Kay Arthur - Boy, Have I Got Problems!: James

Help! Ellie, our advice columnist, just got the flu. We have tons of mail and no one to answer it. Can you help us? I know filling Ellies shoes is a big job (she wears a size 11), but Im sure you can do it because the answers to all these kids problems can be found in Gods Word and with the help of His Holy Spirit. In addition, you have this book. Its called an inductive Bible study. That word inductive means that this Bible study is set up for you to discover for yourself what the book of James means. Instead of someone else telling you what the book is about, youll look at the Bible passages and figure it out for yourself. And thats just what our readers needsomeone to answer their questions straight from Gods Word. So if youre ready, lets open the first letter.

Okay, were ready for our first letter. This one is from a guy named Confused. Lets see what he has to say.

Dear Ellie,

I wanted to try out for the basketball team next week, but yesterday at practice I fell and broke my leg. Now there is no way I can make the team. I am so disappointed. I have been praying for this chance for a year. Why would God let this happen to me? I try to obey His Word.

Signed,

Confused

Wow! Confused seems to need your help. What an awful thing to break your leg during basketball practice after all that hard work! No wonder he is confused and wondering why God would let this happen to him.

We need to get an answer to him right awayGods answer, not ours. So lets turn to James and begin. James is a letter that God had written and included in His book, the Bible, to help people with their problems.

But before we begin, first things first. We need to pray. Bible study should always begin with prayer. We need Gods help not only to understand His Word, but also to help other people answer their questions in a way thats pleasing to God. Take a moment to pray, and then were ready to take our first look at James.

Turn to James 1 on page 129. The pages with the Bible text on them are called Observation Worksheets. We will use them to do our Bible study.

Today, when we read a letter we dont usually know who the writer is until we see the signature at the end. In Bible times, the writer of the letter identified himself immediately. Instead of waiting till the end, the letter was signed at the beginning!

Watch! Read James 1, verse 1, and see who wrote this letter and what he tells us about himself.

James 1:1 WHO wrote this book?

HOW does he describe himself?

He is a _____________________of God.

WHAT does it mean to be a bond-servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ?

In Old Testament times, a slave that had served his time under Jewish law would be set free. That slave could go to his master and say, I know I have served my time and that you have to release me according to the law, but living in your house is better than living on my own. I would rather be your slave than be set free.

The master would take the slave and place the slaves earlobe against the doorpost and drive an awl through it. An awl was a thick metal spike with a sharp-pointed end. When the master pulled out the awl, there was a hole that everyone could see. It was too big for an earring! When everyone saw this hole they would know that this slave had an awesome master because this slave had chosen to stay with his master and serve him rather than being set free! This made the slave a bond-servant for the rest of his life.

To be a bond-servant means to be a love slave for life.

A bond-servant is a person who has chosen to be a slave after he has been given his freedom.

James is saying that he is Gods bond-servant.

He has totally surrendered his life to serve God and Jesus.

Now, lets see. To WHOM is James writing?

James 1:1 ___________________________________

WHERE are the twelve tribes?

James 1:1 ____________________________________

The WHERE question you just answered gives us a chance to talk about something important called context. When you study the Bible, its very important to understand the context of a passage. Context is a setting in which something is told or found. For example, where would you find a bed in your house? In the kitchen? No, of course not! You would find a bed in a bedroom. A bedroom is the context for a bed. When you look at context in the Bible, you look at the verses surrounding the passage youre studying. You also think about where the passage fits in the big picture of the whole Bible. Context includes:

the place where something happens

the time an event occurs (you sleep in a bed at night and cook meals in the kitchen during the day)

the customs of the group of people involved

the time in history an event occurred

Sometimes you can discover all these things from just the verses youre studying. Sometimes you have to study other passages of Scripture. Its always important to be on the lookout for context because it helps you discover what the Bible is saying.