GCI Equipper

Healthy Church Elements

The healthy church path we are on is lit by the light of the world, who is a lamp to our feet and path.

By Kalengule Kaoma, Superintendent, Africa

The August 2024 golden Jubilee celebrations in Grace Communion International (GCI) in Accra, Ghana, have lately occupied my mind. Fifty years of living and sharing the gospel in Ghana have helped us take note of traits of a healthy church. In addition, GCI – Africa has celebrated at least 200 collective years of participation in the gospel and reflecting aspects of Healthy Church. This article is a reflection on some elements of a healthy church I experience in GCI Africa. There is much variety and beauty throughout GCI Africa. I liken it to the amazing array of color seen when light goes through an optical prism.

Let me highlight some healthy church elements GCI Africa has been emphasizing.

Missions

The apostle John quoted Jesus referring to himself as the light of the world. In his Gospel, Matthew indicated that Jesus envisioned his plans to build a church. Both of these records of Jesus’ conversation with his disciples point to the mission he would do in the world through his body, the church. Like light going through a prism, Jesus’ disciples went in many different directions and reached many different groups in a variety of ways.

Jesus’ mission is an expression and act of love — love to redeem, save, and serve the lost. He invites people to himself. Those who respond are placed in the church, his body, so that they can go out and participate with him by reaching out to others.

In GCI Africa, we refer to missions as the Love Avenue. It is a place where Jesus meets people at their points of need. This is where the Holy Spirit washes, heals, and restores all kinds of people to a loving relationship with the Father. Mission fields are found in families, neighborhoods, workplaces, villages, wherever people are and wherever Jesus goes. In this ministry, Jesus promises to mend broken hearts. He turns situations, attitudes, and lives around. The hearts and minds of people are filled with joy even in the midst of trials and the hardships of life.

People who respond to the invitation of Jesus are added to the body (church) of Jesus Christ. These become coworkers with Jesus. They are charged to represent Jesus as ambassadors of the kingdom of God.

Opportunities for growth

On the heel of the missional responsibilities of a healthy church is the teaching ministry. The strands of light coming through the prism encourages the church to make disciples, followers, and friends of Jesus. People who join the missional journey of and with Jesus join a class to discover who Jesus is. In these discipleship classes, people not only learn about who Jesus is, but also about the Father and the Holy Spirit. The light of the world shines into the hearts of people enabling them to know their place in the Father, Son, and Spirit. There is an intense yet gentle illumination of the light which allows people to see a warm relationship developing between them and the triune God. This pathway is echoed by the apostle Peter when he urged Christians of his time to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 NIV).

Our Lord and Master, Jesus, commanded the apostles to go into all the world to make disciples and teach them to obey his teachings (Matthew 28:18-20). This growth solidifies a believer’s faith, which is firmly anchored on the Rock, Jesus Christ. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul wrote about the connection of faith to love. Christ Jesus, the rich soil of love in which faith grows, deeply dwells in our hearts by faith. (Ephesians 3:17). GCI – Africa refers to this growth pattern as Faith Avenue. This is an Avenue where the word of God is shared among brethren with the aim of developing a knowledgeable relationship of faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. African believers have a thousand reasons to celebrate their growth in faith. The light of Jesus keeps shining from glory to glory.

Warm, obedient response to God

In one of his teachings on prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to include aspects of God’s will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Part of what is done in heaven is seen in several books of the Bible, including Revelations 7:11 where it is recorded that “all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.” One of the elements of a healthy church is exhibited through worship, praise, and thanksgiving to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As members of Grace Communion International in Africa, we are happy to collectively call this response part of our Hope Avenue.

Hope Avenue is an Avenue of mutual relationship with God. Like the beautiful colors coming out of a prism, God meets his people in a variety of ways — right where they are — and they commune through sacraments of praise, worship, prayer, word, offerings, dedications, song, and other divinely guided ordinances. Jesus, the hope of glory, meets with his people in the house and at the table of fellowship. They break bread together and Jesus confirms with deep affirmations his word in the lives of his people.

Everywhere I attend church service in Africa, I join brethren in electrifying, lively, exuberant, and exultant praise and worship. During the celebrations in Ghana, we plan to join our voices together and lift one voice of honor to our Father in heaven. This is healthy for a healthy church.

Our response to God’s love includes planning and preparing for before, during, and after the worship service. The ambience, the emotional attitudes, the physical temperature, the dress of the participants, and the heart and mind preparations are all part of our response to honor of our living God. What comes to mind is the way King David prepared himself, the priests, and the people to receive the ark of the covenant into the city of Jerusalem. Similarly, King Solomon thoroughly prepared himself, the priests, and the congregation of Israel for the dedication of the temple. God also responded by symbolically filling the temple with his glory. Our positive, warm, and joyful response to God’s love is an awesome element of a healthy church.

I pointed out earlier that there are several elements which are indicative of a healthy church. I have highlighted GCI’s approach to encouraging us to examine if we are on the right path towards becoming a healthy church. I am persuaded and of the mind that we are moving in the right direction towards a healthy church throughout Africa. In this world, we are on the path of growth. We are becoming more like Jesus. The path we are on is lit by the light of the world, who is a lamp to our feet and path. Each day is an opportunity to grow toward becoming a healthy church which brings glory and honor to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Order and Purpose of Healthy Church

Preaching the gospel, discipling believers, and worshipping together.

By Takalani Musekwa, Regional Director, South Africa

One of the most striking features of creation that reveals one of God’s attributes is order. Everything in creation is ordered. In fact, Paul tells us that “God is not a God of disorder.” (1 Corinthians 14:33 NLT). We see this orderliness in the creation narrative itself and in the Old Testament patterns of worship. God gave detailed instructions about how worship should be ordered, that is, when it should be conducted, where it should be conducted, and by whom it should be conducted.

A casual reading of the Gospel accounts may leave one with an erroneous impression that Jesus was haphazard in his ministry. Nothing could be further from the truth. A closer look at Jesus’ ministry reveals order. There are three things that dominated Jesus’ daily ministry activities: preaching the good news to the crowds accompanied by healings, teaching his close disciples and friends during meals and dinner parties, and worshiping at local synagogues or at the temple in Jerusalem. All three were covered in prayer with his Father.

It is this shape of Jesus’ ministry that informs our practices of Healthy Church. We believe a healthy church focuses on the same things that Jesus focused on — preaching the gospel, discipling believers, and worshipping together. This is what we refer to as the Love (sharing the gospel), Faith (discipleship and fellowship), and Hope (worship) ministry Avenues. A healthy church is therefore a church that is living and sharing the gospel through the ministry Avenues of Faith, Hope and Love. Let’s look at what these Avenues look like in the church.

Love Avenue

The number one preoccupation of the church should be about worshipping God and following his commission to reach the world with and through the love of God. This is the key mission that Jesus gave the church. “…As the Father has sent me, I am sending you,” Jesus said. (John 20:21 NIV) This instruction is repeated in various ways by all the Gospel writers (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Acts. 1:8). Our monthly, quarterly, and annual ministry action plans (MAPs) must include how, where, when and who the church is going to reach with the good news about the love of God revealed to the world in the person of Jesus.

Faith Avenue

We live in a post-Christian world in which biblical literacy is declining, and Christianity itself is becoming a fringe religion. The negative attitude towards Christianity, which was last seen in the Roman Empire times, is growing. Our society no longer has a biblical or Christian worldview. A key ministry of the church is therefore to teach believers the scriptures so that they can maintain a godly worldview in a society that is returning to paganism each day. Discipleship programs and fellowship opportunities must be part of our ministry plans where “iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17). This is the focus of the Faith Avenue. Jesus’ commission was not just about going into the world to preach the good news; it was also about teaching “…these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” (Matthew 28:20 NLT). Luke tells us that this was a practice of the early church as well. The first Christians “…devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals…” (Act. 2:42 NLT)

Hope Avenue

Just as it was Jesus’ custom to visit the synagogues every week or go to the temple in Jerusalem for public worship, we believe that gathering together for public or corporate worship is a healthy church practice. These gatherings are characterised by prayers, scripture readings spanning the whole Bible, proclamation of the word, sharing of the communion, and singing. The synagogue readings of Scripture were orderly. Each week there were designated texts from the scrolls that were read. On one such occasion, Jesus read the scheduled text about himself (Luke 4:16-17). The scheduled texts were in line with the annual Jewish worship. Today, in GCI we follow the Revised Common Lectionary texts which are ordered around the key themes of Jesus’ ministry from his birth, his ministering to the world, his death and resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the continuing work of Jesus in the world through the church. It is in these weekly gatherings for worship that order is paramount. This requires intentional preparation of every aspect of the program to create order. It cannot be approached in a lackadaisical manner.

The three ministry Avenues of Faith, Hope and Love must be seen through the lens of our triune God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In other words, Love Avenue objectives can be achieved through the Hope or Faith Avenues where seekers and unchurched people may attend our fellowship groups or church services. Similarly, worship elements of prayer, scripture reading, and singing from the Hope Avenue can be part of a Love Avenue or Faith Avenue event. By focusing on the three ministry Avenues, we are led to continue to focus on the unified movement of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our Hope Avenue has as its primary focus worship of the Father with Jesus as our chief worship leader (Heb. 2:12). Our Love Avenue has as its primary focus following Jesus Christ, who is our chief apostle, leading his church into the mission field. And the Faith Avenue has as its primary focus listening to the Holy Spirit, who teaches the church all things as Jesus promised (Jn. 14:26).

Healthy church practices are therefore trinitarian by nature. They help us participate in the ministry of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as we participate in the Hope, Faith, and Love Avenues.

On a Mission of Love

A healthy church shares in Jesus’ mission of love looking for ways to express God’s love in tangible ways.

By Linda Rex, Elder

As we move towards Healthy Church — our never-ending goal in Grace Communion International — we share in Jesus’ mission of love. Our Love Avenue champions work with their teams to provide opportunities for members to express God’s love in tangible ways.

