From above, a forest looks like a green and red carpet, but go a little deeper and you see fallen trees, broken branches, and decaying leaf litter. Our lives can be like that: on the outside everything looks fine, but underneath we carry wounds, fears, and sins that no one knows about. This sermon leads us to the final verses of the Letter of James (James 5), where suffering and sin are not meant to be a reason to hide, because God often begins his work through another person, an imperfect one. Listen if you want to see who you allow to look beneath your layer of green.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- What does James advise a person in trouble, sickness, and sin in James 5:13-20? What do these three situations have in common?
- The speaker explains that "raise up" means more than healing the body. How do you understand it, and how does it change the way you pray for the sick?
- Why does James remind us of Elijah as "a man just like us"? What does this picture say about the power of prayer?
- What in your life is like the forest seen from above, what is visible on the outside, and the leaf litter underneath? What do you most often hide from others?
- Why do shame, fear, and pride make us keep sin secret? How does this play out in your own experience?
- Do you have someone you can tell what you are struggling with and ask for prayer? Who could that be, and what small step can you take this week?
