Today, we look at a Day 4 text from this year’s summer curriculum, “From Generation to Generation.”
Prayer: God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen. (The Serenity Prayer) Reading: James 1:1-6 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: This is a verse I have heard many times before. This verse seems to take on new meanings as the seasons of life change. I looked to this verse frequently in college during challenging seasons of schoolwork and physical therapy, and I look to it again now. I was excited to see it included as a part of this year’s summer curriculum at Mount Luther. I think it could especially stir up some great conversation among senior high campers and family campers. A big theme of the book of James is the outward demonstration of inner faith. Not salvation by works, but salvation by faith and a faith that bears fruit. I read a few commentary notes on the book when writing this, and really loved how it described James, the half-brother of Jesus. It said that the book of James has 54 commands in only 108 verses, naming him “James the Challenger”, and how this makes his book like the New Testament version of Proverbs. In chapter one it paints a of picture of trials as things that may have positive effects…at the end of persevering through them. The other things that struck me was the title of this section of commentary notes: ‘Trials: not “if” but “when”!’ And that is something we all heard a little over a month ago as the pandemic was hitting the United States, it was no longer a matter of “if” but “when.” And that really scared me. Trials can be really scary, but I hope this passage was encouraging to you as it was for me. May we persevere with faith, looking to God’s word, the Holy Spirit, and relationships with one another to lift us up! --Anne Harshbarger
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