MESSAGE SERIES
James: The Way of Wisdom
Wisdom is the ability to navigate life well. We long to find the right response, the right words, the right approach as we face suffering or success, and as we manage relationships. The New Testament Epistle of James offers us the opportunity to pluck the practical wisdom of a disciple of Jesus and challenges us to make the choice to apply it to our lives everyday. Join us as we examine the tried-and-true wisdom of James—and discover how living out a wise faith can impact all aspects of our lives.
What if that which we learned in hindsight became something we believed by faith in foresight? James says don’t waste a crisis. Instead of seeking the cause of suffering, celebrate what suffering causes. Instead of asking "Why is this happening..."
Does anyone need wisdom today? If you rearrange your life around becoming a wise person, the payoff will exceed anything you can imagine. Wisdom comes with age… We learn by doing… By trial and error… With time... But that brings no comfort for...
Money acts like a god and promises power, protection, provision, and pleasure. No wonder we put our trust in the almighty dollar rather than the Almighty God. But James warns us, don’t trust anything more than we trust Jesus. Jesus knows we are...
The Proverbs often speak of life as a journey. We’re all walking down a path, but not all paths lead to the same place. Wise people have looked at the map. Of course, you can’t know for sure what looms down the road, but the wise disciple...
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. This true statement may strike you as a cliché – Especially if you are in a situation that feels hopeless or seems helpless. James pleads with his reader “don’t be deceived by your...
This weekend, the words of James challenge us to be quick to listen slow. Yes, you read that right. There is an element of irony in James’s words, because the fact of the matter is you can’t listen quickly. You can’t listen quickly if you do it...
Does anger have an influence on your life? James warns us that we should be slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Anger is a tool we use to fix things, but it often does more damage. Anger is...
This week, James challenges us to take a good look at ourselves as believers and ensure we are walking the walk, not just talking the talk. We must practice what the Word of God says. James says do not forget, meaning do not overlook what God says...
There is nothing you can DO to earn God’s favor. With grace, it doesn’t matter how often you come to church, how loud you sing, or how much you serve or give. There is absolutely nothing you can do to earn God’s favor or make yourself worthy of it...
We all carry biases and prejudices with us wherever we go. We have differing likes and dislikes. With so many differences, how do we love others? Including those who are different than us… Rich vs. poor, local vs. immigrant, men vs. women...
Consider the power of the tongue. With it, teachers instruct their students, leaders inspire, a friend comforts a grieving loved one, a groom declares his vow to his bride. But that same tongue is the source of some of our greatest evil...
Competition is a good thing! Until it’s not.. Until someone gets stepped on, pushed aside, or left behind. James says the wisest among us live lives characterized by deeds done in humility. Humility meaning gentleness, kindness, or best translated...
Peace begins with the Peace Maker. The cure for chaos is to recognize: 1. Chaos is not normal for the Christ follower 2. Christ is not the author of chaos 3. We cannot create true peace by ourselves. (It must be done in partnership with God.) 4...
Repentance is a change of thinking and feeling. It’s about reorientation – literally to turn. Turn away from something and toward something else. Do you trust Him enough to turn toward Him? Your decisions determine your direction. Take some time...
You know the old saying? “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Well James says to us, if you can’t say anything nice, what does that say about you? Ouch. You may suffer from Chronic Critique Syndrome (CCS). If you’re quick...
All of us want our lives to count, to matter, to make an impact. Jesus tells us how in Matthew 16:25-26. This world is temporary and will let us down; money will disappoint, our bodies will fail, life might just lose its flavor. But Jesus came so...
Patience is not the act of waiting. It’s HOW you act while you’re waiting. Paul teaches us how to wait in Romans 12:12. He says be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Are you in a season of waiting? Your suffering may be...
The follower of Jesus must mirror the truthfulness of Jesus. God’s people should be identified by their honest speech. A Christian’s every word should be just as truthful as if they swore an oath in a courtroom in front of a live television audience.
When something goes wrong in your life what’s your first response? Is it prayer or panic? Often, instead of praying, we combat anxiety with information and conversation. James asks us to do something else: Pray. James says people who do God’s will...
When you're stressed, how do you respond? Is your trust misplaced? Some of us wear our stress like a badge. We're proud of it because it makes us important. The fact of the matter is, our stress says less about the importance of our lives and more...
In our last message studying the book of James, we are left with a final challenge. One more directive. James doesn’t call out our sin and lead us to repentance, he invites us to call out the sin in others and lead them to repentance. In his final...
Past Message Series
You can find current and past messages on iTunes. Just follow the links to our podcast page of your choice and click subscribe to automatically download the messages each week.
You can find older messages published before November 2016 on our old iTunes podcast feed.