James & Jude

Teacher: Ed Reifsnyder

Some early impressions of the Book of James are that it's almost like the Proverbs or the Beatitudes. Quite a portion of the book is a whole string of little vignettes where the writer is talking about the things you should do or the things you shouldn't do. They are short and he strings these pearls all together. It did remind me of the Beatitudes and the Proverbs.

Probably where I will place most of my focus next week is when James talks about the "royal law" in Chapter 2. Pay a little attention to that thing about the royal law because it's a unique term in the Bible as far as I'm aware that the law is called "royal."

Listen to the book of James from BibleGateway: ESV, KJV, MSG, NIV, NKJV

Short Outline of the Book of James from the Today's English Version:

• Introduction (1:1)
• Faith and wisdom (1:2-8)
• Poverty and wealth (1:9-11)
• Testing and tempting (1:12-18)
• Hearing and doing (1:19-27)
• Warning against discrimination (2:1-13)
• Faith and works (2:14-26)
• The Christian and his tongue (3:1-18)
• The Christian and the world (4:1 – 5:6)
• Various instructions (5:7-20)

Listen to the book of Jude from BibleGateway: ESV, KJV, MSG, NIV, NKJV

Short Outline of the Book of Jude from the Today's English Version:

• Introduction (1-2)
• Character, teaching, and doom of the false teachers (3-16)
• Admonition to keep the faith (17-23)
• Benediction (24-25)