2. James Teaches Wealth and Worship James 5:1-12

3. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth

4. James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

5. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth James 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

6. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth 1 Timothy 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

7. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth Matthew 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. … 24b You cannot serve God and money.”

8. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

9. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth Mark 4:19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

10. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth James 5:3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

11. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth Ecclesiastes 5:18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.

12. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth 1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

13. REFLECTION 26: Be wary of worldly wealth

14. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship

15. James 5:7a Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. … 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

16. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship 2 Corinthians 4:17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

17. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship James 5:7b See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

18. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship James 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

19. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship James 5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11a Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.

20. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship James 5:11b You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

21. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship James 5:12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

22. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship Matthew 23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17a You blind fools! … 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men!”

23. REFLECTION 27: Waiting on the Lord is worship