Tue Aug 18

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the words mercy and judgment.

Reading

James 2:1-13 — Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

Optional Reading

Psalm 85:1-13

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

We need mercy.
We deserve judgment.
In the cross, mercy and justice come together.

Questions

(Some read the ?s before the notes/ ask them after.)

How do mercy and judgment come together in the cross?
How should we respond if we have received mercy?
How can others tell if we have received mercy?

Notes

(See Saturday for authors.)

We are a reflection of the mercy of Christ. The message of the gospel is that we all need mercy. We need mercy that "triumphs over judgment" (2:13). Praise God that He brings justice and mercy together in the cross, and you and I can be declared right before God based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. James is saying that when you have experienced that kind of mercy, you clearly know how to show mercy to others. God's mercy in you overflows from you.
As we have received mercy, so we extend mercy. Just as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, "For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive your as well. But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing" (Matt 6:14-15). When you are forgiven of your sins, you are compelled to forgive others. As you have received mercy, you extend mercy. But the converse of this truth is particularly humbling and penetrating: if we do not extend mercy, we demonstrate that we have not received mercy. James says that judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful (2:13). This is not saying we need to be merciful to others in order to earn mercy before God. You can't earn mercy; it's mercy because it can't be earned. No, this text is saying you can tell who has received mercy from God by the way they show mercy to others.

David Platt, Exalting Jesus in James (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 35-36.

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 101a, 51d

Prayer

Pray that you will be a reflection of the mercy of Christ.
Give thanks for something from last Lord's Day's sermons.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.