Confessing to one another is a vital part of a life of faith.  We need to be able to bring offenses to each other in order to find peace and forgiveness.

Scripture: James 5:16

Money does not make the world go round; God does.  Money does not give security; God does.  We need to get a proper perspective on our finances.

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Read a reflection on Sunday's message here.

It is important to keep things in proper perspective—namely, that God is God and we are not.  We must strive toward humility and not presume anything, for presumption, at its core is arrogance.

Scripture: James 4:7-17 

The foundation of Christianity is not Jesus’ teaching; the reason we do all that we do is not his teaching, it is not a philosophy, or even a world view or an approach to life.  The foundation is not even faith.  The foundation is an event.  The whole thing hangs on this one event—not the life or even the death…it is the resurrection. 

Why did Jesus have to die?  Because God takes covenant seriously, God takes justice seriously, and God loves us seriously.  And nothing atones for sin other than the death of God himself.

The problem of human suffering isn't just some abstract concept or idea we're here to debate and discuss in theory. Pain is pain, and the problem with pain is, well, that it hurts.  And it raises the question: Why would a good and loving God allow for so much pain and suffering? While Christianity does not provide a reason for every experience of pain and suffering, the fact of Easter does provide deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair.

In a world full of conflict, grace empowered humility has the power to bring peace. If I am going to live at peace with God and others, I have to deal with my idols and turn to God, which means, I need to humble myself.

Scripture: James 4:1-6

Life is one of those things where some assembly is required…and we need to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! The scriptures are the instruction manual, and if we live by THE BOOK we will be wise.

Scripture: James 3:13-18

Maturity shows itself in how we speak to one another.  We must learn how to control our tongues.

Scripture: James 3:3-12

We have to understand that we represent Christ everywhere we are.  We need verbally proclaim the gospel, but we also must have a life that is consistent with what we proclaim.

Scripture: James 3:1