Women's Bible Study - January 31st, 2024 - Walking in the Holy Spirit

In one paragraph

Pastor Deborah walked First B Jackson through James chapter two, tracing what genuine faith actually looks like in practice. The sermon pressed on a simple question: if nothing in your life has changed, is your faith real? James opens his second chapter by addressing favoritism, and Pastor Deborah spent time explaining why that particular sin mattered so much to him. Every person, James argues,...

Read together

1. Ephesians 5:15-18 Paul's parallel to James: be careful how you live, don't be drunk with wine, be filled with the Holy Spirit
2. Ephesians 1 having believed, we are marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit
3. Matthew 27 Pilate said the chief priests handed Jesus over because they were filled with jealousy
4. Romans 2:11 there is no partiality or favoritism with God
5. 1 Samuel 16:7 God told Samuel he looks at the heart, not the outward appearance, when choosing David
6. Colossians 3:11 in the new Christian life it does not matter if you are Jew or Gentile, barbarian or Scythian, Christ is all that matters
7. 1 John 1:9 confess and repent and you are forgiven, taking the lid off the Holy Spirit's control
8. Romans 14:2 each one of us will give an account of ourselves to God
9. 2 Corinthians 5:10 we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive what is due for the things done with the life God gave us
10. Galatians 6:2 we are called to carry each other's burdens and in this way fulfill the law
11. Proverbs whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered
12. Romans 10:9 declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart he was raised on the third day and you can have assurance you are saved
13. Romans 4 Abraham is called the father of our faith because he trusted God
14. James 1 if you want wisdom, come ask God and he will give it
15. James 2:1-13 real faith does not show favoritism, mercy triumphs over judgment
16. James 2:14-26 faith without deeds is dead, illustrated through Abraham and Rahab

Talk about it

1. Pastor Deborah described how we are always under some kind of spirit, whether our own, the world's, the enemy's, or the Holy Spirit. What does it look like practically, in your daily life, to let the Holy Spirit be what controls you rather than something else?
2. James says showing favoritism is sinful because it takes hope away from people and puts our trust in people rather than God. Where do you find yourself looking to people or status for help or security instead of turning to God first?
3. Pastor Deborah talked about the Bema Seat judgment, where God replays opportunities we had to show mercy and love others. What does it stir up in you to think about your life being reviewed that way, not for condemnation, but for how well you loved?
4. James gives the example of someone saying 'go in peace, keep warm and be well fed' without actually doing anything to help. When have you been tempted to offer words of blessing without taking any real action, and what held you back from stepping in?
5. Abraham trusted God with the thing that mattered most to him, his son Isaac, even when he could not see how it would work out. What is the thing in your own life that feels hardest to trust God with, and what has your faith taught you so far about whether He can be trusted with it?