How much are you willing to sacrifice to build a place where you will finally feel safe? The sermon opens with a town flattened by a tornado and the decision to fit every building with a shelter, then turns to the fifth chapter of James (James 5), where a warning to the rich sits right beside a call to wait patiently for the return of Jesus. The speaker shows that our private version of paradise is usually built at other people’s expense, and that the good news is this: God himself supplies the strength to wait. Listen if your patience is wearing thin.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In James 5:1-6, James warns the rich who withheld their workers' wages and lived in luxury. How might the first readers of the letter, mostly poor and suffering, have heard these words?
- Why does James connect his warning to the rich with a call to wait patiently for the Lord's coming, and what does the picture of a farmer waiting for the early and late rains teach us?
- The speaker talked about safe rooms built after the tornado and empty store shelves at the start of the pandemic. Where do you most often look for a sense of security?
- The sermon said each of us carries a desire to build our own safe space, sometimes at the expense of others. Where do you notice this temptation in your own life?
- Daniel's friends said that even if God did not rescue them, they would not disobey Him. How does God help you stay patient and faithful, even though you know your weaknesses?
- James writes, "Don't grumble against one another." Who can you show patience to instead of complaining this week, and how will you do it?
