You can follow the guided Bible Study by clicking on the open Bible on each page. Click on the right page to move forward through the guide, or on the left page to return to the previous chapter.

Each page has some links to information on James that is not part of this Guided Bible Study. If you reach a page with no open Bible to move forward, use your Browser Back button to return to the study. You can also use the Return to Guided Bible Study Link on these pages.

The chapters of James are identified with numbers one through five, with an “I” for the introduction to the study. Use these buttons to move directly to a particular part of James. The current page icon will be in red.

For the Leader
This Guided Study is designed to be used for a variety of different studies. Each section includes examples of experiential activities and studies.The experiential activity is designed to lead directly to the study and the estimated time given includes both the experiential and study sections.

The design is such that you may choose to do several activities, or to choose one from each chapter and the introduction. You will need a minimum of six sessions, but if you are doing James for a Semester, you might do one activity each week. In a 60-90 minute Women's Circle or Sunday School class you will probably have time for one activity, while a two hour evening session may allow for two in one session.

If you are including youth or younger teens, stick to the activities that involve movement and debate.

While this web site presents a great deal of background information on James, the best Bible Studies integrate the text with our lives. You can provide print outs of the background, or point interested studiers to the web site, but during your time together share experiences and reactions, rather than studying commentaries. Consider ordering Pamela Sparr’s excellent study guide in Elsa Tamez’ book The Scandalous Message of James: Faith Without Works is Dead.

Another guide to great Bible Study is Walter Wink, Transforming Bible Study: A Leader’s Guide (Nashville: Abingdon, 1980). Wink’s premise is that we need to approach the Bible in a less linear way. Activities such as writing dialogues or letters, creating images with paint or clay, role playing and mime provide our minds with an opportunity to let go. People will make a deeper connection to the text when we have a chance to hear the text with our eyes and ears, but also with our hands, bodies, and finally, our hearts.

Using the Guided Bible Study
For the Leader | Working by Yourself | Suggested Outline | Top of Page

Guided Bible Study
Using the Guided Bible Study | Introduction
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Working by Yourself
James is a letter, written by one believer, not to an individual, but to a community. It is, in many ways, a letter about living in community. And so our understanding of the text, and of God’s message in the text, is improved when it is read in community. If you do not have a Bible Study group, perhaps you can do each session with one other person—maybe not even the same person each time. Email or phone a friend to discuss the study. Many of the experiential activities can be done individually, at a later time you can share your results with someone else who is also working alone.

Suggested Outline of Each Session
The use of the word study for our contact with the Bible is a misnomer. Our goal is not to be scholars, but rather to experience God’s word. Don’t skip the worship, even if you are working by yourself. Read aloud. Paint. Involve yourself in the text. You’ll be surprised at what you find there! Here is a suggested outline for each time you get together with the Letter of James.

1. Letting go.
Do an activity to move from the worries of everyday life to this time of study. A simple way to do this is for each person to name, in one or two words, something they will let go of for the time of this study. A small group with enough time might use an egg-timer to allow each person a minute or two to tell about their week.

2. Turning to God/Worship
Create a regular worship experience for each session. This can be as simple as lighting a candle, reading a Bible Verse, and sitting in silence. If you prefer, prepare a litany for the group. Psalm 12 seems to be closely related to the Letter of James, you could use a verse for each session.

3. Experiential Activity
Before turning to the text, do one of the activities. Doing the experiential activity first will open up our minds for the later discussions, and will integrate the text more fully into our everyday lives.

4. Study the Text
Read the text and turn to questions to discuss it. At this point you might want to have everyone follow the text in their Bibles, or hand out the text.

5. Closing Worship/Prayer
Use a popular hymn that everyone knows, or the Lord’s Prayer. If your group is comfortable with public prayer, the leader can offer an opening and the group can add lines. As a transition back to the world, this is a good time to pray for one another’s needs. Consider reading James 5:13-16 each week, as the opening to your prayer.

This study provides ideas for doing steps 3 and 4. The estimated times are for just those sections, be sure to add at least a half hour to each session for the letting go and worship in steps 1, 2 and 5.

Resources (Link to full Bibliography for web site)

Using the Guided Bible Study
For the Leader | Working by Yourself | Suggested Outline | Top of Page

Guided Bible Study
Using the Guided Bible Study | Introduction
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5