When I was a kid, I went back to school in the first week of September.  Now, in my community, my children go back to school in the middle of August.  So, as a church, we’ll be returning to the classroom to learn from the wisdom of James.

James, perhaps the first-composed letter of the New Testament, is the New Testament’s only “wisdom book”.  Wisdom literature, found in the middle of the Old Testament in the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, give a person the path to a full life of blessing, peace and joy.  That’s kind of the way James is set up.  It revolves around clear points of instruction about how to live.

During this Sunday series, we’ll be learning what we can from the wisdom James and seeing how it can lift our lives and show us the path to the full life.  I’d like to encourage everyone listening to this series to read the book of James each week over the next month.  So much is there that adds to life and provides a corrective perspective in life.  Below you’ll see the “lesson plan” for Back 2 School.

August 3      Joy in Trials              James 1:2-12
August 10    Believing & Doing   James 1:19-27; 2:14-26
August 17    Speech 101               James 3:1-11
August 24    Proud or Humble      James 4:1-10
August 31    Pray like Elijah        James 5:13-18