Dig Deeper - Sunday 16th November
Sermon Reflection Questions - James - Genuine Faith: Come Back to God
James 4:1-10
Dig Deeper notes from Sunday 16th November service:
Summary
We don’t usually wander from God in one dramatic moment—it happens slowly. A rushed
morning with no prayer. A lingering frustration we don’t take to Him. A small compromise.
A busy week where our hearts feel a little colder. James writes to people like us—people
who love God, yet often drift.
He begins by asking a piercing question: “What causes fights and quarrels among you?”
(James 4:1). Before we blame circumstances or other people, James points us inward.
Our outward conflicts often reveal inner battles—desires pulling us away from God’s
heart. When we stop asking God for help, or when our prayers become self-focused, our
hearts become untended gardens where weeds take root.
James uses strong language to describe what drifting really is: spiritual adultery (4:4).
When we let the world’s values shape us—self-promotion, self-protection, pride,
resentment—our hearts gradually align more with the world than with Christ. But James
doesn’t leave us there. Over all our wandering stands this incredible sentence: “But he
gives us more grace.” (4:6)
More grace than your failures.
More grace than your coldness.
More grace than your wandering desires.
God’s heart is not to shame you but to restore you. He longs for you with a jealous,
covenant love. No matter how far you feel, His grace is greater.
So how do we come back?
James gives simple, everyday steps—less a checklist and more a returning posture.
Submit to God (4:7).
Place yourself again under His good rule. Let Him lead. Let Him define what is true and
what is best.
Resist the devil (4:7).
The enemy whispers discouragement and distance. But in Christ’s strength you can resist
those lies—and Scripture promises he will flee.
Come near to God (4:8).
And He will come near to you. Every small step toward God—one honest prayer, one
moment of quiet, one confession—draws Him close with joy.
Repent sincerely (4:8–9).
Repentance is simply honesty before God. Naming what’s pulling us away. Letting Him
clean what has grown cluttered or compromised.
Humble yourself (4:10).
Let go of self-reliance. Open your hands. Depend on Him. And He will lift you up—
restoring what’s weary and renewing what’s burdened.
James 4 isn’t a scolding but an invitation. God is not standing with folded arms; He is the
Father who runs toward His returning children. If your heart feels distant today—if prayer
is dry, or sin feels heavy, or you’re tired of pretending—hear this gentle call:
Come home.
Come near.
Come back to the God who gives more grace.
Discussion & Application Questions
1. Where do you most often notice your heart beginning to drift from God?
2. What “inner battles” or desires tend to spill out into your relationships?
3. What would it look like this week to actively “draw near to God” in a simple,
practical way?
4. Which worldly attitudes (pride, anger, self-promotion, comparison) quietly shape
your decisions?
5. How can humility become a daily posture rather than a momentary feeling?
Prayer
Father, thank you that you give more grace than we could ever exhaust. Draw us back to
You today. Reveal the places where our hearts have wandered, and give us courage to
return. Cleanse what is unhelpful, heal what is wounded, and lift us up by Your love. Make
us humble, make us holy, and make us close to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
