“If the letter of James were sent to the Christian communities of certain countries [today] that suffer from violence and exploitation, it would very possibly be intercepted by government security agencies. The document would be branded as subversive.” - Elsa Tamez

Today we begin a rather lengthy, but I anticipate enjoyable, journey through the letter, James. What we have before us in this letter is a group of people going through it, suffering economic hardships at the hands of the wealthy and the temptation to either lose hope or sinfully regain control, and their Pastor is writing to them deeply concerned that as they go through it, they do so in a way that reflects who they truly are and what they say they believe.

This quote fairly accurately captures the nature of James’ ancient words. His letter is powerful, unsettling and comforting all at the same time.

I imagine this will speak to many of us, particularly those of us from cultures that have historically endured oppression. And yet, as those who have been drawn into a conciliated community through Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s generosity, even if we are not from a people who have been historically oppressed, we can enter into the narrative of our sisters and brothers because of our common communion with Jesus.

As we explore James words, and the context in which they were written, we will find ourselves together wrestling with our perspective on wealth and poverty; the depths of Justice; public policy; how to endure difficulty well, and reward for doing so; wisdom in what we say and how we say it; preferential treatment and the nature of Justification, which is, for those of you who may not yet be Christians, what it means to be square with God.

I hope that as we spend the summer wrestling with these words together, we will grow not just as individuals, but as a community, because this was James’ intent in writing the letter, and God’s intent in preserving it for us.

James | Going Through | James 1:1-12

we live through a filter of nostalgia, falsely idealizing the past; unable to enjoy the present; unwilling to believe in a better future.

This is why older artist just keep touring, because they are chasing the high of former glory, and do not believe they have a future.

This is why many athletes continue to play well past their prime and why many leaders have no succession plan of any kind, because every day for them is another chance to chase what has already past

It is as if life is frozen in that era and they can neither be here in this era with family, in new life, nor can they see the possibility of a better future.

You see when we live this way, we cannot be present in who God has made us, and we cannot look forward to who He is making us and what He has for us, because we believe in our hearts that our best days have already been lived. We are literally stuck.

But what if we believed something different? What if you knew… BELIEVED, that God has crafted you for a unique plan, specific place, and a divine purpose!

#NoFilter | Gingham | Jeremiah 29:11; Acts 17:26-27; Ephesians 2:10

In our minds, new means different. In our understanding new means unused. But what are new shoes, really? Old cow repurposed. What is a new car, really? Something old, repurposed. Old ore, now metal, made into a “new” car. We could run the list through 100 examples from homes to paper but each, no matter how “new” to us, is not actually something NEW.

But when God says that we are new, He has something totally other in mind. Listen, it is an almost completely unimaginable NEW REALITY… a NEW AGE that is both COMING and already HERE; and we are caught in the middle of it, and essential to the goal of it!

Again, if we could begin to allow our minds to see to depths of what NEW means to God, we would never think that we are any less than God made us and shaped us to be. IF we could open ourselves to see what NEW means to God, we would never question our worth in this world. If we could, by God’s grace, conceptualise what NEW means to Him, there would be absolutely no fear in ever being authentically and completely who He made us to be; no filter necessary.
The truth that we must allow to sink into our hearts, regardless of how we left feeling after the wondrous news that we are REMARKABLY and WONDERFULLY made, is this—In Christ you are completely and uniquely new; the old you is completely and uniquely annihilated!

#nofilter | Juno | 2 Corinthians 5:17

We believe there is something inherently wrong with us, and so we pass ourselves off as something we are not.

For some of us it is a significant and lingering feeling, and everyday is a new endeavor to hide those things we think wrong with us, and try and accentuate those we feel are best.

For others it is fleeting moments, or certain spaces, or certain people that make us feel inadequate and inherently misaligned with the world around us, and in those moments we try and hide those things we think make us inherently out of place with those people or those spaces.

The point family—if we can be honest with ourselves and each other for just a moment—is that we all live our lives through filters that allow us to accentuate what we want people to see, and minimise what we do not want them to see, all so that we can be accepted as the person we think they want us to be. Broyard was just an extreme, and particularly ruthless version of our collective human condition.

How do we shake free from this? We do so by hearing and believing the truth—God intimately formed you and knows you fully.

#nofilter | Clarendon | Psalm 139:1-16

Often we have no vision for ourselves or our possessions beyond our personal satisfaction.

Even those of us who strive to see the world beyond the blinders we so often wear can still use a tune-up from time to time that will make us ask and re-ask the question “am I looking beyond me and beyond now with respect to how I live and what I have?”

In the end, that is what is at stake here. This cannot be reduced to biblical obligation about the use of our resources and giving, it must be more, because what we do with our resources ultimately comes down to the breadth of our vision.

A vision of what could be and should be, and the stewardship of all that we are and have to move us toward that end and wisdom is key in every way.

The word for us today is both simple and complex—A Wise Steward Honours God by Giving, Budgeting and Investing Wisely.

Wise | Wise Money | Proverbs 3:9-10; 11:24-25; 13:22; 27:23-24

“I’m just trying to get through the day.” Everyone of us have felt this way at some time or another with respect to our marriages and children. I know I have. You see, although marriage and family have been postured by the Church as the ultimate goal of life, once we actually enter the complexity of these relationships and the difficulty of actually turning a house into home, we quickly realise that what we romanticised is quite a bit more complex than what we perhaps anticipated.

We must remember, it is really apathy that is is most dangerous to our marriages.

We must remember, who our children become is directly related to how we shape them, raise them, train them and intentionally invest in them.

Therein is the connection. Like an artist sculpting a masterpiece, we take incredible care and invest significant hours in the most valuable work we will ever produce.

The message for us today is this: A wise family is established by mutual honour and purposeful investment in one another.

Wise | Wise Family | Proverbs 6:20-23; 22:6; 24:3-4; 31:10-31

Every one of us has allowed people we cannot count on to get close to us. Every one of us has put our trust in people who have abused that trust. Every single one of us has given more to a person than they were willing to give back— and we have done it multiple times, why? Because, Generally, we lack intentionality in choosing our relationships.

We “fall” into love. We “end up” being friends. We “happen” to connect with someone, but very often are not intentional in how we enter a relationship, cultivate a relationship, or in some cases, exit a relationship when it becomes toxic or unhealthy.

Perhaps our parents or mentors or grand parents or guidance counselors simply did not prepare us with the right skills we need to graciously assess whether someone should actually be in our lives. Perhaps because we live an a culture that is in love with the idea of love, fears conflict, and longs to be liked, we do not know how to enter, or if need be, exit relationships well.

Though all of the aforementioned is true to one degree or another I believe, greater than anything affecting us in this regard, is that we lack wisdom in choosing relationships. If we were wise in choosing our relationships, we could avoid a world of hurt in intimate relationships, and a world of trouble in others.

Wise relationships are intentional, tested, and true.

Wise | Wise Relationships | Proverbs 5:15-19;13:20;17:17; 27:6;18:24

We live in an age of inexhaustible information, but very little wisdom. As a people, we can "know" nearly anything we want to, but the wisdom to apply that knowledge is scarce. The question that our context presents us with is, if information abounds, how do we go about seeking wisdom?

For the disciple of Jesus our pursuit should never be knowledge for knowldge sake, but wisdom in all things. Because wisdom is more precious than anything we could want.

Wise | Wisdom | Proverbs 3:13-20