Last week we considered how we can go out of focus spiritually. Our decisions can get blurred by a mixture of selfserving motives and circumstances that can cloud our vision. We saw how prayer is a means in regaining our focus in life situations (v.13), sickness (vv.14-15), and as a community in general (vv.16-18). But what if the problem is not simply going out of focus, but focusing on the wrong thing? What do you do to help a person who calls himself or herself a Christian yet starts to act like a pagan? Do you “mind your own business?” Do you let the pastor deal with it? Do you let them simply grow out of it? …

 

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Living a life of faith is meant to be all encompassing. It is meant to color everything we think about, it is to invade every decision we make. However, even the sincerest of us can find ourselves not enjoying a crisp, God-centered focus. Why is this? It is because each of us slouches toward the “stuff of life” to find our satisfaction. Things like pleasure, possessions, or our life plans can quickly steer us toward self-centered living. Let’s face it, we are constantly being pushed to go out-of-focus. Our perspective gets fuzzy; our decisions get blurred by a mixture of self-serving motives that cloud our vision, and we find ourselves out of focus. Today you will find out how to …

 

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Are we guilty of deliberate, willful sin as a Church? Why would I say such a thing? Don’t we ask people to swear an oath to God and other members in front of our assembly when they become members of our Church? Doesn’t James clearly say this is wrong: “Above all, my brothers, do not swear…”? It could be even worse if you are married! Did you happen to make a vow at your wedding? What about the individual who “swears” on a Bible as a witness in court? Could it be that God has abandoned our Country because we have sinned against Him in this way – to “swear” to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but …

 

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How do you live like a Christian when nothing seems to be going your way? This question aptly describes the situation James’ friends must have been facing. They were under persecution for their faith; they were encountering the distress of societal prejudice; they were being torn apart by the abusiveness of the tongue; they were plagued by a carnal, worldly spirit; and they were being mistreated by the wealthy in their communities. Whether they looked out or in, there were major threats at every turn. I dare say that we are not in quite the predicament these believers faced. Yet there are certainly millions of believers across the globe that could identify with each distress encountered by these first …

 

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Last week, we looked at James 4:13-17. In that passage, James deals with those who have a low view of God (he is my co-pilot—I’m in control and He is there to help me when I get in trouble) and this led them to arrogantly plan their lives with no concern for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. To do so is to be like the fool who says in his heart, “there is no God.” Your plans will only succeed if they are God’s plans. God’s plan ALWAYS succeeds. To fail to acknowledge God in all your ways is sin. This week, we look at how James finishes this thought by further warning the self-sufficient wealthy (…

 

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Last week we saw how two issues (“speaking evil” and “judging” – v.11) are to be dealt with by seeing God for who He is. How does this work? When we see God for who He is we remember our place in the lives of those around us. It is then that our view of the greatness of God will insulates us from speaking evil (judging the motives of others), and judging others (withholding hope) since we know our place – “who are you to judge” (v.12b). This week we will explore how our view of God will affect another key-result area of life (James 4:13-17). MP3 download.

 

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Some people think that church is a place for “righteous” people. Some people think church is just filled with hypocrites who love to impose standards they can’t live out. Still there are others who would say that church is a place to receive unconditional love and acceptance because “God is love.” While perceptions of what “church” is are all over the map, there is one thing that is absolutely true about church – it is messy. It was no different in the days of James. The followers of Jesus, to whom James is writing, were caught in a place where reality and remedy needed to come together under the umbrella of the grace of God …

 

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In life there are words that are meant to get your attention. In James 4:4-10 there is a word given which is meant to get our attention as strongly as any other word you can think of. It is the word “adultery.” God chooses to use this word; a word filled with emotional heartbreak, to describe His hurt when followers of Jesus choose to live like the world. Think about how powerful that is. Like the pain that screams from every fiber of a person’s being who has been betrayed by their lover, God hurts when His people think and act like the world. Today, we will talk about how the people James is writing to had …

 

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War is an unfortunate way of life for this fallen world. The 20th Century was perhaps the bloodiest of all. But wars between nations are not the only types of conflicts we endure. The result is destroyed friendships, divided families, ruined businesses and even split churches. Today, we look at the root cause of wars, quarrels, and fights as is described in James 4:1-3. MP3 download.

 

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Have you ever been given bad advice? When bad advice or personal insight masquerades as biblical teaching it can actual obscure our understanding of God. This will, in turn, change the way we relate to Him. This leads to a fabrication of God, which is a fancy way of saying “idolatry.” When this happens, we all lose. This is precisely why we need to listen to what James says in James 3:17-18 about what true wisdom looks like and what wisdom produces. MP3 download.

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