Valley Hope Church

Pastor Appreciation, some thoughts from Anthony, and prayer before we dive into James 4. James has yet to pull punches in his letter, but this week his words get even sharper. He calls his listeners/readers to make sure their heart is singularly allied to God and their hearts are grateful for what they’ve been given. What happens to a community that joins itself to other causes and lets jealousy take root?

James describes a faith that is grounded in real life. There are two paths at our feet. Only two. And for James, this faith that has feet takes you towards a life that is marked by the life and characteristics of God himself. What exactly are those characteristics and how do we arrive there?

In our next week in James, we’ll take a look at a little thing that can make a big impact: your mouth. What you say and how you say it is not a point of curiosity for Jesus’ brother. It’s an important part of being a follower of Jesus.

The second chapter of James is a notorious passage in the New Testament. People have struggled over James’ insistence that “faith without works is dead.” But what if you’re not very good at the whole “works” thing? Do you ignore James? Or do you double down? What’s the cure for James’ diagnosis?

James is focused on a faith that lives and breaths in the real world. Following Jesus should have ramifications. In James 2, he zeroes in on how churches treat those who culture passes over, those who, on the face of it, can’t offer much. What place should the poor and neglected have in church?

According to Jesus’ brother, pure and undefined religion does exist. But you don’t get there by passing an extensive written test. There is a verbal test, though. And there’s certainly a practical exam. Join us as we move on in our series in the book of James.

Week 2 of our James series has us looking at the issue of temptation and blessing. Is God behind it all?

All christians experience suffering and doubt in their lives. James encourages believers to count this suffering all as joy. How does this work? What does this look like? We will discuss exactly that as we begin our fall series into the book of James.

The school year is cranking back up and we’re spending one final week in Proverbs to receive wisdom for the everyday realities of life. This week: Friendship. Every kid going to school wants to know who will be in their class, who they will miss, who they will meet. Proverbs spends a good deal of time talking about friendship so we’ll bend our ear to listen this week.

Money has been important to people for a long, long time. It's not a 21st century phenomenon. It's no surprise, then, that the book of Proverbs spends a great deal of time talking about it. Rich and poor, there is wisdom to be found about this issue that occupies so much of our time. There's no get-rich-quick secrets here. Not necessarily even any get-rich-slow secrets. So what does a life of freedom and generosity look like?