You know more about the world than anyone before you, but has that knowledge changed anything in you? This sermon opens with startling data about the flood of information we are drowning in, then turns to James and his blunt words about faith without deeds (James 2). It turns out that information is not transformation, and the difference comes down to one simple word we mention least often. Listen and see what stands today between what you know and what you actually do.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In James 2, James describes someone who tells a person in need, "Go in peace, keep warm and well fed," but does nothing. Why does he say such faith is dead?
- What is James trying to show by pointing out that even demons believe in one God and shudder, and how are the examples of Abraham and Rahab different from that kind of faith?
- The sermon says information does not equal transformation, even though we have never had so much access to sermons, podcasts and teaching. In which areas of your life does your knowledge of God translate least into action?
- Instead of praying for the $5,000 a missionary needed, Tony Campolo asked the women present to empty their wallets. When does prayer become a way for you to avoid action God has already equipped you to take?
- The speaker names obedience as the missing link between faith and action. What most often keeps you from simple obedience: overthinking, making excuses or shifting responsibility onto others?
- Who is the one person God is placing in front of you this week, and what concrete thing can you do for them rather than just thinking about them or praying for them?