Markers of a healthy Love Avenue

A healthy church understands deeply how each member shares in Jesus’ mission to show God’s love to the world. The Love Avenue team and the church members are, personally and as a group, involved in their neighborhood through community groups, events, social media, and service. They build relationships with their church neighbors. Members realize that Jesus is already present and active by his Spirit in each person. The church members and the Love Avenue team work together to provide community events in which neighbors feel safe and able to connect with one another. The church also provides ways in which neighbors are connected back to the church, so that they can share in the life of the church as God leads them. A healthy church actively loves the members of their community, just as God in Christ loves every human being.

Signs of unhealth

A church which is isolated and disconnected from their neighborhood is not healthy, nor is it loving. In such a church, no one takes the lead to assess the neighborhood, or to create a plan for missional activities or events. The church expects the pastor or a small group of people to build the necessary relationships in the community. Members may simply choose to “pray and pay” rather than to personally be involved or serve. Church members may be unwilling to help with local activities or join in local groups. Possibly the church is unaware of the nature of the neighborhood in which they do ministry. And the church that does reach out to the community may not know how they are equipped to serve, because members are unaware of their own spiritual gifts or callings. Or perhaps members have not chosen to offer their gifts, resources, or talents to share in Jesus’ mission in the world.

Centering our witness in Christ

The apostle John grounds his first epistle within the Son of God’s presence in human flesh. Jesus shared in the everyday life of the people in Judea. He did this even when he suffered, was rejected, humiliated, and crucified. Jesus, as the Word of God in human flesh, demonstrated eternal life to all those around him. He lived life in warm fellowship with our Father in the Spirit (1 John 1:1-3). Love, John says, means we walk as Jesus walked. Love means we walk in the light, live in warm fellowship with God and others, and offer forgiveness to all (1 John 1:5, 9-10). The Father’s love is so great that he has called us “children of God”. For this reason, we live as children of God would live. We live in other-centered, self-giving, sacrificial love (1 John. 3:1-2, 9-11). Just as Jesus Christ laid down his life for all, so we lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters (1 John 3:16).

Joining with Jesus on mission

This love of God expressed through Jesus in the Spirit is shown in tangible ways. The apostle John reminds us that when we see a need in someone’s life, we do not close our hearts to that need. We actually do what we can to provide help. Jesus, aware of our need, did what was necessary for all of us so that our need was met. This means that not only are we aware of the needs around us, but we are also aware of what we have that we can offer that will help. And we provide the help that is needed, as we can (1 John 3:17-18). The love we offer others in the things we both say and do has its source in the God who sent his Son so that we might live (1 John 4:7-9). In the same way God loves us, we are to love others — this shows God lives in us and his love is perfected in us (1 John 4:10-11). God has given us his Spirit and abides in us, as we abide in him. We express our love for God by loving others (1 John 4:20-21).

Questions for reflection:

  • How important is it to build relationships within our church neighborhood? How is this building of relationships related to our sharing in Jesus’ mission of love?
  • What is the difference between the “pay and pray” response to community needs, and one in which a person or a group responds directly in a “hands-on” way to community needs? Which way best reflects what Jesus Christ did for all of us?
  • What are some of the needs in the community around your church? Consider the spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, experience, and education which are present in the members of your church. How can the resources God has given your church be used to meet the needs of your community? How will you personally offer your own resources and actively share yourself in Jesus’ mission of love?

Sample Itinerary of a Strategic Planning Retreat

In last month’s Equipper, Michelle Hartman wrote an article about the value of strategic planning retreats. See “Strategic Planning Best Practices” here. To get you started, here is an example outline of what an annual strategic planning retreat could look like.

———

Retreat Goals:

  1. Identify two provisional ministry goals for the upcoming year.
  2. Create a provisional ministry activity calendar that supports these goals.

Participants Invited: total = 10

  1. Avenue champions (3).
  2. One member from each Avenue team – invited by the champion (3).
  3. Three “people of peace” neighbors/neighborhood partners (3).
  4. Pastor (1).

Preparation:

  1. All participants will review congregational vision, mission, core values before retreat.
  2. All participants will be provided with retreat goals & schedule before retreat.

Sample Schedule

Friday 12pm to Saturday 5pm

FRIDAY: “Where are we?” & “Where are we going?”
12 pm – 1 pm Lunch
1 – 1:30 pm Devotional
1:30 – 2 pm Retreat Welcome:

·         Review purpose of retreat

·         Establish group norms of engagement

2 – 3 pm Group Reflection: where are we?
  Spend this time reflecting on the congregation’s current ministry rhythms. You may consider using a tool like SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), team examen, 5 Ds, or another process familiar to your team.

Consider questions such as:

·         Where do we see God at work? What are our strengths?

·         What ministry rhythms have been fruitful this year?

·         What gaps in ministry are most in conflict with our vision, mission, and core values?

3 – 3:30 pm BREAK
3:30 – 5 pm Group Discernment: where are we going?
  Spend this time discerning where God is working in your midst and where he may be leading the local congregation to participate. You may choose to continue using the tool/process you used for the “where are we” session (SWOT, team examen, 5Ds, etc.).

Note: Where we are going may be informed by where we are, but it is not defined or restricted by where we are.

Consider questions such as:

·         What would it look like to boldly live our vision, mission, and core values in our neighborhood? What opportunities may God be presenting us to do this?

·         Where do our assets/strengths connect with neighborhood desires/needs?

Session objective: Identify two provisional team/congregational goals that describe “where we are going.”

5 pm Group Fun Activity & Dinner

 

SATURDAY: “How do we get there?”
9 – 9:30 am Devotional & Worship
9:30 – 10 am Review Day 1 – What are the 2 provisional goals that describe where we are going in the coming year?
10 – 12 am Group Brainstorm & Idea Generation
  Use this time to brainstorm ways we might move from where we are to where we are going. What ministry activities will help us go where God is leading us? How might we faithfully participate in God’s ministry in our neighborhood this coming year?

Define this as a brainstorming space:

è  Allow for creativity.

è Approach with a posture of possibility vs. impossibility.

è New ideas are okay.

è Incomplete ideas are okay at this stage, too.

Consider questions such as:

·         What connections do we see between our strengths & ministry opportunities?

·         What types of activities connect well with our neighbors?

·         What rhythms are already established in our neighborhood that we can join?

·         What’s something we’ve always said we wanted to do but have always been too scared?

12 – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 3 pm Bringing Focus to Ministry Activities
  Use this time to bring focus to the ideas generated.

Consider questions such as:

·         What ministry activities are most aligned with our vision, mission, core values, and annual goals?

·         What ministry activities do we have the capacity and appropriate resources for?

·         What ministry activities are most relevant to our neighbors?

3 – 4 pm Create Provisional Ministry Calendar
  Use this time to outline a provisional ministry calendar for the upcoming year.

Consider questions such as:

·         How do the identified ministry activities flow with the worship calendar?

·         Where do the identified ministry activities best fit within the neighborhood rhythms?

·         How can the ministry activities be scheduled in a way that builds synergy between the Avenues?

4 – 4:30 pm Debrief
  Use this time to debrief the strategic planning retreat:

·         What remaining questions do we have?

·         What was most life-giving?

·         What should we do differently next time?

4:30 – 5 pm Next Steps
  Bring clarity to next steps.

·         The goals & calendar outline during planning retreats are provisional. Pastor and Avenue champions will have follow-up meetings to review and confirm goals & calendar. The TMAP will then be detailed and submitted to supervisors.

·         Once the TMAP is finalized, Avenue champions will begin to work with Avenue teams to plan ministry activities for the year. Build Avenue action plans and IMAPs as appropriate.

Church Hack: Team Manifesto

Reflect the unity of the Trinity in your ministry teams with a team manifesto!  Discover how this powerful tool can align your team’s purpose, goals, and values. Start building your team’s road map today!

Access the latest Church Hack for this month: https://resources.gci.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-CH8-Team-Manifestos.pdf

In Their Own Voice

A healthy congregation finds ways for the young people to express their personal walk with Christ with their church family.

By Dishon Mills, Pastor, Steele Creek, NC

We have started a tradition at Grace Communion Steele Creek called Family Sundays. Every fifth Sunday, we have a special service geared towards our younger members — our children and youth. Instead of dismissing our young people to the children’s ministry during the sermon, we keep everyone together to strengthen intergenerational ties and communicate to our younger members their value to God and to the adults. As much as possible, we try to create opportunities for young people to speak about their relationship with Jesus in their own words.

 

Our approach is notably different from the children’s days I remember growing up. What typically happened was that we, the young people, were taught a song that we would sing for the adult members. Or we would perform some kind of skit or play to show what we were learning. I can vividly recall some of those songs and how much I disliked the entire experience. On one occasion, I was dressed as a turtle on Noah’s ark, complete with green tights, turtleneck shirt, and cardboard shell. I hated it, especially the green tights! While it was clear that the adults involved invested a lot of time and effort into these events, little Dishon would never have chosen any of it. I felt like we were simply providing entertainment for the adults.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think it is fine to teach children songs, skits, and plays that they perform for the congregation, especially our preschool and early elementary aged children. Performances can help children build confidence and remember important information about God. At the same time, we need to be mindful of the fact that, developmentally speaking, adult-driven programming gets less and less useful as the child gets older. In fact, for teenagers, adult-centered activities can push them away, making them feel like adults do not really know them or are out of touch.
A healthy children’s ministry strives to see its young people deepen their personal relationship with Jesus, not simply remember Bible facts. Part of cultivating a child’s relationship with Christ is helping them find their own words to speak about God and their faith. Therefore, congregations should provide opportunities for their younger members to share their testimonies, beliefs, and other aspects of their walk with Christ. I believe some wisdom offered by Peter applies to our children:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15a)

During Family Sunday, we have a new tradition where we interview a young person, asking them about the topic for the day (e.g. Jesus never rejects us). That young person is given an opportunity to articulate their understanding of God and faith in their own words. The adults are given a glimpse into the lives of our young people to better direct our prayers and actions. Despite the work that goes into the facilitated discussion and activities, the words of the young people are often the most memorable.

This is what seems to be working for our congregation. What might work in your congregation? If your congregation does not have young people, what can you do to create room for the voices of the young people in your neighborhood?

I have heard it said, “There are no grandchildren in heaven — only children.” In other words, all Christ-followers have to develop their own relationship with Jesus. We cannot get to know him through someone else. This is why it is so important that our young people are given the opportunity to speak about God in their own voice. It is a blessing for both the children and the adults.

