace and truth.

6. In this song by Gungor, the lyrics speak about wandering and finding the Lord to cling to him once again.

The song is in auto-tune, giving a distorted sound to the music until the very end when the auto-tune is lifted.

Use this song to illustrate how wandering can sometimes leave our perspective distorted, but once we believe the truth, the distortion flees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsRF-sYbfl4.