//1 Corinthians 15:12-22 | Andrew Lundy

The hope of our Christian life -- the load-bearing pillar upon which we build our lives -- is the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that without this truth, our preaching and faith is empty, and we are of all men the most to be pitied. Pastor Andrew showed us on Sunday that there are three things we can lose if we remove this vital piece of our faith. We first lose the whole truth of Christ. All of us search for the truth of the meaning, origin, morality, and destiny of our lives. Jesus gave the answer we’re looking for: He IS the way, the truth, and the life, and He verified this claim by His own resurrection, an event that more than five hundred people witnessed and staked their lives on. We also lose the saving work of Christ. Without the Resurrection of Jesus, we are still in our sins, and there is nothing else to save us! Jesus came to save the sinners, and this salvation can only be ratified by His resurrection. Finally, we lose the ultimate hope of Christ. Without the Resurrection, the dead are gone forever. There is no future hope of restoration. Because of the reality, however, we are able to sorrow as those who DO have hope, looking forward to a blessed future and the end of death. The reality is that Jesus Christ has indeed risen from the dead, and by this fact, we can know all He said is true, and we can rest in the power of His resurrection.

//Mark 11:1-1 | Russ Kyff

A significant portion of each Gospel is spent on this last week of Jesus’ life, which begins with His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and ends with His perfect victory upon the cross. But what was required in order that Jesus might be victorious? This week, Russ explained the four requirements of Christ’s perfect victory. First, it requires perfect timing. In Daniel 9, we see a prophecy about when the Messiah would come to Jerusalem perfectly fulfilled by the Lord Jesus. God’s timing is perfect and we must align ourselves to it rather than our timing, or else we risk missing out on His victory. Next, perfect victory requires perfect obedience. We must model our obedience after the obedience of the disciples carrying out Jesus’ strange request. And the obedience of Jesus Himself despite what He had to suffer, through which many are made righteous. And even the obedience of the donkey, who despite never being ridden, knew his place before the authority of Jesus. It also requires perfect praising. As the people paved the road to victory with palms and shouts of “Hosanna”, they praised the King the way He deserves to be praised. We must also worship our Lord the way He should be praised, not the way we desire to worship. Finally, it requires perfect calculation. Jesus counted the cost of His perfect victory, but ultimately counted it less than the perfect love He has for us. Through His victory, we are victorious.

//James 5:13-20 | Andrew Lundy

As we wrap up the book of James, Pastor Andrew delivers a message on three "one-another" areas of life that James gives us quality counsel for.

//James 5:13-18 | Andrew Lundy

All of us receive advice on an almost daily basis, but what we really seek and need is not just advice, but good advice. We can define quality counsel as any guidance/advice that agrees and aligns itself with God and His Word. Our Wonderful Counselor is all-hearing, all-loving, and all-knowing, so the very best counsel comes from Him. The question is now, whose counsel are you listening to? On Sunday, Pastor Andrew showed us three points of wisdom James gives to three types of situations. First, for those who are suffering, James tells to pray. This may sound simple, but we often misdirect our cries for help in our suffering, either towards other people or bottling it up in ourselves. In prayer, we cry out to God and process our pain in His presence, laying hold with our hands what we believe in our heads. Second, for those who are stoked (excited, cheerful), James tells us to sing. Our joy does not and must not be suppressed; we need to praise God because He is the only One who is big enough to hold our praises! Our times of worship are important and should not be skipped or treated as a “buffer” before service. Finally, for those who are sick, James tells us to reach out to the elders of the church. This is illness to the point of weakness, that can brought before the leaders of the church to be healed. Elders are shepherds, protecting the flock, and healing our spiritual, mental, and physical illnesses is a God-driven demonstration of this protection. We must take the counsel of God’s Word to heart, as He alone can perfectly sympathize and solve the struggles of life.

//James 4:11-5:12 | Andrew Lundy

No one likes to be called out, yet to be the Church means to be the “called out ones”. Thankfully, the Lord does not call us out the same way the world does; He calls us out and upward by confronting us with who we are in light of who He has called us to be. This week, Pastor Andrew explained the five types of people that James is calling out in chapters 4 and 5. First, he calls out the incompetent judge. These were people who thought they were God’s law enforcement. They spoke evil of others in secret, ruining their good names and hiding behind the spotlight, rather than walking in the light. He also calls out the independent planner. To plan with intention is good, but making our plans our god is not. Tomorrow is never promised, life is short, but eternity is long, so we should plan in pencil, not permanent marker. Our plans must be surrendered to God, giving Him space to “re-route” in the right direction. He then calls out the indulgent hoarder. Growing your business and being wealthy is not bad in itself, but God calls us to store up treasures in Heaven. His generosity in giving us all we have should spark the same generosity in our heart, acknowledging we own nothing. We are meant to be channels of His wealth, not reservoirs. He then calls out the impatient grumbler. Life happens and trials always come, and our reaction to them shows the true colors of our hearts. Do we grumble all day long or wait patiently for our Lord’s coming? God is looking to refine us through our struggles, not attack us. Finally, he calls out the inconsistent committer. Whenever we say yes, that means saying no to something else. We cannot commit (or not commit) to everything. Jesus made His Father’s will His priority, only pursuing and accomplishing the specific things He was called to do. He is the opposite of all these types of people, and we are called to be like Him and display Him to our world.

