Lead:

How is the story of James a killer bit of evidence for Christianity?

Intro:

Today we begin the book of James, but as we get rolling let’s go back to the book of Mark, chapter 3, verse 21.

When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.” (Mk 3:21, CSB)

What? His family thinks the Savior of the world is nuts!

Here’s why this is yet another little bit of evidence in the case for the Christian worldview: James was Jesus’ half-brother. And we know that James was not a Jesus-follower until Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection.

“Sorry bro. I know I called you names. But yo! Jesus! People don’t just come back from the dead. I’m sorry about all those things I said.”

We know from historians that James went on to become one of the most influential leaders of the early church and was very probably martyred. What changed his mind? And why was it after Jesus dying by crucifixion? And as we talked about a few days ago, people don’t die tortuous deaths as martyrs for something they know to be a lie.

As you’ll see, James writes quite differently than anything we’ve read so far in the New Testament. In fact, this work is sometimes referred to as the “Proverbs of the New Testament.” But buckle up — James is a no-punches-pulled kinda dude.

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Bible:

Passage: James 1-2
Translation: NIV (New International Version)
Verses: 53
Words: ~1137

All Our Minds:

For this Advent season, this section will be delivered as a separate episode, each with its own Advent reading.

Wisdom:

Passage: Psalm 138
Translation: NIV (New International Version)
Verses: 8
Words: ~131

Love you!

-R

ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.

Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.

Sources and resources:

#965: James 1-2 | Psalm 138