Mission Saint James

What is hospitality? Why does the Bible speak so often about welcoming the strangers in our lives? This week, we look at our fourth core values at Mission Saint James: Relational Hospitality. Just as Christ welcomed us as strangers with no right to fellowship with Him, so are we to offer fellowship to those on the outside. Join Fr. Ben Williams as he continues our 6-part series on our core values.

This week we begin a 6-part series on our Core Values at Mission Saint James. Using the metaphor of a house, Fr. Ben Williams shares what matters most as we seek to be a place for the wanderer to dwell. Join us as we look at the foundation of this house, which is Biblical Orthodoxy.

What is the Church and why is it important? Can’t I be a Christian even if I don’t “go to church?” These are common questions we ask when we look around at the state of the Church today. When St. Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus responds with some important information about His Church. Join Fr. Ben Williams this week as we address some of these questions...

What is baptism? Why do Anglicans call it a sacrament? Why do Anglicans baptize infants? This week, we celebrate the baptism of one of our own! Baptism is our entrance into the covenant community of Christ’s Church. Join Fr. Ben Williams this week as we explore these questions and why baptism is so important to the Christian faith.

What happens when you lose control? Do you step further into the chaos or do you panic and succumb to fear and doubt? What if you weren’t meant to have control? How do we live faithfully in the midst of the storms of life? This week, Fr. Ben Williams shares a message on Jesus Walking on Water. Rather than trying to control things better, He encourages us to lose control instead.

What is true compassion and why is it so important to the Christian life? When Jesus looks upon the crowd of 5,000, He has compassion on them. The compassion of Jesus leads to the multiplication of bread, which leads to life. Join us this week as visiting preacher, Deacon Sid Johnson, helps us understand how true compassion leads to life.

What is the Kingdom of God? Where can we find it? Jesus’ parables describe God’s Kingdom, but don't explicitly define it. As His parables suggest, the kingdom seems small, hidden, and insignificant. This week, Fr. Ben Williams shares a message on the small and slow growth of God’s Kingdom, not only in our lives, but especially in His Church…even Mission Saint James.

Why is it so difficult to live the Christian life? Why is it so difficult to live life in general? Why do bad things happen to good people? It’s because the devil has sown weeds among the wheat. This week, visiting preacher, Dr. Gary Osborne, shares a convicting and encouraging message about relying on God’s grace and mercy when weeds grow up around us.

Why is it that so many people fall away from the faith? Is it a matter of rebellion? Laziness? Deception? Jesus’ answer to this question is soil. This week, Fr. Ben Williams shares a message on one of Jesus’ most famous parables: the Parable of the Sower. When God sows the seeds of the kingdom in your heart, have they landed on good soil, or something else?

If Christians carry within them the hope of the world, how do we share that hope? This week, Fr. Ben Williams concludes our 5-week series on the Hope of the World. The rest that Jesus offers us is rest from living in the Kingdom of Man; it is resting in the reconciliation He purchased for us on the cross.

What do you value so much that you are willing to forsake everything else to gain? What are you willing to sell out for? This is the question that Jesus challenges us with this week as we continue our series titled the Hope of the World. Join us as Fr. Ben Williams encourages us to forsake all kingdoms for the Kingdom of God!

Does it ever feel like you’re not at home where you are? Like you live in one place, but were made for another? This week, we continue our series on the Hope of the World with Jesus sending His disciples out as sheep among wolves to proclaim the kingdom. Join Fr. Ben Williams as we consider the risk of following Jesus to proclaim one kingdom while living in another.

What is most important to you? How do you order your life so that the main thing stays the main thing. In our second week of a series titled, The Hope of the World, Fr. Ben leads us through Jesus’ instructions to the disciples before sending them out on mission. Join us as we discover the three kingdom priorities every disciple needs to get their house in order.

Have you ever experienced two worlds colliding? Your friends may see you in a different light than your family sees you. When those worlds collide, it can be awkward. This week we begin a sermon series called the Hope of the World. When Christians carry the hope of God’s Kingdom, but continue to live in the Kingdom of Man, two worlds collide. Join Fr. Ben Williams in the first in the first sermon...

What does it mean to be a friend? What does it mean to be a friend with Jesus? These questions are at the heart of this week’s sermon on John 15:12-17. Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Join us as Fr. Ben Williams shares what it means to have friendship with Christ.

Where do you go for nourishment? When you feel dry, thirsty, and hungry, do you reach for something that truly nourishes you, or do you simply grasp for something that will tide you over? This week, Fr. Ben Williams encourages us to continue to abide in the True Vine by being nourished by the Word of God.

How many voices do you hear each day? Which voices do you listen to the most? Who do those voices belong to? In John 10, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd and states that his sheep know his voice. Join us on this Good Shepherd Sunday to hear a message from Fr. Ben Williams, encouraging us to listen to the voice of Jesus above all others.

Do you ever feel like Jesus is there one minute and seems to disappear the next? Such times can lead us into a season of doubt and unbelief. The Apostle Thomas struggled with believing that Jesus had risen from the dead. Join us this week as Fr. Wes Gristy encourages us when we are struggling with our faith.

Why is it that Christians can praise God one minute and turn their backs on Him the next? For this Palm Sunday message, Fr. Ben Williams suggests that this happens because we are ambivalent people. Unlike us, Jesus was not ambivalent, nor did He take the easy way out. Join us for this Palm Sunday message leading us into Holy Week.

Why is there so much suffering in the world? If God is so good, why is there so much death? These are some of the most vexing challenges to the Christian faith. However, in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, we are reminded of just how deep the goodness of God goes. This week, Fr. Ben Williams reminds us that the suffering and death we experience is the whole point of the gospel, not a barrier.

Which eyes do you see the world through? Do you see the world through your own eyes, or through the eyes of God? This week, Fr. Kevin Vailes challenges us with these questions. Having been born blind to God’s sight, we now have the opportunity to allow Jesus to give us new eyes to see the world as it truly is.

We often make snap judgments of others based on superficial information. This was not the case for Jesus when He met the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. This week, Fr. Wes Gristy visits Mission Saint James from our mother church, All Saints, with a message about loving others beyond our snap judgments.

What is God’s plan? What is He up to? Is it all about saving us from our sins? Going to heaven when we die? As important as this is, God’s ultimate plan is to reclaim and remake His own family. Join us this week as Fr. Keven Vailes preaches on John 3:1-16 with a message about following God’s plan.

What is sin and how do we fight it? This fundamental question faces all Christians. Lent is a season for focusing on repentance, but what are we repenting for? What is the end goal? This week, Fr. Ben Williams preaches on the temptation of Jesus and how it relates to our struggle with sin. While the Christian life requires us to avoid the forbidden fruit of sin, it also opens a world of feasting o...

What is the significance of Ash Wednesday? Why do we smear ashes on our foreheads? These questions arise each year as we begin the Lenten season. It is a season that reminds us of our deep need for a Savior. But we don’t enter Lent as though we are weighed down with our sins and offenses. That is the beginning of the story, the bad news. But we keep the end of the story in mind, too: the good news...