James 1:1–8- 28th June 2026

You can turn in your Bibles to the book

of James. James chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

As Peter mentioned, we're starting a new

series this morning for the summer in

the book of James. So, we uh several of

us will be preaching through this book

uh through uh the end of August. And so,

I encourage you to pray and to read uh

the book of James. It's not that long of

a book. Um, and so it's something that

you could read uh even over and over

again, even each week. Uh, there's so

much good truth there. I'm going to read

verses 1 to8 of James chapter

James 1 · chapter mention

1.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord

Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes in the

dispersion. Greetings. Count it all joy,

my brothers, when you meet trials of

various kinds. For you know that the

testing of your faith produces

steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full

effect, that you may be perfect and

complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask

God, who gives generously to all without

reproach, and it will be given to him.

But let him ask in faith with no

doubting. For the one who doubts is like

a wave of the sea that is driven and

tossed by the wind. For that person must

not suppose that he will receive

anything from the Lord. He is a

double-minded man, unstable in all his

ways. Let's pray one more time together.

Father, we thank you for this new day.

We thank you that we are able to hold

the very word of God in our hands, that

we can hear it read, that we can sing

it, and that we can hear it preached. So

we pray together this morning, that we

would hear from you through your word.

Help us speak, Father. We pray in Jesus

name. Amen. Before I forget, kids, even

though Shane is gone, he asked me to

bring sweets. So, I have sweets for you.

Same place. After the service, you bring

me your notes, I'll give you a suite.

Think about how wonderful

war is.

Dwell right now upon the marvelous

nature of sickness.

Reflect on the glories of broken

government systems.

Consider the sweet challenges of

parenting

delight in old age.

Count it all joy when you meet trials of

many kinds.

Really, that last one, that one from the

text here sounds a bit backwards,

doesn't it? Count it all joy when you

meet trials of many kinds.

But James is showing you in this book

what real mature faith looks like. These

those statements are the bold oneliners

that we will wrestle with together this

summer as we look at the book of James.

James is the halfbrother of Jesus. So

Jesus was born of Mary who was a virgin

but then Mary had relations with her

husband Joseph after he was born and had

other children. James being one of those

children. James was raised as the little

brother of Jesus. He lost his father

Joseph just like Jesus did. He didn't

believe in Jesus in the early days of

Jesus ministry. But Jesus appeared to

him after the resurrection.

Everything changed after that. He grew

in humility and influence and he

actually became the leader of the church

in Jerusalem. Now, we're not sure all of

his motivations for writing this book,

this letter. Uh we know that he wanted

to encourage the Jewish believers who

have been scattered. We see that in

verse one to the 12 tribes in the

dispersion. So, he's writing to the 12

tribes. They've been dispersed likely

through persecution. He's writing to

them to encourage. And he introduces

himself in verse one as a servant of God

and of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a

pretty humble acknowledgement.

It really slaps our power hungry world

in the face, doesn't it? Doesn't it? A a

servant of God, a servant of the Lord

Jesus Christ. He could have opened like

this. He could have said James, the

brother of Jesus. He could have opened

James the of the earthly family of the

Messiah of the very womb of Mary.

But he doesn't do that. He does none of

that. He humbly calls himself a servant

of God and of Christ. He realized who

Jesus was, not just his earthly brother,

but God himself. So, as you read this

letter, you'll see that it is actually

heavily influenced by the Lord. So, the

sermon on the mount, little echoes of it

are all throughout this book. We also

see echoes of the proverbs. In fact,

this book is like the New Testament

proverb. That's what you see. There's a

there's a bunch of punchy bits that are

easy to memorize and full of

instruction.

There are only 108 verses in James. More

than 50 commands.

more than 50 commands to us in the book

of James. And this first chapter that

will take a couple weeks to preach

through is really a summary of the next

four chapters. You're going to see

things about in this first chapter about

trials, wisdom, wealth, obedience, fake

faith. Those will all be revisited

throughout the rest of the book. So why

does this book matter to you? Why should

the book of James matter? Well, it hits

hard as to what true, genuine, real

faith looks like. Don't we want to know

that?

