Waiting for the End of the Lord (James 5:7-11 | Deuteronomy 11:13-17)

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Don’t lose your patience in the midst of injustice and adversity while you wait for the compassion and mercy of the Lord.

  1. Wait Like a Farmer (5:7-9)
    a. The Patience of a Farmer (5:7-8)
    b. The Groaning of a Farmer (5:9)

  2. Speak Like the Prophets (5:10-11a)
    a. The Patience of the Prophets (5:10a)
    b. The Words of the Prophets (5:10b-11a)

  3. Hope Like Job (5:11b)
    a. The Steadfastness of Job (5:11b)
    b. The Hope of Job (5:11b)
    c. The Compassion and Mercy of the Lord Jesus
    d. A Meal Before the Harvest

Discussion Starters

  1. Monday—Discuss things in your life that causes you to be impatient. What does the coming of the Lord have to do with waiting or patience?

  2. Tuesday—What lesson(s) does James want us to learn from the farmer (or gardener)? Does not having control test your patience? Discuss what it means to strengthen our hearts.

  3. Wednesday—Is it ever appropriate to groan? (cf. Romans 8:23) What kind of groaning (or grumbling) is James opposing? What is it about grumbling against others that brings God’s judgment?

  4. Thursday—Does being patient mean we never have the right to open our mouths against injustice? Discuss how the prophets are examples of suffering and patience. What does it look like to speak the truth in love?

  5. Friday—If Job is an example of steadfastness, as someone who became an oppressed poor, then what does it say about genuine patience? Can patience involve complaints against God? What is the “end of the Lord”? How do we know we are living in light of the end of the Lord?