Sharing God’s Story in and Through Your Life w/ Jeff Broadnax

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In this episode, titled “Sharing God’s Story in and Through Your Life,” Regional Director, Jeff Broadnax unpacks how Jesus emphasized teaching through narrative, going beyond mere information transmission. Join us in discovering how sharing our testimonies in everyday life can profoundly impact those around us, weaving God’s story into the fabric of our interactions.

“By [reflecting], what you will find is that God will make clear some of the things he’s been doing in your life, how he’s been using your life, how he’s been clarifying his presence in your life. And you’ll start seeing patterns. God has been consistently using your life to reflect his story, to reflect his grace, to reflect his greatness, to reflect his faithfulness, to reflect his ability to hear you in pain, to reflect his ability to celebrate with you. You’re going to be able to see patterns of things that God has placed in your world to help you, not just see it yourself, but to help other people.” — Jeff Broadnax

 

Reflective Practice:

  • Select three words that regularly come up when others speak about you, your impact on them, or your impact on others. 11:11
  • Select three occasions or times in your life when you “know that you know” God was present with you. God was real and personal, made manifest. 12:10
  • Reflect on the three words and the three experiences and look for patterns. Consider what God might be showing you about his presence and involvement, past and present.  Contemplate how those patterns might give insight to shape your future. 13:00
  • Commit to sharing what you learn with a friend using narrative to set the stage. 17:20

 

Books referenced by Jeff:
Max Lucado, The Cure for the Common Life: Living in your Sweet Spot
Claude V. King & Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God
Dan B. Allender PhD, To Be Told: Know your Story – Shape Your Future

Follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcast.

 

Program Transcript


Sharing God’s Story in and Through Your Life

Cara Garrity: Welcome to GC Podcast, a podcast to help you develop into the healthiest ministry leader you can be by sharing practical ministry experience. In this episode, we welcome Jeff Broadnax, who will be leading us in sharing our testimonies and what God is up to in our everyday lives. We invite you to co-create your own experiences of spiritual formation through personal and communal practices.

We believe that through such personal and communal practices, we open ourselves and surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us. May the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst grow us up into the healthiest participants in the ministry of Christ that we can be, to the glory of the Father. Amen.


Jeff: Good morning. I’m Jeff Broadnax, regional director with GCI here in the Eastern region. I’ve served as a pastor for 34 years. And the last few, I’ve been serving as a regional director where I serve pastors. And I help pastors, not only lead their congregations, but help their congregations do the kind of thing that I want to talk about today.

And that is to learn to see and share God’s story through their own life story. I’m honored to be here today and share this with you, and I hope you’ll take the journey with me because this one is a personal one. It’s one that will allow each of us to stop and to reflect and to pay attention to not only what God is doing, but what God has already done.

Because very often when we look at what God has already done in our world and in our lives, it gives us clarity as to what he is doing and frankly what he will do. So, let’s begin with prayer. And then I want to walk you through just a couple of passages of scripture as we move into this clarifying discussion for reflection, for implementation, and for a passionate living sent, of sharing God’s story through our lives.

God, you are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we are grateful that we can come and know that you know us, but not just that you know us, but that you specifically made us. You specifically designed the two cells that would come together to make us. That is not just unique, it is powerful.

And what you want from us is that we will see you and that we will see that we don’t have to be anybody else in the world. We just have to be who you’ve created us to be, to come to discover why you made us, why you use us, why you allow us to reflect you very specifically and uniquely in the world.

And so today, as we reflect, it is our desire to be able to see from you what you are doing in our lives. I pray, Lord, that you will bless the words that are spoken to actually be a clear path to a deeper understanding and a deeper discovery or removing of the cover of what you’ve been doing in our lives and what you will continue to do.

And so, we thank you. And in Jesus’ name, do we pray. Amen.

In the book of Acts 1, it was that moment where Jesus was standing before the disciples, and he was about to ascend. And the disciples asked him if it was now the time to restore Israel. And Jesus went on to tell them in Acts 1:7, that’s not what I want you to worry about; I don’t want you to focus on those things. The time and the seasons are not given for you to know.

But he does say in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

And at that point, he was taken up.

And I want to focus on the statement that he made that you will be my witnesses. We know from our 21st century court of law that a witness is somebody who goes and they make an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth with the help of God. And if you can, if we can filter that back through what Jesus was saying, cause that’s really what he was saying.

He was saying, you’re going to be a person who will be in Jerusalem and Judea and all of Samaria and the ends of the earth. You’re going to go where you’re safe, where you’re comfortable, where you’re slightly uncomfortable and where sometimes you might be scared to death. And you’re going to tell what you’ve seen, heard and experienced about me.

The Greek word for witness there is martyr. And so, when we think of martyrs, we often think of people who’ve given their lives, in death, for something, but really what that word is meaning in Greek — it may come to that. But what he’s saying is that a witness, or someone who operates in that “martyr,” is somebody who will tell the whole story, tell the whole truth, tell the life story.

And sometimes even telling that hard truth may cost them everything, but they stand on that truth. They stand on that story. And so, what Jesus is saying is he wanted the disciples to be ones who would tell the life story, his story through their lives. Because even with the twelve, none of them had the same story.

Each one of them had a different experience with Jesus, even though they shared some things in common. In Matthew 28, I think this is talking about that same period of time, we call this the Great Commission. But Jesus says, because all authority is his in heaven and earth, he says, I want you to go. And as you go, I want you to make disciples, baptizing people, and teaching them everything I’ve commanded you. And remember, I’m with you to the end of the age.

And I think sometimes for us, it could be easy to teach lessons or principles that Jesus taught. Jesus taught one time about light and salt. We could tell that story, but what if we, instead of just telling the details or the facts of the story, what if we started the story by saying, one time we were with Jesus, and it was this big crowd of people. And when we were sitting there, here’s what we were experiencing while we were going through it. And then he started talking to them about salt and about light, and it was just the coolest thing for me because I remember watching this one woman, in her eyes I saw something special in her eyes and it hit me different.

You see, when you tell the story through that lens if the disciples were to tell the story through the way it happened, the way they experienced it, it might have changed quite a bit about how it’s received.

That’s what Jesus is getting at, I believe, when he says teach them everything. It’s not just about getting a set of doctrines and teaching those doctrines. I believe Jesus is trying to get them to teach about the private conversations he was having with them as they were walking along the way, or when they were sitting in a house, or when they were experiencing somebody who got healed.

Tell the story through the eyes of the story.

When Peter wrote later in 1 Peter 3:15, when he told us to set apart the Lord in our hearts and be ready always to give an answer for the reason that we have hope in you and to do it with meekness and reverence toward God, Peter had so many stories that he could tell. He had so many things, so many moments, and they weren’t just about the facts.

Peter had been able to see his life story come full circle in so many ways. One of the amazing things you should do, we could do, is actually go back and look at Peter’s story and see how many things Jesus does more than once in very specific ways in Peter’s life.

Like the time, [Jesus said] put your net over the side of the boat. How many times did he say that to him? How many different situations? When Peter denied Jesus, there was a smell of coals, and when he came back after the crucifixion, there was a smell of coals. There were so many pieces of Peter’s life that Jesus would bring full circle for him, and Peter could tell the story differently.

That’s the beauty of learning to share God’s story or God’s narrative through your life. Because frankly, if all we do is pass on general information to people, it gets hard for them to be able to see it applying in their world. Giving a testimony, however — sometimes we don’t like that word — but giving a testimony or sharing the story as you’ve seen, heard, and experienced it, allows people to see life through your eyes, and in our case, to see God writing his story through our eyes and through our lives.

I remember reading several years ago, a couple of books. There were three books that really helped me in this space. One was by Henry Blackaby. It’s called, Experiencing God. And it just takes you on a deeper journey of listening for this, the repeatable stories or the things that God has done, where he’s made it very specific.

Max Lucado wrote a book called, The Cure for the Common Life, which is another great book of just walking through helping people, helping one see himself or herself as God has been working very specifically, because no two people are the same.

But the one that really grabbed me and that took me to a deeper place is one by Dr. Dan Allender. It’s a book called, To Be Told: Know Your Story, Shape Your Future. And he uses the language of story, and he uses the ability to teach us some practices that I think are very helpful in understanding what God has been doing so that we can be clearer on what he is doing and, most likely, will continue to do.

[00:11:11] So, what I’d like to do right now is take you on a journey and have you take a practice with me. I’d like you to just sit for a moment, and I’d like you to think through three words. Maybe grab a piece of paper. You may want to pause the podcast, grab a pen and a paper, because we’re going to write a little bit.

But one of the things I’d love for you to be able to do is when you get your pen and paper, I want you to write down three words that have been regularly spoken. Like you hear them a lot when people describe you or your impact or something that you’ve been used to give to them or to be a part of their life. Write down three words. The three words that come up most often that you’ve heard over the years, and just set them aside for a second.

[00:12:10] And then what I’d like for you to do, I’d like you to think of three times in your life. You may only be able to come up with one. You may only be able to come up with two, but you may be able to come up with 20, but I want you to try to come up with three times in your life where you know that God has made himself real and personal in your world. Three times where you know that you can put a date down You can just write yourself a little shorthand story title, you can write yourself a picture, you can name a place, but three situations or three times in your life where you know that God has made himself real or personal. Or as the Scripture talks about, he made it manifest, able to be grasped in the hand.

[00:13:00] So, when you have those three words together and you have those three situations together. See what they have in common. See if they have anything in common. They may not, but they will all come together in the end. Because when you’re looking at those three times that God has made himself personal, I want you to focus on how you knew it was God.

How did you know that it was God? It could be a circumstance, like he rescued you from some catastrophic accident or some catastrophic situation or potentially catastrophic situation as a child. It may be that time you prayed that God — you’d been a strikeout king in baseball, and maybe you prayed that God would allow you to get a hit. And you not only got a hit this time, but you hit a home run. And it sounds weird, but you believed in your heart that God answered your prayer, and you knew that God was moving in you because there was something different about this one.

