GRINDIT podcast

James seems to contradict Paul in James 2 when Paul says in many places “We are saved by grace through faith and not of works...” I hear people say something like this all the time, “You don’t have to do anything to be saved...” and I believe they get that from what Paul says but this is not a true statement. Salvation is a gift from God, Right? When we receive a gift from someone, we have to do s...

James doesn’t hold back when it comes to showing favoritism in the church, among the Lord’s body. He throws a punch to the face when he says, “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others.” We have to show mercy to anybody and everybody because God has shown us mercy! The old saying, “Birds of a feather, flock together” may be true but it shouldn’t be true in the church! Cli...

James continues his talk with the rich and the poor in the body of Christ. He takes some shots at the rich people because they are showing favoritism towards their rich brethren and shunning the poor followers of Jesus who are right there in the room with them. He says we are to love one another like we love ourselves...sound familiar? James is basically reminding these Christians what his brother...

How do we want to be known? People today are so angry and ready to fly off the handle at the drop of a hat, especially if they are involved with an organization with a bunch of letters in it. Think about it...most of thew time when they are shown on the news, what are they doing? Yelling...Why? Because they are angry! We see them going into stores and wreaking havoc, destroying everything and anyt...

Do you get angry easily? Are you ready to snap at the drop of a hat? Anger is a fruit of the flesh, not the Spirit! James makes it a point to say, “Be SLOW to anger!” How can we do that? By doing what he says just before that, “Be QUICK to listen and be SLOW to speak.” The problem with many people is we barely listen, we hear what we want to, and we are thinking about a response as the person is t...

What's the difference between a test and temptation? How do you know if it's of God or Satan? Or, could it just be from our own fleshly desires? One thing is for sure, James says God never tempts anyone! Temptation leads to sin therefore God will never tempt anyone because sin separates us from God...He wants us to draw close to Him as possible! God does test and these trials build our faith, they...

When trouble comes, we are to run to God and ask Him for wisdom on how to get through it, and not doubt His direction. But far too often people do doubt God, in fact, when a storm comes in their life, they get mad at God, blame Him for everything, and return to a sinful life. That’s exactly what Satan wants! He tries to discourage us with many things so our focus will get off God and on to whateve...

When our world is upside down and it seems like chaos is all we deal with, when it seems like we can’t catch a break because life is kicking our butt, James says, “Ask God for wisdom.” He has already told his readers that troubles will come, and now he says, “When trouble comes, ask God for wisdom.” For someone to have wisdom, they have to experience something, then, once on the other side of the...

When our world is upside down and it seems like chaos is all we deal with, when it seems like we can’t catch a break because life is kicking our butt, James says, “Ask God for wisdom.” He has already told his readers that troubles will come, and now he says, “When trouble comes, ask God for wisdom.” For someone to have wisdom, they have to experience something, then, once on the other side of the...

When our world is upside down and it seems like chaos is all we deal with, when it seems like we can’t catch a break because life is kicking our butt, James says, “Ask God for wisdom.” He has already told his readers that troubles will come, and now he says, “When trouble comes, ask God for wisdom.” For someone to have wisdom, they have to experience something, then, once on the other side of the...

James just tells us like it is in his letter and he doesn’t waste any time getting started! He is writing to the Jewish Christians who have been scattered because of persecution. He tells them to consider what they are going through and let it build their endurance. In fact, the word “consider” actually means to be a leader during the hard times. We, as followers of Jesus, should be full of joy wh...

Jesus has told his followers that he would be betrayed, killed, buried, but that he would be raised back to life on the third day. None of the disciples ever got it despite being told many times! Not even the women and they are much better listeners than men! Verse 1 says Mary Magdalene went and bought spices to bring to the tomb to put on Jesus' body which tells me she was expecting there to be a...

What Does the Cross Mean To You? This is the question we cover in this podcast. We dive in to some ideas and verses that talk about the crucifixion and why Jesus had to die on the cross. To experience what real love is and to know God chose us while we enemies is mind blowing! You too can answer the same question...What does the cross mean to you?!?!