//James 4:1-10 | Andrew Lundy

There are many valuable pieces to our relationship with God. One of these essential pieces is peace. This forces us to ask ourselves, “Is my life missing peace?” On Sunday, we learned three ways in which peace can be pursued. One is peace with others. Our fights with other people come from our unmet desires; in fact, we can probably trace all our relational conflicts to some unmet expectation we have of someone else. Paul said in Romans 12:18 we should live peaceably with all, as much as it depends on us. We must pursue peace with others in the same way God pursued peace with us, before our hearts naturally take root in bitterness, which can defile many in our church. We also need to pursue peace within. Much of our internal turmoil comes from an innate dissatisfaction with our lives. We expect others to give us what only God can. Christ alone is the living water which always quenches our thirst. Finally, and most importantly, we must pursue peace with God. If we resolve to be a friend to the world, we set ourselves up as enemies of God. And who would ever want God as an enemy? Only by true repentance and humility can we draw near to God, and in turn, He draw near to us. That alone is our hope -- where sin abounds, grace abounds even more.

//James 3:13-18 | Russ Kyff

As consumers, we all like to compare the products we’re going to buy in order to get the best value; this could save us a lot of time and money. So should we not make this same comparison between earthly and heavenly wisdom? This past Sunday, Russ compared the attributes and results of the wisdom of the world versus the wisdom of God, showing us how to get the best “bang” for our spiritual dollar. It’s important to first know that wisdom is not just knowledge, but the application of that knowledge. It demonstrates what you know in your conduct. Worldly wisdom is only concerned with things of the earth, always looking within for the answers, and takes it influence from the demonic. The end result ends up being confusion and discord, which can destroy a church from within. Whereas heavenly wisdom has no ulterior motive, grants us peace with God and others, forgives while maintaining strict discipline, is not stubborn, and shows mercy to the undeserving (like us!). It results in righteousness (right living) when it comes through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. We must always seek this heavenly wisdom for ourselves and others through prayer.

//James 3:1-12 | Andrew Lundy

In this sermon we learn about three characteristics of the kind of speech that is under the control of the Holy Spirit.

//James 2:14-26 | Andrew Lundy

We all know the names of famous iconic duos, and this past week we learned of one of the most important duos of our walk with Christ: faith and works. At first glance in Scripture, these two seem like enemies, but through careful study, we know they cannot function apart from one another. Pastor Andrew explored three ways in which works function with faith. First, works express a fruitful faith. Rather than seeking to perform dead works (which is anything we try to contribute to our salvation), we must pursue those works we were created to do in Jesus Christ. We are not saved by our works, but for them, and they demonstrate the liveliness of our faith. Works also extend a useful faith. Faith is not useful if it is not practiced, like telling a drowning man all he needs to do is swim. We need to make ourselves available to be used by God and then when given the opportunity to demonstrate our faith, just do it! Finally, works exhibit a truthful faith. Our culture has grown tired of hearing about our faith; they need to see it. If we truly believe what we say we believe, it will be seen and verified to be true.

//James 2:1-13 | Andrew Lundy

In this message we learned that since God shows no partiality, neither should we. Faith and partiality (showing favor or preference to one kind of person over others) are totally incompatible; they cannot coexist. Whether we favor the rich, the influential, or certain personalities, this partiality is rooted in our selfishness. Pastor Andrew talked about three reasons this is incompatible with our faith. For one, because of how God sees worth. Our worth is not linked to extrinsic things (things that come to us in life), but to our identity in Christ. He set the example for lowering ourselves below another, and lifting them up. Secondly, it’s because of how God shares wealth. God was rich and became poor, so that we who were poor can be rich. True wealth is not built on this Earth, but in Heaven, which is difficult for the rich (us!) to comprehend. Finally, it’s because of how God shows wrath. He is impartial with His grace, and “His judgment is without mercy for the one who has shown no mercy”. To judge others in partiality is to sin, and one sin is enough to make us guilty of the whole Law.