Life on mission can be very hard whenever we forget who we are and who God is. Today’s message is a reminder – that we need to help one another remember!!! James 1:16-18 (15 minutes).
Note: at 7:40, I say the passage includes the Greek word euangellion, or “gospel”. It doesn’t! Rather, it says logo aletheias, literally “word of truth” which, of course, the gospel proclaims. My apologies for the error!
If discipleship is about learning from Jesus how to live like Jesus, life on mission is learning to represent Jesus faithfully. It’s not easy to stay on mission, but it’s worth it and the stakes are high. James makes it clear: it’s about life and death! He encourages us to choose life! James challenges us to persevere through trials while giving insight regarding the temptations that will take us out! One leads to a crown. The other to death.
(15 Minutes)
Good Morning and Happy Sunday!
God has invited us into his mission – and remembering who we are on mission determines who gets the glory. We have to help one another get this one right or we risk wasting God’s gifts and hurting one another! (Some of you will notice that I over-generalize about modern translations.
My apologies! May it not distract you from what the Lord may be saying!)
From James writing, we can gain some crucial insight for strategies that will help us Remember Our Identity! James 1:9-11 2:1-8
God has placed you strategically to influence the lives of your neighbors, friends, and family. Could you use more wisdom for this assignment? Of course! No matter where we are, what role we play, or how wide our influence may be, God calls us to represent him wherever we go – and for this, we need to grow in wisdom!
James offers good insight for understanding the kind of wisdom we need and for gaining this critical resource! (About 16-1/2 minutes).
“Consider it pure joy when you endure trials of many and various kinds.” How does that work?Theologian and pastor Tim Keller says, “In the secular view, suffering is never seen as a meaningful part of life but only as an interruption.” “But suffering is actually at the heart of the Christian story.” When we find ourselves joining that story, that’s when we can begin to discover the great redemptive purposes God has for us in the trials we face.
This is the first in a series as we work through the book of James and gain insight from God’s Word about Life Together following Jesus. (19 minutes recorded at the end of the day).
LoveFirst Coast 