It may have been a moment that shook you to the soul. It may have been one of those moments that that God allowed something in your life that not only challenged your faith, but it challenged your being. And then God made himself crystal clear that he was not only present, but he was moving in it. And even though you didn’t have an answer, or you didn’t have the answer you wanted, you were shook to the soul. He was present.

Or maybe it might be one of those times he used you, and then you saw later on that he was using you to answer somebody else’s prayer. Somebody else had been praying, and then God allowed you to be present or to say something or to do something. And they said to you, I was just praying about that. And you had no idea that’s how God was going to use you.

I don’t know what the circumstance is, but I’d like you to write down three times in your life where you know that God made himself real and personal in your world.

So now, when you bring those words back together, and when you bring those times back together, what I’d like for you to do next is I’d like for you to take them and pray over them and ask the Lord why he showed you those. Why, Holy Spirit, did you show me these words and these times? And then take the time in yourself, in that moment, write down what you think you hear, what you believe you hear, what he makes clear to you.

Because by doing so, what you will find is that God will make clear some of the things he’s been doing in your life, how he’s been using your life, how he’s been clarifying his presence in your life. And you’ll start seeing patterns. I firmly believe that as you look back at the stories and as you look back at the words, you’re going to find that they form a pattern. And you’re going to see that God didn’t just do it those three times, but there are other times that he’s done similar things and it’s been in similar ways, and it’s been a similar story. And you’ve come full circle again and again.

Because what that’s showing you is these are some of the things that God has been consistently using your life to reflect his story, to reflect his grace, to reflect his greatness, to reflect his faithfulness, to reflect his ability to hear you in pain, to reflect his ability to celebrate with you. You’re going to be able to see patterns of things that God has placed in your world to help you not just see it yourself, but to help other people.

[00:17:20] The last part of the practice of taking the words, taking the stories, asking God why he showed it to you, and then following the pattern — the last part of the practice is, when you come up with anything that’s clear, I would love for you to find someone that you trust , a dear friend, and I want you to tell them what you found.

Share the story. And I don’t want you to share the details of what I ask you to do: to write down three words, write down three situations. I want you to frame it as a story:

Recently I was listening to a podcast, and I was challenged to give a witness of the God story in my life. And so, I was challenged to … (and then you can lay [out] the things you were asked.) And so, here’s what I came to, and I just feel like I want to share it with you.

And then what you do is you listen to see if it’s validated in them. I’m pretty, pretty sure that what you’ll find is they will acknowledge that’s how God has been using your life, even in them.

I’ve come to see that there are several patterns in my life. And when I look for them, when I look for God in those moments, I call them divine appointments. But when I look for God in those moments, I know he’s present and I know he shows up.

In fact, this very morning, I had one of those circumstances. I had been invited to a prayer breakfast, and the guest speaker was going to be sharing a personal testimony of the tragedy of the loss of a son. She had lost her son during pregnancy, during the late, last stage of pregnancy, and the child was stillborn. And she went through all the gamut of emotions and the struggles of losing her son. Lord, why?

She was a believer. She is a believer. And she struggled. She struggled. It was a soul shaker moment. And she’s one of our local newscasters, and when I heard her story [previously], I began praying for her and for her husband and her family because 30 years ago this year, my wife and I had a very similar circumstance where we lost a daughter at 39 weeks.

And I began praying for them, and I wrote her an email to tell her. I wrote her to share with her that I’d be praying for her and her family, and I understand what that feels like in a small way especially as believers when you’re shaken to your soul. But I never had an opportunity to meet her.

This friend of mine who invited me to this [prayer breakfast], I got there, and I waited around afterwards. And I met her father who’s a pastor, and I just shared with him that I had been praying for him and his family. And I will continue to pray for him and his family.

It was a moment. And I found that what God did was he allowed me to see that there were some circumstances that were virtually identical, not in the loss, but in the conversations that we had with him. And so, he was able to validate for me, God heard me, and I was able to validate for him that God heard him.

And as I told this woman, the story — I got a chance to meet her — as I told her the story, these were her words for me. She said, even though she’s a newscaster, she’s a reluctant public speaker. And she said to me, thank you for sharing what you’ve shared, because what this has done is validated for me that my story, that the story God is writing for me, is one that I have to tell.

Now she had no idea that later today I would be doing this podcast about God’s story through our lives, but the language she used was specific. It was personal because that’s what I’ve learned about God in my own life. God uses specific language that validates for me that he’s speaking to me in that moment.

It’s what I’ve come to know. I can’t miss it. And so, it was a two way street, right? I was validated. She was validated, and we were both moved in this mission of how God is using our lives. Versus whether it’s just a situation that happens. And this is a pattern. This is a pattern for my world.

As I close, I’ll give you one more, brief story. A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting a church, and I had a young person who went to college in that town. Actually, they go to Harvard, and they were up at Harvard, and I wanted to visit them before I came home. But I wasn’t able to meet with them the night I thought. And so, I ended up running to the airport late, trying to get to the airport.

And so, all I had time to do was call this young person and say to them, “Listen, I’m only going to be able to come by and pray over you and give you a hug, but then I’m going to have to get to the airport.”

I meet this young person on the campus, and we start talking and she says to me, “I have to share something with you. Right before you called me to tell me that you were coming, she had just texted a dear friend and said, I feel just a wave of just dark energy and darkness around me. And I just need to know if you could talk because I just need a hug and I need somebody to pray.” And she said, “And then Pastor Jeff, you called me, and you said those very words. Thanks.”

And she started to cry. And I hugged her, I grabbed her hands, and I thanked God for allowing me to pay attention and let him use my words to be an answer to a prayer she was offering. I had no idea, but he did. That’s how God uses our story. That’s how God uses our ideas. That’s how God uses the life that we live.

Will you begin paying attention, too? Will you find out how God makes himself clear to you? If so, I ask you to take those words, take those moments, ask God to make himself clear to you. And then continue to be his witness where you are comfortable, where you’re safe, where you’re comfortable, where you’re uncomfortable, and sometimes where you’re scared to death.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for being the God who sees us, who works with us, who blesses our lives, who invites us to join you in ways that will blow our minds if we would only pay attention. Lord, thank you for this time. And it is my prayer that each person will be able to see your story in their lives, Lord, where you are moving, where you get the glory, where you get the praise, where you validate that you are present, that you are moving, and that you are God.

We can’t thank you enough. And I pray that everyone who hears this podcast, that what they will find is you manifest, personal, real in their past, in their present, and in their future. It is in your glorious name, Lord Jesus, do we pray and thank you by the power of the Spirit to the glory of the Father.


Thank you for listening to this episode of GC Podcast. We hope you found this time valuable. We would love to hear from you. Email us at info@gci.org with your suggestions or feedback. And remember, healthy churches start with healthy leaders, so invest in yourself and in your leaders.

 

David Kowalick—Year B Propers 17-21

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Jm 1:17-27 ♦ Jm 2:1-17 ♦ Jm 3:1-12 ♦ Jm 3:13-4:3, 7-8 ♦ Jm 5:13-20

This month, our host, Anthony Mullins, is joined by David Kowalick. Together, they unpack the September 2024 sermon pericopes. David is the Founder and Director of Godwit Ministries in Australia. Godwit is a resourcing ministry designed to equip church pastors and leaders in regions where theological training and resources are scarce. He is an ordained minister with over 30 years of full-time ministry experience in church, mission, and Bible college contexts. David is married to Catherine, and they have four adult children. You can find more information about Godwit and David by visiting the ministry website: godwit.com.au.


September 1, 2024 — Proper 17 in Ordinary Time
James 1:17-27

September 8, 2024 — Proper 18 in Ordinary Time
James 2:1-17

September 15, 2024 — Proper 19 in Ordinary Time
James 3:1-12

September 22, 2024 — Proper 20 in Ordinary Time
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8

September 29, 2024 — Proper 21 in Ordinary Time
James 5:13-20


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Program Transcript


David Kowalick—Year B Propers 17-21

Welcome to the Gospel Reverb podcast. Gospel Reverb is an audio gathering for preachers, teachers, and Bible thrill seekers. Each month, our host, Anthony Mullins, will interview a new guest to gain insights and preaching nuggets mined from select passages of Scripture in that month’s Revised Common Lectionary.

The podcast’s passion is to proclaim and boast in Jesus Christ, the one who reveals the heart of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And now onto the episode.


Anthony: Hello, friends, and welcome to the latest episode of Gospel Reverb. Gospel Reverb is a podcast devoted to bringing you insights from Scripture, found in the Revised Common Lectionary, and sharing commentary from a Christ centered and Trinitarian view.

I’m your host, Anthony Mullins, and it’s my joy to welcome our guest, David Kowalick. David is the founder and director of Godwit Ministries in Australia. Godwit is a resourcing ministry designed to equip church pastors and leaders in regions where theological training and resources are scarce. He is an ordained minister with over 30 years of full-time ministry experience in church, mission, and Bible college contexts.

David is married to Catherine, and they have four adult children. And if you’d like more information on Godwit and David himself, you can visit their ministry website, godwit.com.au.

David, thanks for being with us and welcome to the podcast. And since this is your first time on Gospel Reverb, we’d like to know you a little bit of your personal story and how you are joining with Jesus these days.

David: It’s good to be on your podcast and thanks for having me. It’s always a pleasure to share the gospel with anyone and everyone, which is one of our slogans of Godwit Ministries, is to share the gospel with anyone, anywhere, and everywhere, so we don’t want to limit it.

And technology, of course, makes that a lot more possible. So, it’s great that we’re able to talk from other sides of the world and still talk about the gospel in real time.

Anthony: Yeah, absolutely. And Godwit, it sounds like you’re taking resources to places where maybe those resources aren’t readily available.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the ministry?

[00:02:30] David: Yeah, sure. So, I’ve been involved in church ministry, pastoral ministry for a number of years, and I had this sense — it was almost a miraculous call, where I was told through a number of different methods that I felt the Holy Spirit was leading me to take every opportunity to share the gospel that came my way. And if someone, even someone from a place where they had no money, and there’s no way that it could be done, just to say yes anyway, and that the resources would be there to make it happen. And that’s exactly what did happen.

My first invitation was to a place in Papua New Guinea, which is a country near Australia. And there was a young pastor there who was really struggling, and they’d been doing some study here in Australia. And he said, “Look, we really need to get more Bible teaching up in our area. Would you be willing to come?”

