Unlike much of the world, God doesn't redefine or reimagine hie word. That might sound ominous, but in the end, it's a promise.

Wisdom is more than simply knowing what is true. It is applying knowledge and making good judgments. This week, St. James teaches us how God makes us wise. Learn more at stjohnsoakwood.org/worship. #stjohnsoakwood #wisdom #wise #james #saintjames #faith #salvation

Satan only has a short time to do his dirty work. It started before he tempted Eve in Eden, and it will end on Judgment Day. But in our current struggle, we are not alone. The archangel Michael and all other ranks of angels are fighting right beside us. They are unleashing their superior spiritual strength to defeat, destroy, and deflect all the deceitful, subtle, underhanded attacks from Satan and all his demons. And there is always one weapon that pierces Satan's strongest armor.

Being a Christian means being united with Christ. That means there are crosses to bear: we suffer like Jesus suffered. But the cross is also the source of our hope.

The prayer Jesus taught us is not for the individual. It is a common prayer for the entire body of Christ. In that sense, "our" is an extremely important word. This week's sermon functions as a prayer that follows each petition of the Lord's Prayer.

We might want to believe that we can set ourselves apart from others to be religiously clean. But God has chosen a better way, and he’s given it to us in Jesus.

What if Moses had opted to stay in Egypt? It had prestige and wealth to offer. Instead, he took up the heroic task of leading God's people out, and he was able to do it by faith - a gift that God gives to us, too.

Part of wisdom is knowing God's plan to save you. But wisdom also goes beyond merely knowing about God and putting your faith into practice by relying on Christ to continually bring you life and salvation.

Jesus, born into the world by Mary, took on our humanity to gain salvation for us. So we can sing Mary’s song with the same full joy: “The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name; he has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.”

When it comes to God, our harsh critiques seem to come easily. But the harshest complaint came from Jesus himself, and that happens to be really good news for us.