Coffee House Theology Podcast

When we sin, it doesn’t take away our salvation, but it does hurt the quality of our relationship with God. When we hold sin in our heart, it places emotional distance between us and God. God wants us to confess our sins, not because we need salvation again, but because He desires intimacy with us. It’s hard to draw near to God when we’re actively holding on to sin.

Are you experiencing joy? Sorrow? Sickness? Bring it to God. Ask Him to help your heart be so focused on Him that your first, immediate response is to turn to Him, no matter what you are experiencing.

Are you speaking fluid, easy words, simply because they’re what the other person wants to hear, or are you choosing honesty and integrity in the things you say?

Becoming immersed in the Bible’s story lends perspective to our suffering.

Difficulty is not meaningless, rather God uses it to strengthen our hearts and lead us into perseverance

Like farming, patience does not come naturally to most of us. It is a skill that must be learned. To that end, allow what encouraged the early church to encourage you. God is for you, not against you.

Today’s verses continue James’ censure of the rich. In these verses James highlights three characters: the powerful, the poor, and the protector.

James’ denunciation of the rich may seem jarring, but that’s the point. James doesn’t stand alone in making his point either. The rich are consistently warned throughout Scripture

What we love here on earth matters for all eternity.

Some may struggle more than others, but all of us are guilty of this in some way, shape or form.

When we SUBMIT to Christ in this way, we can see Satan’s lies more clearly.

Clearly James is saying that each of us must choose between the world and God.

Our pride and our selfish pursuit of pleasure always compete with our humility before God.

We all seek wisdom and understanding, yielding insight into our circumstances and hope for the days ahead. We all know those people whose words are wise and seem to see through us to the hope of Christ. We see that wisdom proven in their life. As we said at the beginning of the week, works do not save us, but they do help confirm our faith. We will see our faith in our actions and in our words, pa...

The world has so much brokenness, so much ugliness, when you see beauty, truth, grace, call it out. To our best, we as Christians should use our words to edify. This does not mean they are all happy messages, positive in the eyes of the world, building self-esteem. They are words that encourage us to be holy, to look more like Crist, and guide one another in that walk.

Even the best of us will say hurtful things in a weak moment. Jesus’ words that we are not defiled by what goes into us, but what comes out of us is so, so true. Only through the grace of the Holy Spirit can words of hope and healing come from us.

As Christians, we must control of our words, fight these winds and waves to use language to edify and build up one another. Similarly, we must fight the nature within us to boast of great things¬¬––to demonstrate our pride. We tend to think of ourselves often, and what is in us comes out in what we say. We are called to be conscious and careful in how we impact those around us.

We are certainly not saved by our works, but our faith will demonstrate itself in what we do. Chapter 3 begins with an admonition that not many should become teachers as they will be held to a higher standard, that the works of faith should be even more prevalent in the lives of teachers.

Works alone are no litmus test for salvation. Anyone can do good deeds, just as anyone can say they believe. But only those whose works are a genuine product of their faith in Christ can avoid the fate of those Jesus mentions in Matthew 7.

Yesterday, we began looking at the issue of faith and works. James tells us that faith apart from works isn't really faith at all. Today, James uses Abraham to help us understand his point.

James clarifies what faith is and what it is not.

Today, we'll look at God's way and why James is making such a big deal out of treating people equally.

Today, we'll being looking at chapter two and what being a "doer" of the Word means.

We demonstrate true faith through our acts of compassion concerning those who are unable to fully take care of themselves.

In verse 25, James gives us the picture of someone with true faith.