And at the time, I thought, you’ve got no money and I’ve got no money. So be warm and fed. And that’s it; we’ll just leave it there. But then I had that nudge, that sense, no, just say yes and see what happens. So, I said, sure, I’ll come. That sounds like a plan.

And then, sure enough within days people just came and said, “I was led by the Spirit to give you this money towards something that’s coming up. I don’t know what it is, but I know that I’m meant to give it to you.” And it was the exact right amount of money to cover the costs of going there and doing a pastor’s conference over a period of a couple of weeks.

And it just snowballed from there. And so, every year, I was going up to Papua New Guinea or to Fiji, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India. But India and Papua New Guinea have been the main places I’ve been visiting over the years. India, I’ve been to 11 times, and it’s been a really fruitful ministry.

It’s mainly aimed at Bible teaching with a Trinitarian view, with a grace orientation to a lot of these guys who are brilliant leaders. They’re way better leaders than I’ll ever be; they’re leading large thriving churches. But a lot of them say they’re struggling with preaching every Sunday because, to be honest, they would say, I don’t have the theological input that I felt that I needed.

Some of them have only had two or three months of Bible college. That’s all they could afford, all that was available, and the quality wasn’t really that good. And so, they knew that they were struggling, and so they really would take a hold of anything you had to give them, and they would run a thousand miles with it.

And the other thing that you notice when you’re in these places is that people will crawl across cut glass to hear the gospel. And when you’re in a place like Australia, and I know it’s probably like this in many parts of the United States as well, that people become a little bit blasé about the things of God and good Bible teaching, and they take it all for granted.

And sometimes you can feel like a soufflé chef, curating these beautiful little pieces of cuisine for people to eat, and they don’t even bother with it. And yet you go to a place like India, and they will take every word you say and will hang off every word. And then they will take that back to their villages, to their towns, and they will disseminate every single piece of that.

And they’ve even said to me many times, I’ve taken every single thing that you’ve said, I’ve written it down, I’m going to preach that same message precisely to my church. And that’s not seen as a bad thing, that’s seen as a compliment. So that’s it’s just a different world and it’s quite an amazing experience to see that sort of thing.

[00:06:35] Anthony: Praise God. We were chatting prior to starting the recording and just thanking you for your active participation in Jesus’s ministry. And just hearing more of the backstory, you saying yes to that nudging of the Spirit, stepping out on faith, not kind of. It was like you said, like, how is this going to come together?

And yet God provides, he is so generous. And so again, thank you for saying yes. And we will be praying, ongoing, for Godwit and your participation in it. It’s exciting what you’re doing. And you’re right — may we not become blasé to the glorious good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, let’s talk about Jesus and the word of God being made manifest here on this podcast. We’re going to look at this month’s lectionary passages, and we’re going to pivot now to our first passage of the month. It’s James 1: 17-27. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition. It’s the Revised Common Lectionary Passage for Proper 17 in Ordinary Time, which is September the 1.

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave birth to us by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 19 You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, 20 for human anger does not produce God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. 26 If any think they are religious and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

David, I’d be grateful if you would tell us about the good news that is shoehorned into verses 17 and 18 to start this passage, and what are the theological implications of what is said there?

[00:09:26] David: Yeah, James is one of those controversial books. It was Luther who said that it was a book of straw. I know that’s taken a little bit out of context because he still believed that it was meant to be in the scriptures, but he saw it as being not perhaps a top-shelf letter compared to some of the other letters.

And that makes perfect sense coming from his particular point of view and his background. He was so overwhelmed by the grace of God that it blinded him to everything else, I think.

And I think, sometimes I look at the church today, and I see that there are a lot of churches that are still very legalistic, and you see it as a performance. Prerequisites have to be fulfilled before God will bless you and all that kind of thing.

But then there’s been a large wave of churches that have embraced this message of grace. But then seem to have virtually lost the outworking of that grace in a life of (like the writer to James says) not only knowing these things but doing them. And I’ve fallen into that trap myself. I’ve experienced that because I had a profound experience of God’s grace that totally turned me around and it was shocking. It was amazing. It was wonderful. And then I began to preach a message of grace, but I preached it almost to the exclusion of everything else.

And I think what James is doing here is he’s taking the grace of God, right there at the beginning, he’s saying this is all coming down, it’s a gift from above, it’s all coming from the Father.

And it’s not burying, it’s just there’s no shadow of turning, as it says in the Old King James. But you can turn that light around, it doesn’t cast a shadow in any direction because it’s not a reflected light, it is the source of light. And so, God is consistent, he never changes, he’s good every day, doesn’t have mood swings. And so, you can be totally reliant on God’s goodness every day of the week and in every possible way.

But then, I think, this whole point of this entire letter is perhaps to bring correction for what he was seen happening in the broader church at that time. And I think that his letter is very relevant for the Western church right now, especially churches that have actually adopted the message of grace and have adopted it so much that they have almost seen things like good works as being very suspect that you could fall into works righteousness if you do anything that’s good or you strive too much.

And yet I look at the life of, say, the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, where he says that he was the least deserving of all the apostles because he’d been persecuting the church. But he said, I am what I am by the grace of God, and I work harder than them all, that is all the other apostles. So, he’s saying he’s received a lot of grace, but the effect of that is that he’s thrown himself into service. He’s saying that the grace of God has an effect, it has an ongoing outworking.

And I believe that’s exactly what James is trying to say. If you have received this wonderful gift from the Father of Lights, then it will have an effect upon you, or it should have an effect upon you, unless, of course, you forget what’s really going on here.

It’s like looking in the mirror. And you forget what’s really going on, and you lose sight of the extraordinary nature of God’s grace and its ability to turn you around and cause you to live a life which is a complete variance to what you had experienced before.

It’s not just the relief of salvation; it’s the capacity to serve and the capacity to respond, in kind, to what God has done. I’ve had to personally go through that corrective experience myself. And I always looked at James and thought I don’t want to preach from James. I want to preach from Galatians or whatever.

And but as I’ve gone on in ministry, I’ve discovered, yeah, we really need to hear the fullness of the gospel of grace is not just about what we’re saved from, it’s what we’re saved into. And it’s not just all sitting in the lap of God and enjoying him as Father. It’s going on to become sons of God.

And I think we’ve stopped at just the familial relationship, but the term “son of God” means someone who’s been given the divine authority to rule. And the way we’re made to rule is by living a life that serves the purposes in the kingdom of God and speaks to the world around us.

And there’s work to be done, even in the life to come. It’s not going to be just one big, long celebration and endless worship services. There’s work to be done. And that work, I really do believe, begins in this life, in the way we serve those that we’ve been given to serve around us in practical ways.

And so, unlike what a lot of people seem to be saying, it is actually a book of grace.

I think I’ve raved on enough.

[00:15:11] Anthony: Ha, no, amen and I’m encouraged by what you said, grace turned your life around. Thank God for it because it’s turned all of us around and yet we look to a God who doesn’t turn. There’s no shadow there and thanks be to God for it.

And as I think about this particular pericope, David, it seems to me the remainder of the text is that outworking that you spoke about, our response to God’s grace, the reality that God is hyper generous and there’s no shadow or shady thing found in the Trinity.

So, if you were preaching this particular text, what else would you draw out from the passage to bless, to encourage, to challenge the community of faith?

[00:15:59] David: I’d be willing to reiterate just what we’ve already said that God’s goodness is unvarying and then to give that sort of practical application. But I noticed he talks about looking into the law of liberty. It’s the law. I believe sometimes we see the law as almost like an enemy.

And the law, God’s law, which I mean, I think from a Jewish point of view, it is just a list of moral requirements. It’s not just the Ten Commandments. It’s rather, it’s the whole of the Old Covenant, first five books of the Bible in particular, that story of those first five books sets up the history of the world.

And we see that we’re connected to that history, and that history actually being outworked in our time, in our lives, individually and corporately. And that what we together are — and when I say together, the entire church right across the world, all the believers, and all across time, too — are involved in the history of the outworking of the law.

And so, the law isn’t, again, it’s not just this kind of — I think evangelical churches tend to make the law into a moral code. And even if they say it’s more than that, it’s the feeling you get when you hear people talking about the law. That it’s merely a moral code when it’s so, so much more than that.

There is a moral aspect to it, but we can overemphasize that and miss the point of what the law was trying to do. Part of the law is the blessing of Abraham and the promise of the coming Messiah. And that promise is, in part, fulfilled through the church as the church demonstrates the people of God living a life which is, again, a variance to the ideologies of the world and the way the world lives.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had this experience. These days you get to share the gospel, and when I was taught the whole “Romans Road” way of doing the gospel, which I don’t agree with anymore. But you can’t make people feel guilty anymore. People just don’t feel guilty. I talk to a lot of younger people, and they will actually say, “I’m the bad person? You’re the one with the issues. You’re bigoted. You have a narrow view of the world.”

And trying to give people that sense that they need salvation — boy, people just reject that out of hand these days. It’s the big story, it’s the meta story, it’s behind everything. I believe it actually informs us about everything that’s going on in the world.

And yet it comes down to this very practical thing of looking after those around you and loving those that are around you and bridling your tongue and caring for the widow and the orphan and so on. This is the way to people’s hearts, not by clashing ideologies. So, there’s very practical work and it’s very, I’ve got to say, it’s very challenging work too.

I’m way, way less than I ought to be. And yet there’s a trajectory that I see in a person’s life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people say, I feel like I’m totally failing. I’m not like the people in the Bible. I just wish that I could be better. And then I say, you’re exactly like the people in the Bible.

If you had a long, hard look at the life of Peter, for instance, and seeing the way he fell flat on his face numerous times. Even Paul, he was no fun at parties, and all the Old Testament characters and David and half the Bible is written by murderers.

It’s mind banging when you see it that way and realize that you’re not expected to get your life completely sorted out by Tuesday next week. It’s an ongoing process. But when you look back over the last five years, if you became a believer or something like that, how much have you changed?

And that’s when the lights go on and they say, yeah, I’m a different person. I live a different life. And things that I used to do, I absolutely hate them now, and things that I had no care for, they’re the love of my life now.