Are you a follower of Jesus? Then this

book coaches you on what faith actually

looks like? What is true faith? Are you

living a life of true faith?

Well, James pulls no punches, right? He

begins this letter with that very

provocative command of count it all joy

when you meet trials of various kinds.

So true faith true faith

finds joy in suffering

knowing that God uses trials to

transform his people and he gives wisdom

to help them persevere.

So if you want a sermon title here for

today, true faith understands trials.

Firstly, let's look at the perspective

of trials. So look back at verse two

again.

Count it all joy, my brothers and

sisters is really what that is. Count it

all joy, my brothers and sisters, when

you meet trials of various kinds.

Man, this life is hard, isn't it?

It's hard for everyone. Even the most

powerful, the most wealthy among us

often have severe hardship.

You know this if you've lived life any

amount of time.

Life is hard. You can't escape it.

death, destruction, loneliness, broken

relationships, betrayal, weward

children, floods, fires, earthquakes, as

John was just praying for Venezuela.

It's a very broken world we live in. And

it can be a little overwhelming at

times, especially if you are glued to

the news, because usually it's all about

the broken world that we live in. our

minds, our bodies, our spirits, we long

for peace. And it just is not the case

in this world. And it's really just

common grace that any of us like keep

going, that any of us are standing. It's

just common grace sometimes because the

trials of this life are hard. James

knows this. He identifies with his

readers when he calls them brothers and

sisters. brothers and sisters. He

understands what it's like to live in a

broken world. He lost his father and now

he's leading a church in Jerusalem

that's being persecuted.

He understands

trial.

So he gives them this command. Count it

all joy,

brothers and sisters, when you meet

trials of various kinds. If you're

asking,

"How can that be possible?

How can I count it joy when a trial

comes into my life?" You're not alone to

ask that question. It's a hard

statement. It's a hard statement. James

is commanding something that is very far

from easy.

But he gives us reasons as to why we can

do that. First, he says, "Count it." He

says, "Consider." He wants you to think

deeply about something. He wants you to

evaluate your trials.

Evaluate, consider, count them. So,

let's break down what James means. What

are trials?

When we think of troubles, challenges,

temptations, burdens, hardships, those

are other ways to describe trials. He

says there's various kinds. Often we

have inner trials and we have outer

trials. Inner trials might be things

like loneliness,

depression,

anxiety, fear, temptation, dark

thoughts, things that come from within.

Sometimes there's consequences to our

sin that might be a trial. There's outer

trials. There's there's slander. There's

broken relationships. There's disasters,

tragedies, accidents, health struggles,

death, things that are on the outside

that affect us deeply. Trials are the

realities of life that just shake us

sometimes to the core and we don't know

what to do. Broken people in a broken

world wrestling with just how to get by

into the next day.

And James says that you can count these

joy.

Joy is not happiness.

James is not asking you to be happy

about your hardship. I just want to be

really clear on that. You're not to be

happy about your hardship. Joy is a

state of inner contentment. Right? So

it's despite your circumstances, you

find gladness in eternal hope.

inner contentment that despite your

circumstances, you find gladness in

eternal hope.

Eternal hope. James wants you to see how

trials can give you eternal hope more

fully

than if those trials never occurred.

Say that again. He wants you to see how

trials can give you eternal hope more

fully

than if those trials never happened.

He wants you to see trials as a means of

triumphing over our weak faith. Victory

over weak faith helps provide inner

contentment. Helps provide joy in the

Lord.

So, do you find joy in this life's peace

and tranqu and tranquility

or in trials? Well, the Bible says that

we should have joy in all circumstances

and give thanks in all circumstances.

Philippians 4, rejoice in the Lord

always. I will say again, rejoice.

1 Thessalonians 5, give thanks in all

circumstances, for this is the will of

God in Christ Jesus for you. In every

circumstance, we are to give thanks.

Ephesians 5:20, giving thanks always and

Ephesians 5:20

for everything to God the Father in the

name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here

James is commanding you to consider your

trials as sources of joy and

thanksgiving. Again, we hear that and

are like, "That just seems so impossible

sometimes."

