2026
Favoritism Forbidden
Passage: James 1:27-2:7
REFLECTION QUOTES
Blessed are the powerful
Blessed are the rich
Blessed are the merciless
And the hypocrites
They will inherit the empires passing
It’s the American Gospel
Blessed are the powerless
Blessed are the poor
Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are the pure
For they will inherit the kingdom of Heaven
And that’s the heart of the Gospel
“The church is…made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything else of that sort. Christians come together…because they have all been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance…They are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake.” D.A. Carson
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What are three things you love and what helps you appreciate each of these things in their rightful place/value?
Read James 1:27-2:7. What does this passage show you about God’s character and about being his follower? What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage?
In what ways do you observe or experience favoritism happening in our culture and in your heart?
How does favoritism affect our longing for God’s glory? How is favoritism a way of being polluted by the world as described in 1:27?
In the sermon, three ways were suggested for not showing favoritism: 1) See the glory of the imago dei (image of God) 2) See the glory of the church 3) See the glory of Jesus. How does a focus on these three fight against favoritism? Which of these three is easier or more challenging for you to practice and why?
In what ways does Jesus’s life and ministry give us a helpful example of not showing favoritism, and also how does the reality of Jesus not showing favoritism toward us personally shape our motivation and practice of obedience to James’s instructions in this passage?
PRAYER
Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9