As James is drawing to the close of his letter to the scattered believers, we take a moment to examine how NT letters were written, consider James’s situation, and work through the closing remarks with the letter framework in mind.

If we are to live well in a fallen world with imperfect people, we will need to be patient. Things will happen which we neither asked for nor envisaged for our lives. In James 5 God helps us to see with more clarity the nature and direction of biblical patience.

Inserting himself into a long line of Old Testament prophetic tradition, James proclaims the dreadful fate of the rich aristocratic tyrants who were oppressing God’s people. As we listen to James’ denouncement, we discover that the same obsession with wealth & possessions can manifest in our lives and that money can be a significant hurdle on our journey following Jesus – no one can serve two masters. Being confronted with the futility of the pursuit of wealth, we’re reminded of our call to steward our money wisely, knowing that we’re living on the brink of eternal life in the new heavens & the new earth.

God has given humanity the power to do stuff - this is how we have been made. But in spite of all the good things humanity does, we can easily fall into the trap of believing we control and determine our destiny. James wants us to know this is God’s job not ours.

We live in an opinionated culture. It seems everyone has an opinion on everything and everyone. The disappearance of belief in objective truth has left us in a place where we do battle against one another rather than against ideas. Haters and trolls are commonplace now, and the church is not immune. Listen as Peter explains.

How you turn up after committing spiritual adultery is critical to the restoration of your relationship with God. Listen in as Peter unpacks the key components of a good sorry.

All sin is the fruit of an affair of the heart. When a desire overtakes our hearts, and we operate out of it, we have turned away from God and have given ourselves to another lover – we have become adulterers. Listen in as Peter explains.

Conflict is inevitable, combat is optional. Conflict becomes combat when the desire of our hearts get too big and take over. Conflict is not mainly a battle between people, it is a battle for the heart. Listen as Peter explains.

When you are in right relationship with God you will be in right relationship with everything else he has made - this is the essence of wisdom. But be careful, it is common to think you are wise when you aren’t. Listen in as Peter explains.

Whether we are teaching God’s word from the pulpit, engaging in conversation with our family, or chatting with colleagues at work, our speech directs our entire course of life – positively and negatively. In vivid detail, James unpacks the gravity of our tongues power and reminds us that the sin apparent in our mouth is reflective of the state of our hearts. It is only when our hearts have known grace, and when they are continually immersed in grace, that we are able to extend grace to others in the way we speak.

Whilst Australia has many egalitarian checks and balances, favouritism still lurks just under the surface. In this message, Peter explains how God desires that we be truly loving people, not just people who love others for what we can get out of them.

When it comes to God’s word, humanity has a tendency to separate hearing and doing - even though God intended them to stay directly and naturally connected. Listening to God’s word without action will always end in self-deception.

External tests often lead to internal temptations. James is keen for us to succeed at both, so he gets to work skilling us up about how temptation works. Listen is as Peter unpacks the nature of humanity, the nature of temptation, and the nature of God.