But modern medicine illustrates this a

little bit, doesn't it? The pain of an

injection gives us hope that we're not

going to catch that disease.

The painful recovery from surgery is is

worth replacing the old knee or removing

the ruptured appendix or removing the

cancerous tumor. It's worth going

through the pain to have the good

result. Often painful things can be

good. The the soreness of a gym workout

builds strength. The exhaustion of a run

prepares you for the marathon.

There's good things that come from pain.

Every woman that has given birth, good

things come from pain.

Some questions though that this brings

up. I mean, there's just so many

questions right in our mind. Should we

seek trials for joy? Then should you go

seeking trials just for joy? Well, no.

You don't need to seek trials, right?

They are inevitable. Notice the when in

verse two. When you meet, it's not if

you meet. Jesus faced trials. He didn't

seek out.

The death of Joseph,

his family rejecting him, the temptation

in the wilderness, death threats. He

didn't seek those out. Those trials just

came upon him. We don't need to seek out

trials for joy. The trials will come.

Are you allowed to feel sad in a trial?

Yes.

Yes. Brother and sister, you are allowed

to feel sadness and distress in a trial.

That is not somehow saying that you

can't also say that there's joy, which

we'll get to more of why that is, but

also feeling sad at the same time.

Again, even the Lord, even the Lord did

this. Lazarus died. He wept. He raised

him from the dead, but he wept in the

sorrow of it all. He felt the sadness

and the trial of losing a good friend.

You're allowed to feel sad. Even in the

Psalms, the Psalms have so many places

of lament. Listen to Psalm 13 here. How

long, Lord, will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from

me? How long will I store up anxious

concerns within me, agony in my mind

every day? How long will my enemy

dominate me?

See the sadness,

the questioning there.

Another question, can you ask God to

deliver you from your trial? If it's

supposed to I'm supposed to consider it

joy and have inner contentment, can I

ask God to deliver me from this trial?

Yes.

Yes. Of course you can ask God to

deliver you. Again, we see this in the

Psalms. Psalm 102. Lord, hear my prayer.

Let my cry for help come before you. Do

not hide your face from me in my day of

trouble. Listen closely to me. Answer me

quickly when I call.

The Psalmist is asking God

for deliverance.

Trials are here and they will come.

James wants you to see that you can

rejoice through them, but you must never

forget God's love through it all.

You might be in a trial right now. And

sometimes

we're tempted to think, does God love

me?

Does he really love me in this? Well,

firstly, God's love was proved on the

cross, brother and sister. His love was

proved on the cross. So no matter any of

life's circumstances, all you need to

think of for a moment is the cross and

you see that God does love you because

he sent his son to die for you. We don't

need to question his love for us in the

middle of a trial. God he he clearly

says that he is a God of love. Exodus 34

says, "The Lord, the Lord is a

compassionate and gracious God, slow to

anger, an abounding and faithful love

and truth, maintaining faithful love to

a thousand generations, forgiving

iniquity, rebellion, and sin."

God's love is sure.

You can count trials as joy. But James

doesn't stop at just giving us a

perspective. Okay, so I can count this

as joy when I fall into various trials.

He tells us what God's doing. He tells

us the reason why. Okay, count it all

joy.

Okay, but why can I do that? Look at

verse two again.

This is the purpose of trials. Count it

all joy, my brothers and sisters, when

you meet trials of various kinds. For

you know that the testing of your faith

produces steadfastness. And let

steadfastness have its full effect, that

you may be perfect and complete, lacking

in nothing.

To another question that we might ask,

are trials good?

Are trials good? Well, James says, you

count trials as joy. And then you see

verse three, four, four, the testing of

your faith produces steadfastness. So

trials here are linked with testing.

Trials are a means of testing your

faith. And that testing produces

something.

And what does the verse say? It says it

produces steadfastness.

Count it all joy when you meet various

trials. For because

the testing of your faith in those

trials produces something

in you. It produces steadfastness. Okay.

Well, what's steadfastness?

Some translations use patient endurance.

