God has no favourites in his kingdom and therefore, we are not to have our own favourites in the church – his family here on earth. To show partiality, James teaches, not only goes against the royal law of love, but sets ourselves up to be "judges with evil thoughts" and "transgressors of the law." Where would any of us be if not for the gracious favour God has shown each and every one of his children, without distinction? Our own salvation depends entirely upon the mercy of God. And so, as those "under the law of liberty" who have received such mercy from God, we are to receive one another in similar fashion– not in judgment, but with mercy.

This week in our passage from James we encounter some clear yet rarely followed wisdom to the question, "How should I live in order to please the Lord?" Listen to the word of God, and do what it says. The world is full of advice givers trying to instruct and guide us on the best way to live. They tell us what they believe is most important—the what, where, when, how, and why of life. James joins the conversation, but instead of offering us people's thoughts and opinions, he points us to a higher source: the Word of God. James reminds us of the Word's vital role in guiding us to understand what God and the Lord Jesus Christ find pleasing, so we can live by it. There is no guesswork involved. However, it's not enough just to own a bible, is it? We must read it, listen to God's words, and follow what it says.

Don't be deceived! If every good and perfect gift comes from the Father, why would we doubt his goodness and grace when trials of various kinds come our way? And yet, this is the temptation we all face when our faith is tested. James helps us to remain steadfast under such trials by making us aware of the 'life-cycle' of temptation and sin which brings forth death, and by reminding us of the gracious unchangeable character of God who has brought us forth into new life by the word of truth. Please pray that we might hear and abide by that word of truth and so be kept from being deceived.

How wonderful it is to know that Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11-12, Mark 3:34-35). And yet, is it equally wonderful to hear James, the once unbelieving brother of Jesus, call himself a "bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." This letter of James is written by a changed man– from unbelief to saving faith; sceptical brother to humble servant; from cynical hearer to faithful doer of the word. What has brought about this transformation? – "He gives more grace." Far from being an 'epistle of straw' (as Luther once described it), the Letter of James is filled with practical gospel substance. James expects the grace of God to bear fruit in the lives of those who have received it and so exhorts us to a living and active faith. As we sit under this word in the coming months, may we be "not hearers only, deceiving ourselves," but "doers of the word" of grace that we hear.

This week we commence a series on the letter of James. Ray will give a more in-depth introduction to the letter next week, while my sermon will focus on Chapter 1 verses 2-12. There James asks us, as his readers, to 'count it pure joy' when we encounter various trials. Is that reasonable? Is it even possible? Well, yes it is if we know that through trials God is maturing our faith so that we become steadfast. God is at work in us and will generously grant us the wisdom we need to endure each trial and remain firm in our trust in his goodness and sovereignty. Such trials may include poverty or wealth - both can test our faith - and James gives instruction on faith's response to both situations. When we are tested and remain steadfast in faith our love for the Lord deepens because we know he is the one who achieved this in us, such is his mercy and kindness to us in Christ Jesus. James reminds us that, as those who love God, we receive the promised 'Crown of Life', which, much more than the gift of immortality, is eternal life with the One we love. Could there be any greater blessing than that?!

As we come to the last of our 'Finishing Touches' this week, my hope and prayer is that by putting before us just one of the many images of our future hope found in the Scriptures we might be encouraged and equipped to persevere in faith, even with joy, as we face times of trial and affliction in this life. More than that, I pray the Lord might produce in us the good fruit that comes through suffering in faith – the fruit of perseverance, character and hope. This hope, and the confidence we have in it, does not come because of our perseverance, or lack thereof. It is not up to us to make our hope sure. Praise be to God! This hope does not disappoint or put us to shame because of God's love which has been poured into our hearts though the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

James exhorts us to be patient and not cave in when life throws us a curve ball. He provides some vivid examples of what it means to be steadfast in the light of Christ's coming, no matter what we face. We may struggle with the shock and despair that suffering brings and wonder what on earth God is doing. As with Job, the reason behind our suffering may be hidden from us, but we need not doubt the Lord's purpose nor His compassion and mercy even in the darkest of times. This is not an encouragement to passive resignation. It is an invitation to exercise active faith – a faith that is not closed off to the powerful action of believing prayer whereby even the sick may be healed.

1 Peter is a letter written to Christians spread across several regions. Folks who have been chosen, destined, and sanctified by the Father and Spirit to be obedient to Jesus. While many are aware of the blessing of such a calling from the Lord, the Apostle Peter knows that it comes with a cost. It is not for nothing that Peter refers to the church as Exiles, and spends a great deal of time in the letter addressing the suffering of the church. To call Jesus Lord and live accordingly results in the contempt of the world and various trials in life. How do we respond to such a foretelling of the future? It is easy for the believer to dwell on the difficulty and bleakness of such a hostile and isolating future. It is easy to be overcome with hopelessness, insecurity, and fear. It is also common not to know how to comfort brothers and sisters of the faith when they are faced with such bleak prospects. Peter addresses these very issues by offering believers a different way to look at their future. Not denying the seriousness of suffering, Peter would have the church set all their hope for the future on the grace of Jesus Christ, and the blessings he has bought and secured for us, to be revealed on the day of the Lord. Blessings that are a new birth to a living hope, an eternal inheritance of salvation kept for us in heaven, and a joy that endures every trial. Peter shows that on that final day when Christ appears, even our suffering will be revealed to have served a purpose, the testing and refining of faith, which results in the praise, glory, and honour of Christ.

Here the Apostle is giving a passage chock full of assurances for us the believers– assurances given under the backdrop of suffering in this life. We live in a sinful world, opposed to God, where the creation and we with it groan, even the Holy Spirit within us groans, as we await the final revealing of the glorified community. For this is not our home. We will be with God in the renewed creation, glorified like the Son. What is the way to glorification, it is suffering. As those who are joined to the Son, Jesus, we will all suffer too. And God will work all things out for good for those who love Him, a passage we know well and often quote. But do things always work out for "the best"? We know that they don't and know great pain in the midst of trial. To quote Ray "So what is the good that all things are working towards?" It is the being conformed to the image of the radiant Son of God, being prepared for an eternal weight of glory, of a type and manner that we cannot imagine. Is suffering the cost of glorification? No, but it is way.

After spending four months in our 'Lessons From Job' series, I wonder what we have learned. I do hope and pray we have learned something of God– his sovereignty, his justice, his love. What might we now say to a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? What comfort and counsel might we offer to those in deep anguish? I wonder what Job's three friends would tell their families when they return home after their time with Job? And especially after this final chapter in the story? They spoke wrongly of God, and yet still the Lord provides for them a path of restoration through sacrifice and intercession, just as he has for us in his Son. Even in this final 'lesson' there is much to learn.