Sheltered, undisturbed plants may grow fast and even tall, but the result is a weak, fragile, and easily uprooted plant. By contrast, plants exposed to rain, wind, and the occasional disturbance grow strong, stable, and sturdy.

Your soul works the same way.

In this opening sermon of our summer series through the letter of James, we walk through James 1:1–18 and the old wisdom he himself leans into: that the trials we face are not meant to destroy us, but to activate and strengthen what has been given to us. We consider why the testing of faith produces steadfastness, what it means to ask God for wisdom without a divided soul, why the life resourced by appearances withers like grass, and the crucial difference between a trial and a temptation — one external, one a heart unsubmitted. Faith does its work not in one dramatic moment but over many ordinary ones, completing us — maturing us toward our purposed end — because what God starts in history and in us, he finishes in history through us.

Questions for Reflection:

• James contends that the disturbances of life help ensure our maturation and completion. Where in your daily relations and responsibilities might God be activating and purifying your faith right now?
• When something hard hits, is your first instinct to face it as a trial that strengthens, or to read it as God against you? What would it look like to "count it all joy"?
• Where are you living divided — "double-souled" — tossed between believing and not believing? What wisdom do you need to ask God for, without doubting?

Scripture References: James 1:1–18; Psalm 63:1–8; Proverbs 24:16; Acts 2:36; 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12; Psalm 1:3

Voices/Quotes: Douglas Moo Commentary on James; John Calvin Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Keith McCurdy Raising Sturdy Kids; Jonathan Haidt The Anxious Generation

Sermon Notes & Liturgy | James: Faith at Work

Christ City Church gathers every Sunday at 10:10 AM at 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218; in the chapel at LHB. 
Come rest in Jesus. Learn more at christcity.life