It's a stick tuitiveness, perseverance,

persistence. You are steadfast when you

are spiritually grounded. You're

anchored deep. When your faith is tested

by trial, it helps you build deeper

roots.

The storms of life make you more

resilient for the next storms of life.

If trials are the input, the output is

steadfastness. It's like a factory.

Trials producing a steadfastness in your

faith. Remember, this book is about real

true faith.

Real faith endures. It is grounded. Real

faith is sure.

But how does your faith grow deep roots

then?

If it needs to be sure and grounded and

rooted, how does it do it? How does that

happen? James says it happens through

trial.

Gold is mined using massive machines,

right? massive machines and explosives.

That's how gold starts being mined. The

ore is crushed and ground repeatedly and

then it's refined through acid baths and

melting to remove remove all the

impurities until it's purified and then

molded into something useful.

That's how gold is purified. Brother and

sister, this is your life.

This is your life.

The Lord finds you and gives you a faith

more precious than gold. But that faith

must be refined.

The machines of hardship and futility

work to purify your faith. Your faith is

dipped into the acid baths of heartache,

frustration, health issues, learning

disabilities, weaknesses.

In the fires of death and loneliness,

persecution and anxiety, your faith is

melted and remelted and melted again

by the master craftsman

who then takes and shapes you into

something more beautiful than you could

ever imagine.

That's why you can count it joy

when you meet various trials.

Peter writes, "You rejoice in this even

though now for a short time, if

necessary, you suffer grief in various

trials, so that the proven character of

your faith more valuable than gold,

which though perishable, is refined by

fire, may result in praise, glory, and

honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

steadfastness of faith is born from

trials.

And that steadfastness of faith gives

glory to Jesus

because it's showing that you are

trusting the savior even when it's the

hardest thing that you could possibly

imagine that you're going through and

you're still trusting the savior. We see

this all over scripture, don't we?

Abraham is about to sacrifice his son

Isaac. He's taken him off the mountain.

He's strapped him to the altar. He

brings a knife to slay his son. And God

says, "Do not lay your hand on the boy

or do anything to him. For now I know

that you fear God, seeing you have not

withheld your son, your only son, from

me."

God is testing Abraham's faith in what

seems to be the most horrible way

possible. He's tested severely

and his faith held firm.

Imagine the steadfastness produced in

Abraham in that moment.

I trust God. I trusted God. He got me

through.

We recently studied 1 and 2 Samuel on

Friday nights. David

went through trial after trial. He's

anointed in secret, living living this

kind of secret that that hardly anybody

knows. He's serving an unstable king who

tries to kill him over and over again.

He's on the run. His best friend dies in

battle. This produced though in David a

steadfastness of faith, a real enduring

faith.

Paul writes to the Corinthians, he says,

"So we do not lose heart.

Though our outer self is wasting away,

our inner self is being renewed day by

day. For this light momentary affliction

is preparing for us an eternal weight of

glory beyond all comparison

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.

Brethren and sister, when you are in the

middle of the worst of trials,

and there have been many in this church.

They may be consequences of your sin.

They may be caused by another person.

They be maybe natural disaster, a

disease, a traumatic experience. It

might be sickness or fear or anxiety.

Do not lose heart.

Your trials are working towards

something. And in the sovereignty of

God, while in this broken world, the

inevitable trials that you encounter are

being used for your good. Every single

one of them are being used for your

good. There is purpose in your trials.

The trials may be horrible,

but their final product are good.

The suffering you endure as a Christian

is preparing you. Paul says in

Corinthians there for an eternal weight

of glory. Thi think of an old set of

scales. You know the scales that would

tip like this. You put something on each

side. On one side you've got the trials,

but on the other side you other side you

have that eternal weight of glory. And

it just can't be compared. That that

eternal weight of g glory far far

outweighs the trial that produced the

steadfastness in you.

There is an unseen weight on one end of

those scales

that will far outweigh any trial that

you could ever encounter. Every big and

little trial that you have chips away at

your self-sufficiency,

at your pride, your fears, your doubts.

Again, the trials produce steadfastness.

And listen, 500 years from now, when you

look back on your trials, you will not

wish a single one of them away

because you will have seen how this

produced in me something that gave glory

to my savior.

