Southall Church Podcast

This morning, Pastor Rob ended our Faith that Works series by preaching on James 5:13-20 and answering questions like: What is the prayer of faith? Does the prayer of faith guarantee healing? Why do we use anointing oil?

 In James 5:7-12, James gives three examples of how to patiently wait for the coming of the Lord: The endurance of a farmer, the long suffering of the prophets, and the perseverance of Job. 

Today, Pastor Dave Buering guided us through the Sermon on the Mount and recited Matthew 5-7 to create an intentional moment to reflect on the words of Jesus. 

 In James 5:1-6, James warns against greed because it leads to hoarding, self-indulgence, and injustice. But the antidote to greed is intentional financial generosity. 

In James 4:13-17, James says that human life is like a mist, here for a moment and gone the next. Knowing this, how do we approach the future? By trusting in the providence of God.

Today, Pastor Dave Buehring preached on James 4:1-12. In this passage, James is addressing Jewish believers on the war within themselves, their friendship with the world, and the importance of submitting to God.

In James 3:13-18, James tells us there are two types of wisdom: heavenly wisdom and worldly wisdom. Wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, fruitful, impartial, and sincere, and God invites us to pursue it!

Our words have power. They can build others up or tear them down. James 3:1-12 warns us that the tongue cannot be tamed, so how do we watch our words? It’s a matter of the heart.

 Growth in Christ isn’t for us; it’s for the world! And the world is in desperate need of a savior. What would it look like for us as a church, with people from every generation, to walk in unity and say, “God use us”? 

In James 2:14-26, we see that there are three different types of faith: dead, detached, and devoted. It is only when we see and experience the love of God for ourselves that we will be compelled to devoted faith, not out of self-preservation but out of gratitude.

God does not ask us to be the Judge. He is not asking the Church to be his Jury. There is no room for partiality in the family of God. We are all guilty and Christ stands as our defender, offering himself in our place. That is Jesus. That’s how Mercy Triumphs over judgment! 

 Like a fish that is only free in water, we are only truly free to the degree that we refuse to compromise, live in alignment with his Word, and obey Him in all things. There is a difference between hearing and doing. We are called to put the bible into practice. 

James illustrates through the tales of three men how we can react in the face of our circumstances.  We can be a people who remain steadfast under trial if we cling to Jesus because He remains steadfast. When we avoid suffering, we avoid the opportunity to look like Jesus. Our lives are meant to be a constant submission into the hands of our Creator, like gold in the hands of the Refiner. 

 This first sermon of this new Faith That Works series specifically addresses the testing of your faith, the purpose of trials, and trusting with doubt. The book of James goes after a “Faith that doesn’t just work in us, but a faith that gets to work".  

Celebrating 20 years of partnership with Narrow Gate, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating, inspiring, and empowering Christian discipleship, to equip and train young men, develop business discipleship platforms, and serve the Church locally and globally. 

The person of Jesus changes everything. Jesus didn’t leave us alone, he left so that he could always be with us in the person of the Spirit. Access to heaven when we die is a promise. Access to relationship with Christ until we die is a lifeline.

"And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" (Revelation 21:5 NIV) When we come to God, He doesn’t just redeem from this point forward, He redeems all. He redeems every aspect of our lives that we entrust to Him, and repurposes it for our good and His glory.

On April 6, 32AD a man rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey, and for the first time allowed Himself to be worshiped as the Annointed One. Jesus came down, not as a conquering King but as a suffering servant. He denied Himself, and through the death of Christ, new life springs forth, eternal life springs forth.

Faith is far more about trust in every circumstance than it is about getting the outcome that we’re after.  Faith is about trusting God in all circumstances… not just trusting Him when He fixes our circumstances. God can do all things. He is all powerful, all present, and all knowing! God can do all things… including bringing dead things back to life.   

We desperately need to keep in step with the Spirit in all aspects of our lives. Obedience allows God’s servants to hear and be open to change. Philip’s encounter with the Spirit kept him in step on the way, and Peter’s kept him in step as he prayed. God found Philip and Peter willing to live with the uncomfortable which helped them be open/flexible to the lead of the Spirit.  

Joseph has been changed by life and changed by God, and his brothers are standing right in front of him and they even don’t recognize him. Down in the valley, we can’t see the complexity of life. Only when we view life from the peak can we actually see what it means when Joseph said to his brothers, "What you meant for evil, God means for good.”  It is only when you get off God's throne,...

God wants to teach us through the life of Joseph, how to respond when we’re walking through the valleys of life. Valleys of life expose what was there all along and if we focus only on the end of a hardship then we may miss what God is doing through those trying times. If you’re just waiting for the current season to be over, you can’t be faithful NOW because you’re only thinking about THEN! God i...

We have been following the story of how God humbled Joseph, then God exalted him, and now all of the Egyptian empire is bowing before him. Joseph was faithful with little, now he’s been trusted with much. God frequently uses seemingly unimportant, uncomfortable and unexpected events and people as catalysts for significant transitions in life. You couldn’t see it at the time, but you’re not the sam...

As humans, we all face the temptations of power, pleasure, and pain. In the story of Joseph’s life, we see all three of these temptations and the character building that God grows in him throughout his life’s complicated circumstances. If you’re struggling with temptation today, don’t give in or fall into despair. God is with you in your situation, and just like he did with Joseph, He will give yo...

When we're experiencing unfortunate circumstances or heartache, we want God to just show up and make it all better, but often times, God will use the lowest moments of our lives to bring about the greatest good. In Joseph's story, God could have just rescued him from the pit his brothers threw him in, but instead, we see that God used the pit to save Joseph from his arrogance and to deli...