This sermon concludes our study through James. We have said many times along the way that James is a very practical book. Yes, there is plenty of theology in this letter. But in the end, this book is about putting our faith in action. It’s not enough just to say we believe in Jesus; we…
James has talked a lot in this letter about how to handle suffering as a follower of Jesus. Now as he draws near to the end, James turns to the subject of prayer. More than anything else, we must turn to the Lord in prayer. This is true in all times – but especially when…
“Are you a Mary or a Martha?” Maybe you’ve been asked that question before. And while it is a question worth answering, it is important to see that both women were doing a good thing – but only one of them was doing the best thing. In this Mother’s Day sermon, we will look to…
The Bible talks a lot about waiting on the Lord. But HOW do we do that? How do we wait on the Lord? And in particular, how do we wait on the Lord when we are suffering? It is hard enough to wait when things are going well. But how do we wait when we…
According to a Bible commentator named Kent Hughes, the social reformer Upton Sinclair was once asked to speak to a group of Protestant ministers. In the course of his speech, Sinclair read a paraphrase of James 5:1-6. However, he told the ministers that the words came from a well-known anarchist named Emma Goldman. Failing to…
From the beginning of His life all the way to the end, people kept asking the same question about Jesus: “Who is this?” Who is this baby that makes Simeon sing? Who is this boy who teaches the teachers? Who is this rabbi that casts out demons and heals the sick? Who is this man…
Living out our faith in the way that we speak is one of the main threads that runs through James. He has talked about it in some form or another in each of the three and half chapters that have come before this point. Now in 4:11-17, James returns to this theme by setting our…
In James 3:13-18, James warns us to live according to God’s heavenly wisdom instead of embracing the wisdom of the world. Now in this next passage, James 4:1-10, he equips us so that we can follow through. In this passage, followers of Jesus discover a three-step strategy for winning the war on worldly wisdom in…