The trial is horrible. The result is

good and eternal. So ultimately you must

trust God to do his good work.

We just finished a series in Job. Job

starts off by saying, "The Lord gave and

the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the

name of the Lord. Trials help you trust

him which is for your good." So are

trials good?

Well, the result is the result is good.

Another question you might ask if is God

cruel then? Is he cruel to bring trials

into your life? Well, look at verse

four.

Verse four says, "And let steadfastness

have its full effect that you may be

perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

This is the second command that James

give us gives us. Let steadfastness have

its full effect. It's commanding you to

let steadfastness have its effect. The

steadfastness that trials produce helps

to make you perfect,

complete,

lacking nothing.

James is commanding you to let

steadfastness have that work.

He wants you to stop complaining,

fretting, giving out, moaning, and

feeling sorry for yourself. He wants you

instead to adjust your worldview to see

trials as moments of God's grace in your

life

that see you to the end

that persevere you to glory. Is God

cruel to give you trials trials? No.

Of course he's not.

He is good and faithful and loving. This

world is broken.

And in his sovereignty, he uses the

brokenness to shape his people. Further

down in verse 12, which we'll get to

next week, it says, if you look at it,

blessed is the man who remains steadfast

under trial. For when he has stood the

test, he will receive the crown of life,

which God has promised to those who love

him. a crown of life.

That is not a cruel God. That is a

gracious, merciful God.

Faith

is tested to be proven genuine.

Do you want to be complete and lacking

nothing? I do. I want to be complete and

lacking nothing. I am far from complete

and lacking nothing. Now, let

steadfastness have its work through

trial.

Listen though, if you're not in the

family of God,

if you have not place your faith in

Christ, you are incomplete and you lack

everything. You just lack everything.

Trials don't automatically make you

stronger. They reveal what you're

trusting. In the believer, God uses the

trial to deepen your faith. And the

unbeliever though trials expose the

absence of faith. So that same trial,

the same earthquake in Venezuela,

it could drive one person to Christ

while driving the other person away

because they just get bitter and they

get angry

because they're trusting in the wrong

thing. Where do you stand with Christ

today? Are you trusting him in the

hardship?

Is God cruel to bring these trials into

your life? No.

In Christ, God is abundantly gracious to

those who believe. At the moment God

changes your heart, do you know what he

does? He takes your hand

and he walks you down a road that leads

to completion and perfection. That's

what he does for you in his mercy and

his grace.

He walks you down the road. It's a hard

road that he walks you down. It's a

dangerous journey,

but you will look back on the road and

you will marvel.

You will marvel at God's goodness to you

through the trials of your life.

And most of us, the longer we live

as believers, we see that we look back

and we see the drum beat of God's

faithfulness over and over and over

through the hardest days of our lives.

And we see that he brought us through.

You will have joy that is inexpressable

and filled with glory. God never leaves

his children. He never forsakes you. He

is with you like he was with Shadrach,

Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery

furnace. He's with you. You need to let

steadfastness have its full effect by

seeing the purpose in your trials. And

if trials shape you, the question then

becomes, how do you live wisely inside

those trials?

So the last point, the provision of God

through trials. Look at verse five.

If any of you lacks wisdom,

let him ask God, who gives generously to

all without reproach, and it will be

given him. But let him ask in faith with

no doubting. For the one who doubts is

like a wave of the sea that is driven

and tossed by the wind. For that person

must not suppose he will receive

anything from the Lord. He is a

double-minded man, unstable in all his

ways. Do you know what trials do? They

expose your need for wisdom.

They expose your need for wisdom. Wisdom

is the skill to live according to God's

truth. The skill to live according to

God's design. It's it's knowledge or

truth that's applied to your life.

Trials expose the blind spots in your

wisdom.

James, he's a little cheeky here when he

says, "If anyone lacks wisdom, more like

when when you lack wisdom because no

one's perfectly wise except the Lord."

What do you do when you lack wisdom?

What do you do when you lack is what

lack wisdom? James says, "Ask God."

