Chunks: The Letter of James
Chunks Bible Mini-Podcasts are designed to help you have a richer and more personal understanding of the teaching of Scripture. Each podcast focuses on a particular book or text, and each episode is only 5 to 10 minutes long, so you can listen whenever you have a few minutes to dig in. This podcast focuses on the New Testament letter of James, and is entitled ”Working Faith.” James insists that anyone who has truly received the gospel should show it in their conduct and character. He forcefully challenges his readers to reconsider the thoughtless, hurtful behaviors they take for granted, even down to the way they speak to one another. These are lessons we need in every age, including today. New episodes will drop Fridays until the book of James is finished. About your host: my name is Cameron Lee. I am a Professor of Family Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, where I’ve taught since 1986; I am also a Certified Family Life Educator and a licensed minister and teaching pastor. Writing is my passion: I’ve written or co-authored nine books and several articles, and have been blogging thrice weekly since 2011 at Squinting Through Fog (the-fog-blog.com).
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Episodes
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Friday Aug 18, 2023
We've seen how believers were giving preferential treatment to the rich and dishonoring the poor. This episode briefly explores what attachment theory and the example of Father Greg Boyle might teach us about the quality of Christian community that James might encourage.
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Friday Aug 18, 2023
What kind of father is our heavenly Father? To some of us, James 2:8-13 may sound a little threatening, with its emphasis on law and judgment. We'll need a few episodes to explore this passage, beginning with this one. Throughout, we will connect what James says back to the teaching of Jesus.
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Friday Aug 18, 2023
"Love your neighbor," Jesus taught. But who is my neighbor? In this episode, we explore the relevance of Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan for our understanding of James.
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Friday Aug 18, 2023
James 2:13 speaks of both judgment and mercy. This episode uses both the Lord's Prayer and Jesus' parable of the Unmerciful Servant as background to James' teaching.
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Friday Aug 18, 2023
When James teaches about the "royal law" of loving one's neighbor, he echoes the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus challenges his hearers' understanding of what it means to be righteous. That teaching may sound strenuously difficult! But understood rightly, it can actually be liberating...
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Friday Aug 18, 2023
This episode completes our examination of James 2:8-13. There's a difference between an appropriate use of "judgment" and being judgmental or relating to people through our prejudice (pre-judgments). This distinction helps us understand what James means when he says that "mercy triumphs over judgment."
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
In James 2:14-17, the apostle offers what is meant to be a ludicrous example of the failure of Christian compassion. He does this to make a point: if you say you have faith, shouldn't it make a difference to how you treat others?
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Our visual perception works in a way that we see what we expect to see, and don't see what we don't expect to see. If you read James 2:18 closely, you might be surprised to see something you didn't expect to see...
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
James 2:19 uses a bit of rhetorical sarcasm to make a point. You can claim to be faithful in a way that might be true of any self-respecting Jew. But if it doesn't show in your conduct and character, are you doing any better than the demons?
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
In James 2:20, the apostle calls some of his readers "senseless." But didn't Jesus teach in the Sermon on the Mount that it was wrong to call someone a fool?
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