James Week 3 James 2: 1-13

Week 3: Favoritism, judgment, and mercy are on the agenda!

Study questions for week 3:

What does favoritism mean to you?

Do you find yourself judging people based on the outside? What other ways do you see favoritism in your life?
What is the opposite of favoritism? How would that look in your daily life?

Do you consider yourself a law breaker? Is there a difference between willingly breaking the law and breaking it because you aren't aware of the law?

Not being aware of the fact that the speed limit doesn't prevent you from getting a ticket. Since we're now aware of the law to love our neighbor, even the ones we hate, what is our responsibility to that law?

In the story of the good Samaritan, we see that the person who was in need of help had to accept it from someone that he hated. Think back in your own life to a time when someone that you didn't like surprised you by being kind or helping you out.

How did your relationship with that person change? How did you view them after they helped you?
Is there someone in your life today that could prove to be different than you expect? Take some time to pray for those that cause you heart ache and see what God would like for you to do about it.

In the podcast, grace and mercy were defined. Look up the word mercy in the dictionary and write your own definition,

How have you seen mercy in your own life? Have you ever not got what you deserved?
Is mercy something that we need when everything is going our way? Think about something that you're going through right now and see if you have been gifted mercy. If the answer is yes, thank God for that gift.

The Challenge this week: Once you have figured out what mercy is, take some time to share it with others.

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Tina The Storyteller

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