Jesus has been flogged and now he is crucified. It has happened just as he told his disciples on several occasions. Jesus was beaten beyond recognition, he was so weak he couldn't carry the cross so Simon had to help, he was nailed to there cross and put on public display to be humiliated for six hours. He would struggle to breathe in so much pain and agony when he cries out for the last time and...

There were two guys names Jesus when Jesus the Messiah was on trial before Pilate: Jesus the Messiah and Jesus Barabbas. Jesus Barabbas' name means "Son of the Father" which is ironic when Jesus the Messiah is THE Son of the Father! Jesus Barrabas was a murderer for he had risen up against the Roman government to over throw it but was unsuccessful in his attempt; captured and jailed for killing. J...

All of the religious leaders have been vocal about Jesus for three years now. They don't like him, in fact, they hate him nd want him dead. From the time he started working miracles and the crowds started following him instead of them, they started plotting to kill him. They finally have their chance thanks to Judas, and they have stayed up all night hurling accusations at a mock trial they have c...

Jesus and his disciples have finished the Passover meal and are headed to the Garden of Gethsemane so he can pray about what is to come. On the way there, he tells the disciples they will all deny him and Peter makes the infamous statement, "I will die with you and will never deny you!" and Jesus tells him, "You'll deny me three times before the rooster crows." When they get tto the garden, Jesus...

Jesus is having his last Passover meal with his disciples. He will be dead in a few days and it will totally blow their minds. Despite having told them many times, they just never got it, they didn't understand. While he is in the home of a Pharisee, a woman comes in and pours oil on his body and some of the disciples are indignant. They couldn't believe this woman had wasted so much money on this...

The sermon I preached at Authentic Church from our Revelation series. I was assigned Revelation 16-18 so I brought out several points from those three chapters: Be ready. Where is your treasure? Don't underestimate the power of the enemy. If you're angry at God, it is OK...just don't give up on Him. God sends out an invitation for us all to come out of sin and be with Him.

As we see wars going on today, as we hear of earthquakes and crazy weather patterns, people point to the return of Jesus Christ. In Mark 13, the disciples are in awe of the Temple and the beautiful buildings but Jesus blows their minds when he tells them, "This building will soon be destroyed and not one stone will be on top of another." What's crazy is, the smallest stone that was used to build t...

The religious leaders thought they were bold and courageous but as we see Jesus march into Jerusalem and expose them for who they really are, cowards, the one who is actually bold and courageous shows out, Jesus. He has went to the Temple, cleansed it out by overturning the money tables and driving the people out that was selling the animals for sacrifices for profit, and now he tells a story abou...

Jesus goes into Jerusalem with no fear and faces his enemies, the religious leaders, head on. He cleanses the Temple from their greediness, and they want to know where he is getting his authority from. Jesus asks them a question and they don’t answer it and therefore, Jesus doesn’t give them an answer to their question. Mark points out that Jesus came to the Temple and observed what was happening....

Jesus enters Jerusalem riding a donkey. Why did he choose a donkey and not a horse? Kings who were coming ready for war rode a horse. Kings who were coming in peace rode a donkey. Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace” and he has been peaceful since the beginning. However, after entering Jerusalem, he goes to the Temple and isn’t so peaceful as he wreaks havoc on those selling animals to make sacri...

Are you mad at God? Have you ever been mad at God? If so, how do you handle it? How did you handle it? We cover this topic in this podcast to help you find some encouragement to keep the faith and not be discouraged!

Phone rings...man answers, "Jesus' catering service. What can I do for you?" Isn't this how we treat God? Blind Bartimaeus was calling out to Jesus for help and the crowd was trying to silence him, telling him to shut up! The more they tried to get him to quiet down, the louder he got! And it worked! He got his healing right there in front of those who tried to silence him. Don't let the enemy ste...