James in the Suburbs

by April Love-Fordham, Stephen A. Hayner (Foreword by)

Overview

Do you consume God's blessings, or do you share them?
Most Christians are consumers. We are obsessed with knowing the right theology and following the right set of rules in hopes that God will bless us. Yet, no matter how much God blesses us, we are still looking for more. James says our faith is dead. But there is another type of Christian, one who craves being put to work as the servant of God to share God's blessings with others. Their faith spurs them on to become the hands and feet of Christ. James says their faith is alive.
James in the Suburbs is far more than your ordinary Bible study guide. It is also a parable—an energizing story of the lives of six men and women—that wraps itself around the Epistle of James, making its teachings immediately applicable to modern life. You will walk away with not only a thorough understanding of the epistle, but also the unforgettable story of people just like you, whose lives the Holy Spirit turned upside down.
This book can be read casually by an individual or studied within a group. The final chapter provides everything readers need for a guided twelve-week study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625646774
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	08/04/2014
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,097,981
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

April Love-Fordham holds a BEE and MSEE from Georgia Institute of Technology. Having worked her way to the executive suite, she retired from the corporate world in her early forties to earn an MDiv from Columbia Theological Seminary, which recently named her a 2014 Guthrie Scholar. She also received a DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary while pastoring two churches. She lives with her husband and their Great Dane in the suburbs of Atlanta. Learn more about April and her Bible studies at aprillovefordham.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

1 You've Been Warned 1

Part 1 The Journey to Servanthood 5

2 The Church in the Suburbs 7

3 Dream Catcher 11

4 The Group Forms 19

5 Mystery and Controversy 26

6 God's Slaves-James 1:1a 33

7 A Kingdom of Slaves-James 1:1b 40

8 The Problem of Having Problems-James 1:2-4 45

9 James's Strategy-James 1:2-5 51

10 Applying James's Strategy 60

11 Asking for Wisdom-James 1:5 65

12 Doubting-James 1:6-7 73

13 Two Common Problems-James 1:9-12 80

14 The Potential of Problems-James 1:13-18 88

15 Turning Point-James 1:19-25 95

Part 2 Servanthood: A Life of Pure and Undefiled Worship 103

16 Pure and Undefiled Worship Defined-James 1:26-27 105

17 A Life of Worship Is Impartial-James 2:1-13 111

18 A Life of Worship Has Faith That Produces Good Works-James 2:14-26 119

19 A Life of Worship Speaks Words That Bless Others-James 3:1-12 128

20 A Life of Worship Sows Seeds of Peace-James 3:13-4:10 136

21 A Life of Worship Does Not Judge Others-James 4:11-12 143

22 A Life of Worship Knows God Is in Control-James 4:13-17 150

23 The Meeting That Never Happened 156

24 A Life of Worship Gives Resources to Others-James 5:1-6 161

25 A Life of Worship Endures until Christ Returns-James 5:7-11 170

26 A Life of Worship Speaks Truth-James 5:12 175

27 A Life of Worship Prays-James 5:13-20 182

28 Goodbyes 189

Part 3 Putting Servanthood into Action 193

29 Study Guide 195

Bibliography 205

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In the same way Clarence Jordan made the Bible relevant in the Cotton Patch of Southwest Georgia, April Love-Fordham brings the disruptive letter of James to our American suburbs whose inhabitants are anxiously in need of some true undefiled old-time religion. We, the non-poor, hunger for intervention and April's parable about how James could and should be read and lived is the kind of balm for the sin-sick soul that will challenge us to redirect our lives to find harmony with Jesus's teachings."

—Kirk Lyman-Barner, Director of US Field Operations, Fuller Center for Housing, Americus, GA



"A must-read for every suburban Christian, James in the Suburbs is packed with memorable characters and sound Christian wisdom from a pastor who sees into the soul of the suburbs."

—Tom Kennar, Team Rector, North End Team Ministry, Portsmouth, UK



"James in the Suburbs by April Love-Fordham may be the most engaging biblical commentary I've ever read. Cleverly setting her exegesis in the context of a fictional Bible study group of three men and three women, Love-Fordham shows us through narrative how the teaching of the book of James concretely impacts the lives of people of faith. This is a must-read for every Christian leader."

—Kenneth Swanson, Rector, St. David's Episcopal Church, Roswell, GA

Editorial Reviews

"In the same way Clarence Jordan made the Bible relevant in the Cotton Patch of Southwest Georgia, April Love-Fordham brings the disruptive letter of James to our American suburbs whose inhabitants are anxiously in need of some true undefiled old-time religion. We, the non-poor, hunger for intervention and April's parable about how James could and should be read and lived is the kind of balm for the sin-sick soul that will challenge us to redirect our lives to find harmony with Jesus's teachings."

—Kirk Lyman-Barner, Director of US Field Operations, Fuller Center for Housing, Americus, GA



"A must-read for every suburban Christian, James in the Suburbs is packed with memorable characters and sound Christian wisdom from a pastor who sees into the soul of the suburbs."

—Tom Kennar, Team Rector, North End Team Ministry, Portsmouth, UK



"James in the Suburbs by April Love-Fordham may be the most engaging biblical commentary I've ever read. Cleverly setting her exegesis in the context of a fictional Bible study group of three men and three women, Love-Fordham shows us through narrative how the teaching of the book of James concretely impacts the lives of people of faith. This is a must-read for every Christian leader."

—Kenneth Swanson, Rector, St. David's Episcopal Church, Roswell, GA

From the Publisher