Let's Study James

by Sinclair B. Ferguson

Throughout the centuries, the Letter of James has proved to be an excellent refresher course in what it means to live the Christian life. It is only a few pages long. It can be read out loud in twenty minutes. It is very direct and extremely practical.

Several themes run through the Letter of James and make clear what his burden is. He writes about suffering and joy, riches and poverty, faith and works, the tongue and speech, and about wisdom and folly. In a word, he writes about the heart and life of the Christian believer.

James's bête noire is false and hollow piety; pious platitudes are anathema to him. Faith that does not issue in good works, a holy life, concern for the needy, and a disciplined use of the tongue, is for James no faith at all.

As with other volumes in the Let's Study series, the value of Let's Study James is enhanced by the Group Study Guide which follows.

Genres: Christian

160 pages, Paperback

Published October 5, 2018

About the author

Sinclair B. Ferguson is Associate Preacher at St Peter's Free Church in Dundee and also Distinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina and prior to that, he was minister of St. George's-Tron Church in Glasgow.

Reviews

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing! Ferguson is just such a good teacher and this book showed that. God has blessed him with some serious skill and amazing insight which he has shared here in this short book on James! Highly recommended

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

We used this for our Men's Bible Study. I appreciated some of Ferguson's insights.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading anything by Sinclair Ferguson is great because his voice gets stuck in your head, and who wouldn't want to read books in a Scottish brogue?

Very practical and helpful for thinking of application points for a small group study.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with a group of ladies from church. Solid book, solid theology, albeit a bit dry. The last two chapters were my favorite.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful!

[richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's Study James ~ Sinclair B Ferguson

⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

The two hardest books of the bible for me are 1) Songs of Solomon and 2) The book of James. This book helped slightly with the book of James, however I still find James rather harsh to his hearers. This book is a great resource to breakdown what the book of James is all about and how it applies to us today.

Sinclair B Ferguson does a great job of showing us that James is not being abrupt but he is actually caring for his hearers by telling them what they need to know. This book will help anyone who wants to study the book of James more deeply.

All through this letter James has been testing our faith. So much of what he wrote poses the same questions:

What kind of believer am I? Am I real?

What kind of fellowship are we? Do we care about the eternal salvation of others?

Those are the issues we need to settle before we lay this powerful letter aside.

[Simon O'Mahony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is essentially an edited collection of Ferguson's sermon series on the Epistle of James. As "devotional" material, the book was very good. However, I found it less helpful as a tool for my own sermon preparation.

[Hope Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely loved this book! this book really made me think deeply about the book of James and now it's possibly one of my favorite books of the Bible! I love the way how the author explains different concepts and gives relatable examples. A must read!

[Makayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This companion to the book of James is a great in depth study! The pacing through the book is great, and the insights are helpful and convicting. Sometimes the discussion questions were a little difficult to answer, but it still always created good conversations!

[Cynthia Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Ferguson, and I thought it was really helpful and insightful. I will definitely read more of his work. It was used for a Bible Study group and the chapters are short and manageable, with study questions at the end.

[Emily M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was so packed with truth! Finished up the last chapter in Bible study tonight, and my friend and I agreed that this is one of those books where every chapter is so convicting that we need to be rereading it regularly!

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good practical study. Excellent for Bible study groups.

[Alex McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted some discussion questions

[Brent Osterberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly short, devotional, and theologically-sound. It helps if you read it in your head with a deep Scottish brogue.

[Kim N']

A practical and challenging study guide to a challenging and practical book of the Bible.