Powerful Prayer or We Pray for One Another
James 5:13-18 or James 5
International Sunday School Lesson
January 25, 2015
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
As a teacher or a student who actively participates you are
always in search of that tidbit you hadn’t thought about or that new way to
share a familiar scripture. Some might
be looking at 6 verses this week and others the whole chapter. Coming up with those ideas is obviously
harder for the former than the latter.
I’d bet that when we pray before we seek we will come up
with those tidbits or new ideas. Further I’d wager you’ve found no matter the
number of verses the ways we share when we come together are still diverse.
For me this week in James 5 what I would bring to class is
how we need to do more for each other through out the life of our Christian
walk.
Most of us, while we might not be rich in the ways that many
might label the rich, realize that they do have a roof, a car, many pairs of
shoes and clothes and excess pounds.
There is a pantry, many pots and pans and often food that gets
wasted. There are 401k’s, savings
accounts, jars with change and forgotten dollar bills in jackets. What that means is that we are in fact rich.
Most of us will not have workers and harvesters per say in
the literal sense as mentioned in verse 4 but we all have them figuratively in
each other. By all I include the
churches not just its members when we cast the net of saying there is neglect. Jesus said, “give to everyone who asks you…”
Luke 6:30a How are we doing as churches
when we limit our giving to 2 church camps, 1 college and 3 missionaries? What about the struggling churches, missionaries
and ministries some that we even take advantage of in some capacity? Instead we add an addition, buy publications,
new iPads, and carpet and so on, again INSTEAD. Oh, but be sure everyone puts as much as they
can into the plate on Sunday.
The neglect is not just in the sharing of our wealth
monetarily there are other ways that we can be motivated by today’s James 5 to
not neglect. In many of our places of worship neglect extends to our
prayer and prayer has been our background theme for weeks now so I hope this
aspect of today’s scripture will leap out.
Do you have the structure where you worship for the
individual to freely pray when they are in trouble or happy as mentioned in
verse 13? How about feeling like they
can burst into a song of praise or ask that the elders pray for them in their
sickness? Will you elders come together
in your role for this individual or is it passing consideration at best?
There is much in this chapter, and tidbits to share, no
longer appears to be an appropriate word.
It doesn’t fit when we have so much to do for each other that we
currently neglect.
For Discussion
1. Discuss
ways that you are wealthy.
2. Discuss
ways that you could give more.
3. Discuss
church choices in how they use what they have.
4. Discuss
how members of congregations, not just classes could more freely pray.
5. Discuss
ways that people could begin to come to their elders.
6. Discuss
ways that elders could take this role more seriously.
7. Discuss
how we will have to answer for the use of our wealth, our worship practices and
our responsibility to each other from congregant to elder.
8. Discuss
how your class could take a leadership role with regard to your church in
seeing these ideas implemented.
Upcoming Lessons
2-1-15 Feasting and Fasting Daniel 1:5, 8-17; Matthew 6:16-18
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All
rights reserved
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