And so sometimes just getting out and seeing what has actually happened, and that even though we may stumble from time to time, it’s a slow-motion miracle that we’re involved in.

It doesn’t happen overnight. And that’s true for everyone in the Bible. It’s true for all of the famous believers, these books we’ve read, and so on. No one is above reproach. But at the same time, there is a moral element. There’s a moral change, and a change of perception about the world and what we’re about.

And it’s that, I believe, that brings the moral change. The moral change, really in the end, is the fruit of all this other stuff. It’s not the cause of it. I guess that’s the big thing to get across and I think James does brilliantly.

[00:21:33] Anthony: Yeah. Slow-motion miracle. I like the way you phrase that. That’s what’s at work here.

Let’s pivot to our next passage of the month. It’s James 2:1-17. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 18 in Ordinary Time, which is September 8. David, would you read it, please?

[00:21:54] David: Sure.

My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality. For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

[00:23:47] Anthony: Mercy triumphs over judgment. I’m not sure how it is in Australia, but here in the United States, David, far too many Christians hold up wealth as a sign of success and God’s blessing. Whereas poverty, it’s a curse based on, often, what is considered apathetic or lazy living. All of which can lead to a pathway of showing partiality.

From your perspective, what instruction does this passage give the church that we need to hear?

[00:24:17] David: Yeah. Sure. Again, I would be saying that there’s something extraordinary that takes place in a person’s life when they become a believer. And the circumstances of your life really have little bearing on the outcome of that because if grace is up to good breeding, good luck. Then that means that grace isn’t grace after all. It’s just pure luck.

And the fact that God can take anyone from any situation, even of the worst situation in the world, and not just poverty in a financial sense, but poverty in the way that they’ve been raised, their education, maybe health, whatever it is. And he can take that person and turn them into an extraordinary human being who can be involved in things that are beyond the imagination that they would have had under natural circumstances. That means we can’t look at those surface things like even your personality and your socialization, education. All those things count little in the end when it comes to what God can do with someone.

And in fact, it’s almost as if God deliberately turns everything upside down. And to me, one of the best examples of this is the choosing of Jacob over Esau. You remember the story where Ephraim and Manasseh were being blessed by Jacob later in life. Because Jacob had experienced being chosen by God over his older brother, which was exactly the opposite to the way things would normally take place.

And then when he goes to put the blessing on Joseph’s children, he crosses his hands, and he puts his right hand on the son who’s on the left side and his left hand on the son who’s on the right side. And he deliberately does this because that’s what he had experienced, because he’d seen God do that to him. God sort of deliberately crossed his hands, and he put the greater blessing on the lesser of the two sons.

And in a way, you can see that taking place at a broader sense that God puts the greater blessing on those who have the greatest poverty, whether it be in spirit or in finance or both or everything. And so often God’s choosing is not based on the ways that we judge people.

So, someone wanders into the church — and I think this is what James is really saying — don’t look down on someone who is poor, considering them to be less because in the eyes of God, that makes absolutely no sense.

And often God chooses the people that we would never choose to get the job done, like Jacob. Look, let’s face it, Jacob wasn’t the greatest [inaudible]. And yet he became the bearer of the message. And Paul takes that point and he says, nothing can thwart what God is going to do.

And so, if he’s going to cross these hands — beware, if you treat someone who in this world looks like they’re lesser, they may actually end up being the one who’s got the greater blessing. And you put your — I’ve forgotten the verse in the Old Testament where it says to show contempt to the poor is to show contempt to God.

And so if we look down our nose on anyone, then we’re really putting ourselves in a great danger, in a sense. And we make ourselves the judge of the situation, and if we do that, as it’s very plain elsewhere in the New Testament, that if we lack mercy, then we thwart mercy. If we don’t give forgiveness, then we shut the door to forgiveness.

I suppose that the story that really gets me every time is that story where Jesus said to Matthew, come and follow me. And so, he left his tax collecting job, and then he got all his reprobate friends around for a party. Then the Pharisees were talking to the disciples and saying, how come your rabbi hangs out with these lowlifes and what’s the deal with that?

And then Jesus comes out and he understands what’s going on. And he talks to them, and he says that a doctor only comes for the sick, he doesn’t come for those who are well. And I can imagine, and it’s not actually stated, but it’s implied that the Pharisees heard that and were thinking, oh, okay that explains why you don’t hang around with us because we’re healthy and we don’t need a doctor. Right?

And of course it was a thinly veiled rebuke, and they couldn’t understand it. But of course, they thought themselves above the sickness and above, in the spiritual sense, needing help. And of course, the ones who know they need help are first in line to receive it. And the ones who don’t know they need to, or don’t think they do, don’t line up for the grace of God.

There was an old TV game show that used to be here in Australia, probably you had something similar in the United States. It was called the Money or the Box. And in the game, if you acquired a certain amount of wealth in the game — let’s say you, you’d earned a thousand dollars in the process of the game. At some point in the game, you could choose to give up all of your money to get a box, which you don’t know what’s inside of it. Now inside the box, there could be a million dollars or there might be an old shoe.

And so, then you were given that opportunity to trade your thousand dollars for whatever’s in the box. Now of course, if you’ve got a decent amount of money, you’re going to be loath to trade it for what you don’t know. It could just be nothing, and you’ve given it up and it comes to nothing. But if you’ve only earned, say, 10, and then the offer is made to the money or the box, of course you give up your 10, and you receive what’s in the box, and who knows, you might get a million dollars.

And something like that is true between the person who is poor in spirit. Jesus said, blessed is the poor in spirit, the person who knows that they need help. They’re the ones that are going to trade in whatever they’ve got and say, I’m trading this whole thing in. And that’s exactly what Matthew did.

He said, I’m trading in my tax collecting business because I know it’s leading nowhere and I’m going to take a chance on this. Whereas the Pharisee or the person who’s rich in spirit or rich in things of this world, may be loath to do it and wants to hang on to it and doesn’t want to give up what they already have.

I guess the rich young ruler falls into that category. He was rich, he was young, and he was powerful. And it turns out that he was not only those three things, but he was also kept the Ten Commandments since he was a boy, he bragged.

Jesus said, how are you going with the Ten Commandments? He said, been keeping that since I was a boy, no problem. Got that sorted. And he’s like that kid at school, in your class, if you remember him. He was a good athlete; he was a great artist and brilliant at arithmetic and all of the STEM sciences as well.

He was one of those guys and Jesus said, would you trade all of that? Would you give that all up and come and follow me? And I don’t think he was saying, well done on the Ten Commandments. Now let’s go to the next level. You’ve got through the primary level. Now you go to radical discipleship.

I really think he was saying to him, are you willing to give up everything that you put your hopes in, which is your good, strong spiritual life, your wealth and power, which you would see as a blessing from God. And of course, at the end of that whole thing, after that guy went off, Jesus said, how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

And at the time, of course, those Jewish people would have been saying if a rich man can’t get in, a man who’s blessed and has got all the obvious signs of God’s blessing, then there’s no chance for any of us. And he wasn’t saying that. That being poor is a virtue, but he was saying that being rich can blind you to the things of God. But then, of course, the [inaudible] that Jesus gives is with man, it’s impossible. But with God, all things are possible. In other words, anyone, no matter who, can be brought into the kingdom of God and nothing can stop you being brought in.

But one thing that can stop you is being blinded by your own spiritual wealth or physical wealth or whatever it is, the sort of markers that the world says, these are good things.

And so, when we make those distinctions with our brothers and sisters in church, we are really muddying the pool of God’s grace very much.

[00:33:41] Anthony: Yeah. Amen. And we know that God chooses the weak and base things, the powerless. And I think we’d all do well to remember, that’s us. We want to project that onto others sometimes.

[00:33:55] David: I’m not having any trouble remembering that.

[00:33:58] Anthony: Let’s, for the sake of time, transition to our next passage of the month. It’s James 3:1-12. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 19 in Ordinary Time, which is on September 15.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is mature, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

David, you’re a teacher who uses your tongue as an attempt to communicate divine truth. No pressure, but this text is holding you and the rest of us to account. So what would you like to share with the pastors, teachers, and church leaders listening to this conversation?

[00:36:08] David: Oh, I think we might just skip over that one if that’s all right with you.

[00:36:11] Anthony: No, you’re not getting off that easy.

[00:36:14] David: Yeah, sure. Yeah, it did frighten me once when I was reading about the spiritual gifts that all of the spiritual gifts actually involve the use of the tongue. Even if you say the gift of healing, you speak something.

There’s a very profound passage, this. Because I think sometimes, we think it’s just the things we do, but everything we do is preceded by things we say. And it is an extraordinary thing that the things that have hurt me the most are not the things that happened to me physically, but the things that have been said to me.

And I’ve broken bones, I’ve had a broken back, I’ve done all those things and I count them as not significant compared to the things that have been said to me. And I got to say, to much shame, the things that I have said have done more damage than anything else I’ve ever done.

I can’t look at this passage and say, you got that one sorted. It’s a constant struggle. And again, we’re not meant to condemn ourselves over this, but at the same time, it does hold us to account. And so, whenever we read a passage like this, it is really easy to take this and then feel all despondent because we’ve failed or whatever.

But again, I go back to the fact that every single person, every major character in the Bible has failed at this point as well, says things they wish they hadn’t done, things they wish they hadn’t done. And the more you read the Bible, the more that becomes apparent too.

I’ve just been reading the book of Samuel lately (sorry, 1 and 2 Samuel) and just looking at the life of David and of Saul and all of it — it was a hot mess that was going on there.

And I look at that and yet I see the transformation that takes place of someone like David, or Paul or Peter or any of the characters. And there is a transforming work that takes place. And the outworking of that is our words.

So yeah, that’s a tough passage to preach. And I do take that very seriously when I say I realized that I’m going to be judged more harshly than someone who’s not a preacher. And yeah, that’s a concern. And again, I know that people will be perhaps even listening to this and saying how’s this got anything to do with the grace of God? Where’s this coming from?

And I guess I’d be saying, again, the grace of God has a long-term effect. It changes your life. But again, it’s a slow-motion miracle. And one of the ways you can see that some of the miracles take place is the way you speak.

