Awaken Church

There is a war inside each of us for what we want and a desire to be friends with the world. And even though we cheat on God with the world we see His response to us.

The solution to the war that James is talking about that we all fight, is found by drawing near to God. And when we draw near to God there is a promise that He will draw near to us.

As we continue to examine the book of James we will come today to a challenging few verses that force us to ask ourselves if we are truly wise or actually just wise according to the world. The challenge is every bit as pertinent today as it was at the time of writing.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But the truth is that the tongue is powerful, and words have the power to shape our lives. James 3 reminds of us of three things to never forget about our words.

Can you have faith without works? If we are all saved by faith alone, then why does James make such a big deal about works. As Christians we are called to a faith that works. We dont just say we believe we show that we believe.

Playing favorites might not seem like a big deal at first, but James says it is a sin. We need to be people who don't show favoritism but favor all people because that is what Jesus has done for us.

Baptism is an important step for a follower of Jesus. But is it possible that we think differently about baptism today than those who penned the New Testament? Peter uses typology in 1 Peter 3:18-22 to illustrate the importance of baptism as it pertains to spiritual warfare.

We can experience joy when we walk down the aisles of our favorite store. But Easter shows us that true joy comes because Jesus is alive! There are truths about Easter that give us a reason to celebrate!

We can become so familiar with a story that we miss the perspective of what's going on. Palm Sunday is an opportunity for us to get the right perspective on what Jesus came to do.

James tells us that we can't just pay lip service when it comes to our faith. We have to live it out by the things we say, the way we live, and by having compassion for those around us and taking action.

James is commanding us to lay aside the things in our life that defile us, receive the Word of God with MEEKNESS, and respond to the Word. This is never an easy thing to do, but if we position ourselves with the right posture, He will help us do the thing we are commanded to do.

The answer to anger that leads to sin is holding fast to God’s Word. James gives Christ followers direction on how to overcome the natural desire to fall into anger that leads to sin. Additionally, the issue of anger is of utmost importance because it prevents the Christian from fulfilling the role of furthering the Kingdom of God.

We will all face temptation. James tells us where temptation comes from, where it leads, and that through Christ, we can have victory in the midst of the battle.

Our trials are tough and can be difficult to understand. But James encourages us to seek God's wisdom and He will give it to us. The challenge is: Will we accept it or will we reject it?

We all have trials in life, and some seasons are tough. Almost all of us can remember a hard time when circumstances were challenging. When big problems strike, we struggle to make sense of them. James said the steadfastness that results from trials makes us “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Our trials are shaping us into the image of Jesus.

The Church should not just be a bunch of people who pray; it should be a people of prayer. Prayer is communicating and connecting with God. This means the Church should have the mark of prayer constantly upon them. Prayer is one key thing that separates the Church from the world. In this message, we're highlighting the many lessons on prayer Jesus gave us to see how deep it truly is.

As followers of Jesus, we all have a mission while we are on this earth. But we need to make sure we know what our mission is so that we can avoid mission drift. In Acts 11 we see a church that is on mission and because of that, God uses it in huge ways.

There are many mistaken ideas and misunderstandings about who the church is and how we’re supposed to be a part of it, but it doesn’t have to be this way. God's Word clarifies who is considered to be “the church” and shows us our purpose as the church. This is what we’re seeking to dive into in this message.

We all know that Jesus is the head of the church theologically. But how does this look practically in our lives and in the church?

What is the church? That is a huge topic with history as old as the universe. But to gain a foundational understanding of this, we need to look at the early church in Acts.

Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of a King. We’re reminded of this in many classic Christmas songs and the Scriptures, where we read about the birth of Christ. But do we really know the depth of what it means that Jesus is King? That’s what we’re digging into through the prophecy of Isaiah.

We see joy everywhere at Christmastime, but many of us feel like we have lost our joy. But just like the first Christmas where joy was found as the people got closer to Jesus, joy can be found as we get closer to Jesus.

Christmas is an exciting time of the year for most, but do we really know what it means to have the Christmas Spirit? We'll learn that Christmas is a unique season to celebrate the impact Jesus has had on us, and what He will continue to do in the future.

Haggai calls us to consider our ways to ensure we are walking in the eternal, God-glorifying, purpose Jesus has set before us.