If you've ever wondered what your life should practically look like as a Christian, or if you've had any doubt as to what is required of you, the Book of James is the book you should study. Today, Pastor Ed will be challenging us through practical examples on how our lives as Christians should look. We should be living in such a way that our behaviors and deeds properly reflect the character of Jesus. We are called to be the light of the world, but if we look just like the world, how will they see Jesus in us?

As Pastor Ed continues his teaching series through the Book of James, he'll be encouraging us to not simply be hearers of the Word of God, but to be doers also. The Bible was given not so much for our information, but for our transformation. The Word of God has been given to us to make a difference in our life. Unless the Word of God has made a change in our life, it hasn't truly entered our life. The most important thing you can do is to make your time in prayer and the Word of God a top priority.

The Bible commands us to guard our hearts with all diligence, yet many times we allow secular music or ungodly movies and TV shows to entertain us and influence us. As Pastor Ed continues his teaching series through the Book of James, he'll be exhorting us not to make any provision for the flesh. Yes, we are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus, but we still have to practically choose to obey the Lord instead of our flesh. We are in a continual battle with our flesh nature, don't underestimate it.

Today, Pastor Ed will be reminding us that there are no religious ceremonies or good works that can make us right with God. The only way we can be saved, is by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior. There is no other way man can be saved! There is a danger to try and add to the finished work of Jesus. We often try to receive Jesus' sacrifice for our sins but then add our own works into the mix. The sacrifice of Jesus plus anything is not the true Gospel. We do good deeds out of gratitude, not to earn anything.

Sometimes it can be hard to understand why we are being tempted to sin. Today, Pastor Ed reminds us that we live in a broken and evil world, and that human nature is to follow the most enticing and most self-satisfying thing. God promises a better life when we follow Him, but that doesn’t stop the world from bringing us every type of sin we can imagine! In those times of temptation, we can turn to the promises that are written out for us in the Bible, and lean on God’s strength to resist the sin!

Because of the existence of evil in this world, the temptation to do the wrong thing is ongoing. Temptation to sin is part of the problem of being a human, and sadly, we all give in to it, sometimes on a daily basis. When we realize that we will never be able to conquer our tendency to sin, and that we really do need Jesus to save us and forgive us, we will have the strength of God to resist those sins. Pastor Ed reminds us today that the temptation will still come, but we can stand up to it in faith!

Christians have a wonderful promise of a future home in Heaven, a place where no evil exists, and where the presence of God is everywhere! Pastor Ed reminds us today that when hard times hit here on earth, we can cling to the promise of Heaven and the assurance that the pain will one day be over! It doesn’t matter what happens in this life as long as God is our source of strength! People around us, though, may not have that hope, so today is a great day to share the promise of Heaven with someone else!

As trials come our way in life, we can be sure of many truths from the Bible. Not only will God stay by our sides during those difficult times, but He will also use the hard times to strengthen us, and develop a deeper relationship with Him, if we will allow it! God allows us to walk through trials not because He wants us to be in pain, but so that we will learn to lean on Him. Pastor Ed encourages us in today’s message to turn to God always, and allow the good times and hard times to grow us in our trust of Him!

As Pastor Ed introduces us to a new study on the book of James, we already find challenges to how we approach life. There will be times in every life where we will face difficulty. At that point, we also face a choice in how we will respond to it. We could complain, or even ask Him to never bring us hardship in the first place! Today, however, Pastor Ed challenges us to ask God instead what He wants to teach us through this trial. This act will help build our faith, and show us God’s love and power!

Each person has been influenced differently to believe certain things in life. Based on who taught us, what environment we grew up in, and what we have allowed the world to tell us, we each have a picture of God that may or may not be quite accurate. Today, Pastor Ed begins a new series on the book of James, and explores this idea of people’s views of God. The great news is that we have a resource to give us an accurate picture of God! All we need to know about Him is written in the Bible!