I was reading the Didache some time ago and it struck me that the Didache is very much like the book of James. And when you see what was taking place in the church, and the church was really persecuted there in those early days, and it was under a lot of pressure. The way that the early church spoke, the words they said, the way they conducted themselves in the world, really did challenge the world. In fact, part of the reason they got persecuted was because of the way they acted and blessing those who curse you. That’s one of the hardest things in the world to do.

And again, I’ve found this difficult in my own life, but I cannot tell you how many pastoral conversations I’ve had with people saying, this person did this bad thing to me. What am I meant to do? And then you go back to the scriptures and say, what did Jesus say to do with those who curse you? You bless them, forgive those who sin against you. And it’s very straightforward, basic teaching, yet it’s nearly the hardest thing in the world to do to forgive someone who’s genuinely and powerfully hurt you.

And yet, there it is! It comes from the mouth, it’s the words you say, it starts with that. Bless those who curse you. And there’s something very powerful that gets released, I think, when a person does actually put this into action with their words, because those words produce other actions, but with an ongoing and rolling effect.

[00:41:09] Anthony: Go ahead.

[00:41:09] David: Yeah, go on. Go on.

[00:41:10] Anthony: I was going to say earlier, you had talked about, okay, where’s the grace in this pericope because it seems like it’s a difficult teaching. But as we think Christologically, James is telling us to bless those who curse you. And all we have to do is look at Jesus on the cross.

He was being ridiculed, being mocked, being killed, being murdered, unrighteously. And yet, his words are, Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.

And yet in the face of these words that we’re doing anything but bringing life, we can look at our Lord and see, like a good teacher or a good coach, he’s not asking us to do something that he himself, in his own person, hasn’t already done, right?

And so, all we have to do is look at the life and words of Jesus to see it lived out.

[00:42:08] David: Exactly. The picture here of a rudder and of a small spark that can set a whole forest on fire, they’re good ways of looking at it because not only is that true in a negative sense, but it’s also true in a positive sense. If you reverse the order of that and you bring blessing where there’s been cursing, it can produce huge amount of good at the same time.

I think there’s a place for talking on both sides of that, talking about the blessing that comes from speaking well and of the curse that comes from speaking poorly. Both of those are relevant. But yeah, it’s a very confronting passage, the whole of James. I’ve got to say, you read it and you go, yeah, I’ve got work to do.

[00:42:58] Anthony: Yes, there’s no other way to walk away from it.

So, speaking of that work, let’s get practical. Especially in a divided world here in the U.S., we have a national election coming up later this year. And, as I skim through social media and talk to people, I know there’s a lot of cursing going on as we project our pain onto other people who are made in the image and likeness of God.

Do you have anything to say — you’ve already touched on it, but any practical words of wisdom based on this text and how we can bridle the tongue and speak words of life versus words of curse?

[00:43:46] David: Yeah, it’s definitely since social media has become a thing that the level of cursing going on just seems to have gone completely off the charts.

I heard somebody quip that the source of all evil is the comments in YouTube rather than the love of money. But we have a YouTube channel, and it’s amazing, even from Christians, some of the words that you get. It can be very disheartening.

So, I guess, practically just taking the straight teaching of James here and then contrasting what evil words can do. Again, I would reiterate, evil words can be more damaging than what can be done with a fist or with violence, even though that’s evil. That’s got its own thing going but there’s something extraordinarily powerful in words.

People talk about toxic masculinity, for instance, and how men can be violent and so on. I’ve seen the other side of that; I’ve seen toxic femininity, which can be all just done with words and doing character assassinations and so on. Yeah, none of us are above this. This is something that if we are under the grace of God, and we realize that we’ve been blessed, it changes your heart. It changes your perception of people, your perception of the world, and most cursing comes out of defensiveness or tribalism. And when you’re in the kingdom of God, that defensiveness disappears and evaporates, and your tribalism, it’s no longer necessary.

And yes, I am aware of this division that’s not only taking place in the United States, it seems to be happening right across the West. There’s this polarization between the left and the right. And yet, when I look at Jesus, he was neither on the left or the right. People would say, who would Jesus vote for? And you can’t answer that question because you can’t describe Jesus on the political spectrum. He’s coming from a completely different place. And if we are in the kingdom of God, we ought to be coming from a completely different place as well and representing that kingdom.

That kingdom is not of this earth. It is for this earth, and it is on this earth, but it hasn’t emerged from the earth. It has come from above, from the Father of heavenly lights, and it’s a different kingdom. It cannot be rated on the left or the right, or it’s not centrist, it’s not right, it’s not left. It’s completely other, it’s another kingdom. And the people of God ought to be from that other kingdom, and not just be considered left or right or centrist or whatever it is.

But we’ve got something better to say. We’ve got a different kingdom, a kingdom which is above socialism and above capitalism and above democracy and above all, any -ism you can think of. The kingdom of God’s above it and the people of God speak in a different kind of a language. And I believe that’s the kind of thing that James is saying.

Yet keeping in mind that the warning is there. And when we do fail, which we do, we stumble — anyone who can control their tongue is of course, perfect and we’re less than perfect. But we continue to get up, receive the gift of grace, the forgiveness of God and move on. But in that space, we have the power and the capacity to experience that grace and it gets inside of you.

Again, the slow-motion miracle takes place, and it changes the way we speak.

[00:47:54] Anthony: Yeah. Yeah. Amen. Those are good words and I think timely words that you’ve just spoken. And given the text, that’s what we’re looking for: words that are fitly spoken.

Let’s move on to our next pericope of the month. It’s James 3:13-4:3, 7-8. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 20 in Ordinary Time, which falls on September 22. We’d be grateful, David, if you’d read it for us, please.

[00:48:25] David: Okay.

Who is wise and knowledgeable among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant and lie about the truth. 15 This is not wisdom that comes down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

 

[00:49:56] Anthony: I believe all Scripture should have Jesus as the hermeneutical key since he said, all scripture is about him. So how might this pericope teach us about the God revealed in Jesus Christ?

[00:50:08] David: And again, I’ve got to say, as a preacher, you can look at this passage and you can say, that’s actually a bit of a challenge.

Because it almost seems to be saying that you earn your way into God. And again, I have to say, these kinds of rebukes that are not only here but in other parts of Scripture, including the words of Jesus, are in the context of grace. It’s always the backdrop of: God has been good to you, he’s been gracious to you, therefore this is how you should act.

And it’s not a “therefore, this is how you should strive to it,” but rather this is the outcome, the fruit of the Spirit. And of course, fruit doesn’t come immediately, but it takes time. But it is an inevitable outcome that will take time, will take place eventually. Plant an apricot tree, you will eventually get apricots, not tomatoes. And the same is true if we are planted in the good soil of God’s grace, we will eventually produce words and a life which is gracious.

And so, if that’s not taking place, then you’ve got to ask yourself the question where is your life planted? It’s very likely that you’ve planted yourself in the wrong place and you’ve got your mind governed by the way of the world rather than by the goodness and grace of God.

So, in the context of the Father of heavenly lights is giving this “every good and precious gift from above,” that is the river that flows down through the church and changes each individual in the church over time. And it becomes normalized to be peaceable and gracious and kind and all these things that James is talking about here.

And when we see that these disputes and that sort of thing taking place, it usually means that we’re insecure. We’re not secure in the grace of God, and the outcome of that insecurity always ends up being selfish ambition and so on.

I always remind myself that where Paul writes, listing the good outcomes of the fruit of the Spirit, love, kindness, and generosity and so on. He also puts this other list of things that come out of the flesh. And it’s easy to think what he’s talking about is there is all those terrible people outside of the kingdom of God. That’s what they do. But no, he was addressing that to people in the church. That was what happens to people in the church when they operate in the flesh.

And of course, the flesh here isn’t — he’s not talking about the physical body. He’s talking about a mindset where you make your own way and make things happen rather than relying on the goodness of God.

And so, I guess I’d be taking this passage, and I’d want to preach it in a way that says: are we governed by the grace of God? Or are we, in fact, governed by a kind of effort to climb the stairway to heaven? Because anyone who’s trying to climb the stairway to heaven will always be standing on the heads of those under them. But anyone who is being captured by the grace of God will actually be promoting others rather than trying to climb up the greasy pole of power in the church.

And it can happen in the church. I’m sure you’re well aware that people in the church can really crave power and crave positions and crave notoriety. And look, preachers, of course, are under more pressure than most because you know, we want — I want people to like me. Strangely enough, not everyone does, but I do want people to like me.

And it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing what it takes to get people to like you and then compromise and compromise the message of God. Or to preach in such a way that you can just make people feel good, and they say, what a great preacher! That kind of a thing. That’s all “anti” the kingdom. It sounds nice, but it can just be quite the opposite.

There’s one little thing here I noticed. He says, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he’ll flee from you. And draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. That could easily be seen as it’s all up to you. It’s up to me. I’m going to go and pursue God and then God will notice me, and he’ll come my way.

I don’t think that’s what it’s saying. It’s more you see, you might find yourself trapped, you might find yourself trapped in a vice. Maybe you’ve got an addiction, maybe you’ve got someone you just cannot stand, or you’ve got an enemy that you cannot forgive, that kind of a thing. They’re insurmountable problems and when you’re in that vice of unforgiveness or under temptation, you’re easy pickings for the devil, in this case.

But what he’s saying there, I believe, is all it takes is just don’t give in. Don’t make it easy for the schemes of the evil one, rather just take a stand and trust that God’s going to look after you. And amazingly, when you do it, it actually happens. And if you give your attention to God, guess what? He is ready and waiting right there to pour out his goodness on you.

And he will come near to you — he’s already near to you, but he’s waiting for you to turn to him and then he just wants, he wants to shower you with his kindness and goodness, but we resist him by turning the other way.

I like to go fishing but every single fish I’ve ever caught, I’ve caught while I’m actually out there fishing, not when I’m at home thinking about it. And I think the same is true here. You don’t get a victory over the schemes of the evil one by just wishing them. You take a stand and the blessings of God, as you decide just to get on with the job and be involved in what God is doing and submit yourself to his plans. Guess what happens?

It just opens the door. And things happen that are well beyond your human capacity, and you find yourself in the middle of miracle making and think, this is obviously not me. This is something else.

