James is everybody's mentor for an everyday faith. His teaching is much easier to understand than it is to live but his hope is just that, that we would live what we hear. We begin this series based on one of the first letters in the New Testament with a question that Christians faced in James' day, our day, and every day in between -- how do we deal with trials? James' answer may surprise you...and it just might encourage you, too.

Who helps the helpless? Our God has, does, and always will -- and he invites us to join him in helping those in need. Listen as Pastor Adam and Robin Craddock share a bit about their recent trip with Syd and Kathy Keasler to an orphanage our church helps support in Bungoma, Kenya that was founded by the Keaslers 5 years ago. You'll hear about life and this work in Kenya, how God is at work in the lives of these 56 orphans, and how we can praise and join the God who helps the helpless as he's revealed in Psalm 146.

In following Jesus we need to decide: Are we going to be a "Fan" or a "Player?"

In the conclusion to our Summer of Love series -- we look at one of Jesus' most famous and difficult teachings. "Turning the other cheek" isn't so difficult to understand, it's difficult to live...unless you are living in the trust, power, and love of the King. So how does a kingdom person respond to personal injury, personal conflict, and personal infringement? Does Jesus really mean what he says? What about the intruder in the night? We try to tackle these questions with our eyes fixed on the cross.

People are asking many questions of God: "What should I do? Why is this happening? Where are you, God?" Perhaps a more important question is the first recorded question God asks in Scripture -- "Where are you?" In this important message after a busy summer our guest from Russia, Pastor Roman Popov shares a word of encouragement and this challenging question. Pastor Adam offers an "off-script" follow-up encouraging us all to locate ourselves in relation to Jesus, to find rest, and set off again on our journey with him.

Who are our enemies? How do we reflect God's generous, sacrificial love despite pressure and persecution from others? The world says "Hate your enemies and attack back." Jesus says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." But Jesus doesn't just give us a command, he shows us an example and gives us the ability to love like he loved. This important message gets to the heart of what makes Christianity so distinct from other faiths -- namely, Jesus

Every time Jesus gave a command, he backed it up with an example. So when he told his disciples to "Love one another as I have loved you," they drew on memories of Jesus praying and eating with them, laughing and serving with them, teaching and blessing others -- then they would even see him lay down his life. Jesus leveraged the world's recognition of his disciples on their ability to love each other. So how's the Church doing? How do we love one another like Jesus loved?

Who is "In" and who is "Out"? It's a question we've asked since middle school. In this message, we look at Jesus' surprising snapshot of the judgment to come when the Judge/King separates who is "Blessed" and who is...well, "Out." Both parties are surprised to learn that the basis for judgment is how they treated those in need. This is a sobering reminder that if we really know and love the God who loves the poor, oppressed, and needy, we'll show it in our love for the same -- because (and here's another surprise), when we love the "Least" we're really loving Jesus.

How do we respond to the violence we witnessed in our city on Thursday, July 7, when police officers were gunned down in the street? How do we respond after a week in which another 2 black men were killed by police? Violence is a downward spiral. It cannot fix anything, it only destroys. Sacrificial love is the opposite of violence as well as its antidote. We must repent, resolve to love all sacrificially, and pray for Jesus and his kingdom of peace to reign in our midst -- beginning in our relationships with one another.

Does God hate sinners? Ask some religious folk and they might be quick to answer "Yes." But Jesus was called a "Friend of sinners" because he ate and worked with many outsiders with sketchy reputations. And surely the reason Jesus came into the world in the first place was because God loved it so much. If God loves sinners, then how do we love them, too? We follow Jesus' example of inhabiting their world and inviting them into life in the kingdom of God that's available to all the "Wrong" people.