This sermon series was originally preached during the Christmas season. But it covers the truth of God’s presence, which is a truth that is for all times! Throughout the Scriptures, there are different themes and metaphors that the biblical authors use for good times, bad times, and even times of wandering. And yet, through all of these seasons and callings in life, one thing is true—God’s presence is with His people. That is the truth that we trace through the Scriptures in this sermon series!
James 1:1-4 — How to Respond to Trials
As you begin the book of James, you see him speaking to Christians who are going through hard times. And he begins by telling them how they should view their trials. How do we respond to the trials of this life? In this message, we learn how we as Christians should respond to our trials.
James 1:5-12 — If You Lack Wisdom
Many times, as we go through trials, we wonder what God is doing. Along with this wondering, often comes a searching for wisdom to navigate the trials. Trials demand wisdom. In this message, we learn from James that God has wisdom to give us in the midst of our trials, but we must come to Him in faith asking for it.
James 1:13-18 — Don’t Go There!
Most often, our trials are accompanied by temptations. We think that it will give us an escape from our trials, but really that sin will lead us to even more destruction in our lives. In this message, we see that it is important to understand the source of temptation and where it takes us. And we are challenged to keep our focus on our good God, knowing that He ultimately wants our spiritual growth in the midst of this trial.
James 1:19-25 — Faith That Behaves
In this message, we are reminded to humbly receive the Word of God, prepare our hearts for it to flourish in our lives, and to not just be hearers of the Word, but to be doers, applying it to our lives.
James 1:26-27 — Proud Religion vs. Pure Religion
After encouraging his readers to be doers of the Word, James makes sure to help them learn that although doing is important, it is not the only thing, and it certainly shouldn’t be our heart motive. In this message, we see how James contrasts proud religious acts with pure heart motive Christianity.
James 2:1-13 — When the Church Becomes Partial
In chapter 2, James begins to address some things that his readers really need to work on. And he starts by telling them that the partiality that has been taking place in their churches has to stop. In this message, we look at how partiality is incompatible with the gospel and are challenged to evaluate our own lives in light of God’s impartiality with us.
James 2:14-26 — Faith That Works
In the latter part of chapter 2, James addresses the fact that some people may think they have faith, but have never actually seen any fruit bear out in their lives. Genuine faith is not just about what you say or just about what you know. True, authentic faith always leads to obedient living. In this message, we are challenged to evaluate our faith under the scrutiny James gives.
James 3:1-12 — When You Open Your Mouth
Apparently, in this time of the early church, there was a great love and respect for teachers of the Bible. Insomuch that they were trying to generate as many as they could. James cautions his readers against this thought process, because it was an indicator of another problem they had: they didn’t understand what the spiritual significance of their words.
James 3:13-18 — Who Is A Wise Man?
Life is complex! We have so many decisions to make, challenges to navigate, and relationships to steward. We need God’s wisdom to accomplish it all effectively! But not all wisdom that comes our way is from God. There is a counterfeit wisdom that Satan tries to bring our way. In this message, we learn from James how to discern between true wisdom and false wisdom.
James 4:1-12 — War Zone or Worship Zone?
Conflict seems to just be a way of life. In this passage, James tells us the cause and the consequences of allowing conflict to overcome in our lives. But God has grace to help us! It just takes us determining to make our lives a worship zone rather than a war zone.
James 4:8 — Drawing Near to God
In this message, we take James’ charge to draw near to God, and evaluate it through the light of Scripture. Specifically, we learn what that practically looks like in our Christian life.
James 4:13-17 — When Faith Informs Our Planning
James talks about our propensity to often live and plan life as if we are in complete control of everything. In this message, we are reminded of the uncertainty of the future and the brevity of life, and are encouraged to live in humble dependence upon God.
James 5:1-7 — He’s Coming Back!
In this message, we see James detail a situation that these believers were going through. Some were not treating others well at all. Others were being mistreated. And James tells them that both of them can live in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back!
James 5:7-12 — It’s A Matter of Perspective
In this passage, we are told by James that we need to live with patience. But what does that mean? What does that look like? And how do we do that? In this message, we are encouraged to look to the coming of our Lord, to live with an eternal perspective, in order to help us live with patience, and endure!
James 5:19-20 — All of Us, All the Way
In this passage, James wraps up his letter by telling his readers to understand that some will walk away from the very truths he just wrote about. But that each of them who are still there should have a spirit of reconciliation to go after them and bring them back to the truth!
Overview of James — GROW UP!
In this message, we overview the entirety of the book of James, and see his overarching theme of spiritual maturity. Each and every one of us should be growing in our Christian faith! We shouldn’t remain spiritually immature. We need to grow up!
We hope this sermon study has helped you to see how faith is not just a feeling, it’s an action! True faith will be displayed in our life through spiritual maturity as we continue growing in the Lord.
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