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An overview of our core doctrinal beliefs and theological positions.
From weekly announcements to stories and spotlights of God at work.
EQUIPPING PEOPLE TO BE DISCIPLES AND DISCIPLE-MAKERS.
Luke 21 | This passage in Luke 21 implores us to always keep our eyes vertical, no matter what may come our way in life.
The gospel invites us to a lifestyle of confession. Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. He came to save sinners. Because of this, we don't need to excuse sin or deny sin, but rather we can confess our sin to a faithful and just God and receive his forgiveness and cleansing. Join us as we turn to 1 John 1:5-10 to be spurred toward a life of gospel-motivated confession and away from a life of being buried in the darkness of our unconfessed sin.
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.”
James 5:13-20 | In typical field manual fashion, James ends his letter with pointed, practical help for a variety of situations in life. There is a word to the sufferer, the cheerful, the sick, and a call to pursue the wanderer. In it all, we see the power of prayer, praise, and pursuit. Let's end this study by gleaning the power of what James leaves us with as he closes out his field manual of authentic faith lived out.
James 5:7-13 | Time under tension builds physical muscle. How does the tension of life build our faith muscle? Let's unpack James command to be patient under suffering.
James 5:1-6 | Jesus cut it straight, "You cannot serve God and money." Period. If I am serving money I am not and cannot serve God. In James 5:1-6, James speaks a word to rich, oppressive unbelievers warning them that though they may have present riches, they are facing a future judgment. Within this warning he speaks of three indictments against them, and these three indictments serve as pointed warnings to us. Let's let God's word search us as we look together at three warnings money is my god.
James 4:13-17 Simply put, God's plan is better than our plan. Let's look at three things from James 4 that following God's plan requires.
Worldliness sets in so subtly. It can be hard to identify ways we have taken up a friendship with the world that is opposed to God. Though it may be subtle, it is deadly. We must wage war on worldliness and we have to know the battle plan God gives us to do so. James 4:1-12 gives us the answers to four questions we must know in order to wage war on worldliness in our lives.
If we lack wisdom we can ask God, and he will give it to us generously. But how do we recognize the wisdom from above? What are the characteristics of wisdom that come from God and how do we keep ourselves from falling into the counterfeits of a worldly, unspiritual, demonic "wisdom"? Fortunately for us, James gives us teaching this week to address this very thing. Together we will look at "Four A's to Aid us in Identifying Wisdom from Above.”
Have you ever said something you wish you could have back? Have you ever said a foolish thing at the totally wrong time? Have you ever opened your mouth to spew angry words when you knew you should be quiet instead? Why do we do this? Why do we so often say what we know we shouldn't? James tells us why. Today we look at four dangerously destructive truths of the tongue from James 3:1-12.
Do you have any Easter expectations? You may have not thought about that, but all of us carry expectations, big and small, for Easter Sunday. On the very first Easter Sunday three women walked to a gravesite with 2 expectations: A closed tomb and a dead body. Instead what they found would turn out to be the most life-altering, history-shaping, world-changing event of history. He was not there. He had risen. And EVERYTHING hinges on that good news.
Can a faith that has not changed us, save us? What would James say to the one who claims a faith in Christ but whose life shows no deeds to authenticate that claim? James is straight to the point with us: Faith without works is dead. This week we unpack the beautiful reality that a genuine faith will get expressed, not perfectly but patternly, in a life of obedient works to God. Let's let this text search our hearts this week to ensure the faith we claim is the faith we live.
People of this world get enamored with the rich, powerful, and celebrity. Often these people are preferred and pedestaled. Even as Christians, it can be easy to fall into playing favorites with those who carry a high social standing in this world. James warns us in this passage that doers of the word don't live like this. Marked by gospel shaped hearts, and motivated by Great Commandment love, genuine doers of the word shun a life of partiality and favoritism, and seek to love the hearts of people regardless of external appearance and socio-economic status. To cut it straight: Genuine Christians don't play favorites.
Our study in James last week made it clear that we are to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. This week, we’ll examine three practical things evident in the pure religion of doers of the Word.
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REDEEMER MINISTRIES
If someone asked you to describe how much Christ has forgiven you, what words would you use? Astronomically. Astoundingly. Indescribably. Infinitely. There are no words we can adequately grab ahold of to describe Christ's forgiveness extended to us. It's when we understand how deeply we have been forgiven that we will live a life of forgiveness toward others. My unforgiveness is a sign that I have never experienced Christ's forgiveness, or if I have, I have lost sight of how much I have been forgiven. We turn to one of Jesus' powerful parables on forgiveness for a deeper understanding of how those who have been mercifully forgiven forgive mercifully.