Well, this passage tomorrow is really the thesis statement of the entire book of James. A theme that he keeps circling back to.

Are you Spiritual? Great. But is it spirituality with substance?

You've got lots of "God-talk". Sure. But how about your "God-Acts"?

I can almost hear a slight tinge of sarcasm as James says;

"You say believe there is one God? Good for you! Even the demons believe this and tremble"

Not exactly a high spiritual bar.

Not faith OR works... that's a false dichotomy.

It's BOTH. Faith AND works. Two sides of the same coin.

If whatever you are calling "faith" has virtually no impact on how you live, then you don't have anything that can really be called "faith"

We're excited to hear from our own Jordan Wiedrick as he shares his heart.

The Book of James continues...

Let me ask you something. Be honest.

What kind of snob are you?

Because we're all snobs somewhere.

Maybe you're a wine snob. You're like the guy from the movie "Sideways":

"If anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving"

You may be a coffee snob. Even Starbucks is too pedestrian. You need Kenyan AA beans using purified water.

Movie snobs, Music snobs, burger snobs, car snobs, book snobs (Kindle? How gauche!)

One kind of snobbery we'd never own? Being a PEOPLE snob.

Yet James has a way of calling out the implicit favouritism that we can be unconscious of. It happened 2000 years ago, and it's happening today.

We're excited to invite Rocky Dundas, Vice President at World Vision Canada to share his heart.

You know how you can buy vinyl flooring that looks a lot like walnut? Thing is, even to the non-carpenters and arborists in the group, when you get up close you can tell it's not real.

I suppose the same thing could be said about people who claim to be "spiritual" or "a person of faith" or those who are Christian-in-name-only. Once you get up real close to their lives... well... it's a little like that vinyl flooring.

It's yet another reason why James is so challenging and applicable today as when it was written, it challenges us not just to have a faith, but a faith that works!

There is no other book in the Bible quite like the Letter of James, written by the half-brother of Jesus.

In direct, even blunt style, James details what it means to not simply listen to what God says but to actually act on it.

If you want a primer on living out the "Christ life" in the midst of living out your real life, this is it: trials, patience, getting along with others, self-control, God's will... it's all here. Five chapters, 108 verses, 1,742 words... countless life lessons.

As applicable today as when it was written, it challenges us not just to have a faith, but a faith that works!

Easter Sunday!

It's Christianity's "Superbowl"... Our faith's 7th game of the Stanley Cup...

I'm actually UNDERSTATING the impact of this day! That first Easter was an historical, spiritual, eternal game-changer and the world has never been the same since.

If you're not sure what Easter even means, we invite you to come.

If you have heard it all before but need a reminder of the difference Easter makes... the real-world tangible hope that it offers... we sure hope you will come as well.

Interestingly, the New Testament gives us some good examples of churches who didn't quite "get" grace yet.

The Church in Galatia, you could say were “Jesus-plus” people.

This is where they say "All you need is Jesus (PLUS these 193 other rules)

That’s legalism. Not Grace

On the other hand, the people of Corinth, you could say, were “Jesus-minus” people.

They were like; “All you need is Jesus” (MINUS any real-life transformation or holiness or repentance or the Cross or...")

That’s called “cheap grace” which is no Grace at all.

Lord may we understand that grace is free but came at the ultimate cost.

Grace.

It’s what I crave most when my own guilt is exposed.

Ironically it's also the very thing I’m hesitant to extend when I’m confronted with the guilt of others (especially if I'm hurt or offended in some way)

Interestingly, when you read the New Testament, the main thing Jesus stood against consistently was graceless religion.

The only group he was consistently indignant with were graceless religious leaders. So, we should not be surprised when we get to the end of the Gospels and discover that the people who crucified him were those who claimed to know God but knew little of grace.

Lord may we be grace-givers rather than stone-throwers

If it’s the most distinctive idea of the Christian faith...

If the word itself appears in the New Testament more times than “forgiveness” or “prayer” (which it does...)

If it is true that we are indeed saved by grace and grace alone, meaning our very eternity is resting on this...

If this is a core value of our church...

Then we need to get it right

Wasn’t it the great poet Tom Petty who said: “The waiting is the hardest part”

Ain’t that the truth.

We typically don’t do well with waiting. Less and less it seems.

For those who think God is ignoring your prayers (He isn’t) or saying ‘no’ to your prayers (He might be) there is also a possibility He’s delaying answering your prayers and there may be all kinds of good reasons, that in His love and perfect wisdom the wait will actually be worth it.

Is there anything that strikes fear into many Christians more than being asked to pray out loud? To pray in a group? Even in the refuge of marriage, it can be deeply vulnerable.

So we'd like to present a case, theologically and intellectually, that something transcendent, supernatural and powerful happens when God's people gather and pray together (interestingly, something that has to be experienced rather than explained theologically and intellectually).

Yet one more example of how we are "better together" and what our vision to "Grow in authentic community" looks like.