Sermons

We live in a topsy-turvy world and we must remember that God is pushing the swing.  We must put our trust in Him.  We must not grow fearful for He will not let us tumble out.  As we look into this Psalm today, we are reminded of that as we find that God will not fail us as we reflect on who He is and His promises to us based on His forever covenant that is for us too.

Life is not easy, as we are faced with troubles, trials and adverse times.  In the midst of David’s problems we find Him deciding what is most important to him and that is His relationship to God.  David loves knowing and pleasing God.  It is the greatest delight to Him and it impacts his life and prayers.  May we truly “wait for the Lord, be strong and let our hearts take courage” in light of the encourage of this psalm.

Jesus wants His disciples to have a heart of hope where they do not shrink back in fear, but have such a hope in the midst of suffering and tough circumstances that the world notices and even might ask about their hope.  Why would the world ask about our hope?  Simply, they see something different and it is attractive.  Let us have a heart of hope and be ready to tell people why we do when they ask.

As Jesus shows the disciples of what a heart of worship looks like He does so with great levels of amazement.  This morning, we must ask ourselves how amazed we are over Jesus?  And what does true worship of Him look like?  Let us  be amazed this morning and truly worship Jesus in spirit and truth

There will be times when others around us don’t believe the truth or wander from a truth they once believed.  As the church, we are to graciously care for those in such situations holding out the truth in love so that those not saved might become children of God and those struggling with their walk may turn back to the Lord.  Let us be reminded, as we close out James that we are the one another community called to be the light of the world and the gates of Hell will not overpower us.

The source of spiritual endurance is prayer. As we read from James today, prayer comforts us when we are spiritually suffering; prayer lifts us up when we are down and out; prayer is important to the community of believers as we are vulnerable and honest to one another; and prayer is powerful as God pours out His spiritual blessings to struggling believers. Don’t think for one minute that walking with Jesus is easy. It is not. He suffered and we are called to share in His sufferings. There is hope for us to endure as we follow Him and that is through prayer.