Ask God. He's generous. He's generous

with passing out wisdom. You need wisdom

in trials.

Ask the one who's the source of all

wisdom.

But ask in faith. James says God uses

trials to reveal where your faith is

fragile. Not to destroy your faith, but

to refine and strengthen your faith.

When James says the doubting person will

not receive anything from the Lord, he

doesn't mean the person who sometimes

struggles or sometimes doubts, like

that's all us. It's like the the the man

who who who's afraid for his child and

was asking the Lord for help and he

says, "I believe. Help my unbelief."

James isn't talking about that person.

That's just the the the normal life. We

we are imperfect in our in our faith.

That's not what he means. He's talking

about the double-minded person. You see

that that phrase there in verse 8,

the double-minded person who wants God's

help while at the same time refusing to

entrust himself to God. God help me, but

I'm not going to trust you.

When you pray for wisdom, are you

actually asking God to lead you or just

asking him to confirm what you already

decided?

When you ask God for wisdom, are you

actually asking him to lead you, or you

just want him to confirm what you

already decided? A sky diver can't say

they trust their parachute while at the

same time refusing to leave the plane.

Like, you don't trust the parachute at

that point, right? It's like using

Google Maps

for directions, but ignoring it every

time it tells you to turn because you

think you know a better way to your

destination. The double-minded person

asks God for wisdom

while already trusting themselves.

The word means double sold. Double sold.

You're looking at God while also looking

for human answers. James is calling you

to ask God in faith for wisdom to help

you in your trials so that steadfastness

has its full effect on you. Perfection,

completion.

You must ask God

for help in the middle of it. You need

wisdom for the trials of life. God will

give it to you. Listen, God will hand

out wisdom to you. Have you been to a

parade and they're tossing sweets out,

you know, from the floats? I mean, he

just does deliberately just throwing

wisdom out.

If you ask him in faith, knowing that

you need it and that you don't have the

answers,

you lose your job.

Do you panic

or do you trust the Lord to provide?

You're in a difficult marriage and your

spouse criticizes you again. Do you

retaliate?

Do you respond gently?

Your child walks away from the faith.

Do you despair

or do you keep on your knees crying out

for mercy for your child?

You receive a difficult diagnosis from

the doctor. Do you become bitter?

Would you cling to Christ?

You're treated unfairly at work. Do you

compromise your integrity

or do you endure it

faithfully?

Your prayers, they seem they just seem

to go unanswered, like God doesn't hear

you. Do you give up or are you a

persistent widow that just keeps

knocking on God's door?

You face chronic pain.

Do you complain constantly

or do you learn contentment in your

pain?

You're lonely.

Do you run to sinful comfort or do you

run to Christ

who will give you everything you need?

You're about to make a major life

decision. Do you lean on your own

understanding? I got this.

I know where to move. I know what house

to buy. I know when to start this, stop

this.

Or do you ask God for wisdom?

You need wisdom to respond

in trials.

God will give it. He will give it. This

life is so messy, brother and sister. It

is so frustrating at times.

You will shed many tears.

You will ask why a thousand times.

Therefore,

ask for wisdom.

Refuse to be double-minded. Refuse to

trust yourself.

Endure your trials with joy

because God uses every single one of

them to bring you to a place of

completion and perfection.

You will be sinless one day.

You will walk before a holy God and be

able to do that without being

annihilated.

Count it all joy

when you meet trials of various kinds

because he's producing a steadfastness

in you that will outweigh

any of the hardship that you experience.

Let's pray. Father, we

humbly and soberly come before you

acknowledging that this is hard truth.

These are hard truths.

And yet at the same time, we acknowledge

that you are so good.

And that your love is so faithful.

It is perfect love.

So, Father, when we doubt and when we

fear

and we feel alone and we feel like

you're not answering and we feel like we

can't take anymore,

would you remind us of your love? Would

you lift our eyes?

Would you remind us of what this is

producing in us, which is a

steadfastness that brings glory to the

Savior.

And would we therefore count our trials

joy?

Would you help us be a people that's

characterized by that

to the glory of Jesus?

And we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Let's

stand and sing together.