Scripture: James

We can easily think of “the world” as other people who live differently from us. But the Bible brings the matter much closer to home. Sometimes the world means the people God loves so deeply that He gave His Son for them. Other times it means the desires,…

We are part of the household of Christ, and that is a wonderful place to belong. Jesus calls us His brothers and sisters, and we have a place in His family. But Hebrews also gives us a serious warning. We must hold firmly to our hope and faith…

Our identity is not found in what people think of us, in our failures, or even in the hardest parts of our past. We belong to Jesus Christ, and because of Him we are God’s beloved. The same Jesus who is worthy of all honor and glory knows…

We can grow so used to the gifts of God that we forget their wonder. In Nazareth, the people hear Jesus teach with wisdom and know of his mighty works. Yet they see only the carpenter whose family lives nearby. They take offense at the very one who…

As we come to communion, we see our sins and feel how far we fall short. Yet we need not stay lost in thoughts of our own weakness. We turn our eyes to Jesus, who dies for our sins and rises again. Our hope rests in his victory,…

The Bible uses the word “world” in more than one way, and understanding the difference helps us understand what God is asking of us. Sometimes the world means God’s creation and the people He loves. Other times it means the systems, values, and ways of thinking that stand…

There is a war going on, and James tells us plainly where it starts. It does not begin on battlefields or in courtrooms. It begins in our own hearts, in the quiet place where we decide what we love most. When strife and fighting break out among us,…

David is called a man after God’s own heart, and today we are asking how that came to be. It did not happen all at once. It was forged through years of running, hiding, and learning to trust God when there was nothing else left to hold onto.…

Nehemiah is a man worth studying, and today we finish his story with a sense of wonder. He had a vision from God to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and he held onto it through threats, lies, and exhaustion. When his enemies tried to lure him away with…

James 3 gives us a map this morning, and we do well to study it carefully. True wisdom is not loud or proud. It shows itself in how we treat the people around us, even the ones who are hard to love. We fear God, we trust Him,…