James taught us this week that the believer’s life should be characterized by patience and steadfastness motivated by Jesus’s sovereignty and imminent return. While that sounds good, each of us know we struggle with being impatient and anxious about many things. In this study James gives us four examples to follow as we endeavor to live our lives mindful of the Lord’s sovereignty and imminent return.

​Group Discussion Questions

James
Part 11. Patient/Steadfast (Group Discussion)  
 
James taught us this week that the believer’s life should be characterized by patience and steadfastness motivated by Jesus’s sovereignty and imminent return. While that sounds good, each of us know we struggle with being impatient and anxious about many things. In this study James gives us four examples to follow as we endeavor to live our lives mindful of the Lord’s sovereignty and imminent return.
 
1. Read James 5:7-11
 
2. What were the Christian Jews James was writing to going through at the time of writing that would have caused them to be impatient/anxious? How do they compare to things that cause us to become impatient? (See James 1:1)
 
3. What was James’s encouragement to these Christian Jews at the beginning of his letter? (See James 1:2-4) How does this relate to his exhortation in chapter 5:7-11.
 
4. What kind of emotions are associated with impatience?
 
5. What areas of your life tend to bring out impatience?
 
6. In James 5:7-11 James used four examples to teach us a proper perspective on being patient / steadfast. What are some significant truths you learn from each example?

​     1. The Imminence of the Lord’s Return (verses 7a-8-9)
 
     2. The Example of Farmers: (v.7b)
 
     3. The Example of the Prophets (v.10)
 
     4. The Example of Job (v.11)
 
Relational Application:
The believer’s life should be characterized by patience and steadfastness motivated by Jesus’s sovereignty and imminent return. How does this truth impact the four relational spheres of your life?
 
End the study with prayer. Thank Him for what you have learned this week, ask Him to help you apply the principle you have chosen, and lay before Him the needs of the group.