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Nov 11, 2018

Everyday faith keeps straight the use of things and the love of people

Everyday faith keeps straight the use of things and the love of people

Passage: James 5:1-6

Speaker: Patrick Lafferty

Series: Everyday Faith: A study in the book of James

No letter to fledgling churches would be complete without at least some reference to how to live by faith concerning material things—whether having much or little. How we think of, how we obtain, and for whose good we seek material gains are all matters of the heart and therefore matters of faith. We’ll sift through the specific things he has to say to poor and rich of that day and look for what applies more generally to us all, wherever we may be on the socio-economic spectrum.

Order of Worship

Pre-Service Text: James 5:2
Call To Worship: Isaiah 61:1a, 10a
Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 24:14-15
New Testament Reading: Matthew 6:19-21
Sermon Title: Everyday faith keeps straight the use of things and the love of people
Central Text: James 5:1-6
Benediction: Romans 16:25-27
Post-Service Text: Proverbs 11:28 ESV

11.11.18 Sermon Notes

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Readings & Scripture

Pre-Service Text: James 5:2
2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.

Call To Worship: Isaiah 61:1a, 10a
LEADER: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring
good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives,

ALL: 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 24:14-15
14 “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.”

New Testament Reading: Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Central Text: James 5:1-6

James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.


Benediction: Romans 16:25-27
LEADER: 25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Post-Service Text: Proverbs 11:28 ESV
28 Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf

related Scripture

  • Leviticus 19:13
  • Deuteronomy 24:14-15
  • I Kings 21
  • Proverbs 11:28
  • Proverbs 21:13
  • Jeremiah 2:11-13
  • Jeremiah 9:23-24
  • Matthew 6:19-21
  • Luke 6:24
  • Luke 16:19-31
  • Luke 19:1-10
  • 1 Corinthians 7:31
  • 2 Corinthians 8:9
  • 1 Timothy 6:9
  • 1 Peter 1:24-25

Discussion Questions & Applications:

  1. When did you make your first dollar as a worker (or as an owner)? What was the job? How did it feel and why?
  2. Have you ever been treated unfairly by a boss? What was the occasion, how did you feel, how were you inclined to respond?
  3. How would you boil down the argument James is making in this typically pointed passage? For what are these rich people being roundly criticized, if not condemned? Do you think James is referring to rich people within the churches or those oppressing the churches, and why?
  4. How would you say your belief in God, the Gospel, and eternity influence what you seek materially and how you do so? What about how you respond to injustices done toward you?
  5. What of your desire for significance or security makes you hesitant to be generous?

Quotes:

  • Materialism is both socially destructive and self-destructive. It smashes the happiness and peace of mind of those who succumb to it. It’s associated with anxiety, depression and broken relationships. - George Monbiot
  • Labor to get a sense of the vanity of this world, and labor to be much acquainted with heaven. Jonathan Edwards
    As with any of God’s gifts, if the focus is on enjoying the gift rather than the giver, it becomes an idol. - Dr. Dan McCartney
  • ...our culture maintains a pretense and delusion of self-existence, even imagining that we somehow invent ourselves. It is a good marketing strategy as we sell mounds of trash for people to use in their efforts of self-definition. - Fr. Stephen Freeman

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