- Jul 4, 2021James Part 15: Prayer / Power
James Part 15: Prayer / PowerWe will never have more power than when we pray!
- Jun 27, 2021James Part 14: Yes / No
James Part 14: Yes / NoAs Christians, we should be the most honest people in the world. As people of faith in the one true God, we should never rely on oaths and striking bargains... his will is enough. Don't destroy your testimony or relationship with God by refusing to simply let your yes be yes and your no be no.
- Jun 20, 2021James Part 13: Patience / Complaining
James Part 13: Patience / ComplainingPatience is hard for each of us. It's the one thing none of us wants to pray for more of, yet we need it more than we can ever imagine. The days are hard and long and as we wait we need to learn how to wait. The thing that gives us the most strength in patience is knowing that Christ is returning soon.
- Jun 13, 2021James Part 12: Greed / Indulgence
James Part 12: Greed / IndulgenceIt is not a sin to have wealth, it is a sin to love wealth. As a believer we cannot serve both money and God, we can't love the world and Christ. Therefore we need to know how to combat greed and indulgence in order to put our faith into action. Like a calf fattened for slaughter, when we indulge in our riches we butcher our soul.
- Jun 6, 2021James Part 11: Concede / Control
James Part 11: Concede / ControlYou life will never be what it was meant to be... what it could be... until you concede control of your life over to the one who is actually in control. Until you concede your life over to God in Christ Jesus, life will consistently disappoint you and will be a waste. Stop ignoring God's will for your life. Stop boasting as if what you have and what you've done is your doing. Instead, recognize that God is in control and that you don't need to be. Life is so much more worth living when we let go and let God.
- May 30, 2021James Part 10: Condemn / Restore
James Part 10: Condemn / RestoreIn a few places in the Bible we are called to refrain from judging our brothers and sisters in Christ. In others we are called to judge our brothers and sisters in Christ. Is this a paradox? Is this a contradiction in the Word of God? It depends on the definition of judge. In some cases it means to condemn; in others it means to discern one's sin as to restore them in Christ. The former is a sin, the later is kingdom building and God glorifying! We must restore our brothers and sisters in Christ and we must never make a final ruling over one's character. That is God's responsibility.. not ours. Our's is to restore.
- May 23, 2021James Part 9: War / Peace
James Part 9: War / Peace
How long do you want to go on losing at life? How long do you want to war with God? How much do you desire peace in your soul? Today you can find peace in your soul. Today you can stop fighting every single day to find satisfaction and contentment. You can stop looking in the bars, the parties, the sinful relationships, money, popularity, prestige, or power. And you can find just what you are looking for in Christ. When we make war upon our flesh and our sinful passions by submitting to God in repentance and humility the Spirit within us will be victorious. And we will be fully satisfied in God... we will find peace with God.
- May 16, 2021James Part 8: Arrogance / Meekness
James Part 8: Arrogance / MeeknessHow freeing would it be to escape the rat race of self-promotion?According to scripture there are two dominant attitudes within culture; arrogance or meekness. Which one you adopt is determined by which stream of wisdom you drink from. Once again, there are two streams from which to drink. Worldly wisdom which is man-centric, or Godly wisdom which is God-centric. Shaping a worldview around yourself can only produce an arrogant attitude. It seeks to promote one person above all else... you. It seeks to benefit one person above all else... you. In the end, all that's left... is you. But, shaping a worldview around God will inevitably lead to an attitude of meekness. One which does not seek to promote one's self, rather it seeks the wellbeing of others and the glory of God. When you stop drinking from the world's wisdom, stop seeing yourself and your happiness as the chief goal of life you will be free from a constant toiling for your own glorification, knowing that if God wants you promoted, he will see to it in his way and in his timing. In the meantime, place your focus on Him. Stop listening to the world, adopt a God-centric worldview, and live in meekness before God and man.
- May 9, 2021James Part 7: Bless / Curse
James Part 7: Bless / Curse
Shouldn't we know how to use our words in ways that bless people, encourage people, and show people the love of Christ, rather than tearing people down, and discouraging them. James is being very clear here this morning... if we can't talk in a way that encourages others and blesses our God... then we don't necessarily have a talking issue... we have a faith issue.
Mother Teresa says this, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” Nathaniel Hawthorne said this, “Words, so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” Today our main point is this... the things you say tell us who you really are. The tongue will let us now if you are a person who blesses others... or a person who curses others. Let's look at the passage today and see six different illustrations and three different ways we can see how the tongue tells us who you really are.
- May 2, 2021James Part 6: Faith / Works
James Part 6: Faith / WorksIf i were to ask a first responder, how do you determine if someone is alive if they are unresponsive, I'm sure they would tell me to check their pulse, their breathing, or perhaps to shine a light in their eyes. If this is how we determine whether a body is alive... if the heart, lungs, eyes are working... why then is it not okay to determine whether a faith is alive by whether their trust, obedience, and love are working? James tells us in chapter 2 verse 26: "for as the body apart from the spirit is dead... so faith apart from works is dead.