For the next semester of our ConnectGroup, we will be studying the Book of James. I was doing some preliminary research to make sure I have a baseline for the study. It turns out James is Jesus' brother. But there seems to be multiple theories about what that means. Here are the three most popular: 1) James is the younger brother of Jesus, and his parents are Mary and Joseph. 2) James is the son of Joseph, but not Mary, making him an older step-brother to Jesus. 3) James is actually a cousin to Jesus as there is no word for cousin in Aramaic, so the Aramaic word for brother was sometimes used for cousin. I haven't done enough research to know which I believe, but what I do know is that James knew Jesus closely, and he authored one of the most important books in the Bible. The Book of James is known for its practical advice of how to live like Jesus, with the key verse being James 1:22. "But be doers of the Word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." I look forward to learning from James and the other members of our group.
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