[00:56:57] Anthony: That’s a good metaphor, for what you brought up about fishing. It makes me think of repentance.

I think one of the harms that has been done in the church is to think of repentance as a one and done scenario on our end. Of course, it is one and done in terms of Christ’s repentance on our behalf, for us and in us. And we thank God for that because that’s what allows us to repent.

But for me, David, repentance is an ongoing day by day, sometimes moment by moment experience. Because as I look at this passage, I’ve had bitter envy. I’ve had selfish ambition. I’ve been arrogant. I have lied. I have not spoken out of wisdom. I’ve done all the things it says not to do, not to take the stand. But by the grace of God, I’m seeing those things die slowly, a slow-motion death (to use your words), but it happens. And I think we have to see it as, we are where we are by the grace of God, and yet there’s more to go. There’s the work to be done. Let’s go fishing. Let’s go repenting and see God show up in amazing ways in our life.

Let’s move on to our final passage of the month. It’s James 5:13-20. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 21 in Ordinary Time, which is September 29. And it reads …

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth yielded its harvest. 19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

As I look back at verses 13 through 16, it does strike me as showing the community of faith as being a place where the healing, and I’m talking about healing of the whole person, and the hospitality of God can be experienced through one another. So, my question is this, why are the relationships in the church so vital for us to experience the unfailing love of God here and now?

[00:59:45] David: Yeah, I look at this passage and I think there’s a kind of a real sense of realness about it because he talks here not as if being a believer is skipping along, singing hallelujah and everything’s going great all the time. He’s presupposing that there will be among you, sometimes there’ll be people who will be sick, and there’ll be people who have fallen over and committed sins.

And he’s saying to us, we should confess our sins to one another. He’s not saying you’re going to be sinless, but I think that we need to get that really clear that, in the community of the church, that we are beggars together. Or what was it? Being a believer is one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread or something like that. We’re all broken people together, but there’s something about a bunch of broken people who do actually care for and love one another and are gracious to one another that does have that healing effect.

And like you say, not just healing of the body, but healing of the mind and the soul and of every part of our being. And we can’t do this Christian thing alone. There’s something about gathering together with the saints and walking together, carrying one another, bearing each other’s burdens. Because it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter how strong you are, the day’s going to come when you’re not going to be strong, for whatever reason.

Eventually if you live long enough, you get old and you need physical help, but every one of us faces times of tumult, times of tragedy. And it’s just part of the normal day-to-day life. But we also face facts of imperfections. And when you’re around a community of grace who picks you up and dusts you off and carries you along, that gives you the power, the capacity and the power to do the same for someone else as well.

And there’s something really extraordinary about the church. The church is ordinary on one level. I’ve been involved in a number of churches over the years. I’ve seen thousands of churches around the world, and they’re all pretty much the same. They’re just a bunch of ordinary people just getting on with their ordinary lives.

But there’s something extraordinary about what takes place in that you get people, all different backgrounds, all kinds of bizarre people get brought into the church and yet they are transformed by the gospel and by the grace of God. But it’s not just by the concepts of the grace of God, it’s by the reality of living with other people who actually experience that love and then let that love flow, flow through them to others.

And I have been massively healed, not just by individual people, but by the entire community of the church. And the church is a blessing. It’s part of God’s grace to us. And there’s something, there’s some kind of proving of us, a character building in this whole process. I really do believe that this world and the church is boot camp for the real thing that’s going to come later on. And this is our training, this is our training ground. And it just comes in the ordinary everyday things like forgiving your brother or sister when they sin against you or helping someone in need of praying for the person who’s sick, or calling to account someone who’s doing something which is bringing the word of God into disrepute, that kind of thing.

And the people who love me the most are also the people who tell me off, the people who correct me when I’m wrong, and they have the track record of caring for me in the past. And you have to listen to them, you have to hear them.

There is safety in numbers, which you just simply can’t have by yourself. So yeah, I just think this is a very practical, very human part of this letter of James. He’s not casting us as having to be cosmic saints who float around 15 centimetres off the ground. There’s something very real here, very earthy. But it’s still all of God’s goodness and grace.

[01:04:28] Anthony: Yeah, it is very earthy. And I think of several instances where Jesus is healing someone physically, but he’s doing something rather extraordinary in that he’s restoring them to community, whether it be the woman who had 12 years of the flow of blood, who had been seen as unclean and outside of the synagogue or the leper. Part of the healing goes way beyond just the physical aspect of the sickness they endured, their disease.

But rather being restored to community. It is in community, truly, that we experience healing. And of course, it makes sense. God as Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit, the triune God, is a community. And the church, like you say, is made up of just, as I often say, it’s people that I probably wouldn’t be friends with otherwise.

But God brings us together and calls us together, and we learn to love one another. And I like what you said that that carries on it. It echoes into eternity, and these are the things we will be doing ongoing because this is the divine life.

David, you’re a beloved child of God, and I love the way that you’re working out your sonship as you actively join Jesus in relationship and ministry. So, I want to deeply thank you for being a part of this podcast.

I also want to thank our team of people who make this happen. Michelle Hartman, Reuel Enerio, and Elizabeth Mullins all provide a great service in bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ forward in this podcast. And so, I want to say thank you each and all.

David, it’s our tradition here on Gospel Reverb to end with prayer. And so, I’d like to invite you to speak words of life over us.

[01:06:14] David: That would be my privilege to do.

Father, we thank you that you are an unvarying God, that you have given us your own son. You shared him with us, and then he has shared you with us, and he has opened our hearts to you.

Father, we pray that as we open our hearts to you, and you pour your Spirit into our hearts, that we will open our hearts to those around us in the church and in the world around us. And that we will speak words of life and live a life which challenges the world around us, in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.


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Sermon for September 1, 2024 – Proper 17

Program Transcript


Ordinary Time: James

We are profoundly transformed by the relationships in our lives. The people closest to us shape who we are and who we become. Imagine the impact of being in a close relationship with the Creator of the universe.

God promises to draw close to us as we draw close to him. This divine relationship is at the heart of our transformation. Jesus’ incarnation is the ultimate proof of God’s desire to be near us, to walk with us, and to transform us.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be challenging to live out our faith. But the book of James provides us with timeless wisdom, guiding us on how to truly follow Christ.

James, the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church, wrote to Messianic Jews facing persecution. His message, influenced by Proverbs and the Sermon on the Mount, is a source of wisdom for us today. It can be captured in three essential teachings

James teaches us to speak with love. Words have power – they can heal or hurt, build up or tear down. As followers of Christ, we are called and empowered by the Spirit to speak life and love into every situation.

James also emphasizes showing compassion to the poor and marginalized. True religion, he says, is to care for those in need. Our faith is made visible through our actions of compassion and service.

And most importantly, James calls us to orient our lives around the way of Jesus. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.’” (James 4:7-8)

As we humble ourselves and seek the presence of God, we discover his strength and guidance graciously bestowed upon us. Our journey of honoring him finds its foundation in the depth of his love for and desire to be in relationship with us.”

So, as we go about our daily lives, let’s remember James’ wisdom: speak with love, care for the poor, and yield to the Spirit’s guidance. In doing so, we reflect Christ’s light to the world.

Let’s embrace the transformative power of relationships, becoming the dawn that breaks through the darkness, bringing hope, love, and peace to everyone we encounter.

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up
James 4:7-10

Amen

 

 

Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9 · Song of Solomon 2:8-13 · James 1:17-27 · Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

This week’s theme is honoring God with your heart. In our call to worship psalm, the psalmist describes his heart as overflowing towards God. In the Song of Solomon, the Shulammite woman’s heart is enamored by the one who loves her. James writes that our hearts are to honor God by caring for the most vulnerable among us. And in Mark, Jesus quotes Isaiah to show how the Pharisees’ hearts were far from God.

How Does a Christian Live?

James 1:17-27 NIV

Whether it’s in the movies, on TV, or in other forms of media, Christians are often portrayed in a negative light. Many times, we are presented as people who are judgmental, narrow minded, and hypocritical. Not all of this criticism is undeserved. Sometimes, someone needs to point out when we are living in error, someone to correct our thinking about how it looks to live as a Christ follower. Enter James, the half-brother of Jesus.

Although he was a half-brother of Jesus, he was a “full” disciple. No one could question his commitment to the gospel, as he was also the leader of the church in Jerusalem. As such, he had an urgent message to the Jewish believers who were being spread out due to persecution and famine.

As we read today’s pericope, let’s keep in mind what this young church was up against. To say that they weren’t exactly having an easy time of it would be an understatement. As we do this, let us also consider how this message is still relevant for the church today. Let’s see what James has in mind for how a Christian is to live.

[Read James 1:17-27]

In this passage, James stresses how important our actions are. Those who would like to merely relegate their faith to an intellectual system of beliefs will not be fans of James. What is important to James is how our beliefs work themselves out in our lives and in our church. One of the first things that James takes on is listening. Did this make your top ten list of things that a Christian should be actively doing? And yet, James insists that we be “quick” to listen.

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry… (James 1:19b NIV)

The primary point here is to listen to God and God’s word. Verse 18 describes a new birth God has given his people by the word of truth of the good news about Jesus; verse 21 is a command to accept the word planted; and verses 23-25 elaborate on the contrast between the person who only listens to the word and the one who both hears and obeys it.

So many of us are geared towards listening just enough to be able to find a gap where we can interject something into the conversation – we do this with God, and we do this with others. Or we listen just enough to respond. As those who are in participation with Jesus, we need to learn to listen to others before we respond. Unfortunately, far too many of us are too quick to speak and slow to listen. So, what does it look like to be quick with our listening skills?

In 1957, Carl Rogers and Richard Farson wrote a paper titled, “Active Listening.” Part of active listening involves listening to understand. This is where you absorb and fully comprehend what the other person is saying. This listening is empathetic in nature, where you are more concerned about understanding the other person than quickly reacting or responding.1 Studies have even shown that those with active listening skills are healthier, more successful, and more content in life than those with poor listening skills. No doubt, a healthier church is a church full of members who listen well to each other.

Along with listening, or the lack of it, James addresses the issues of being quick to speak and exhibiting anger. Speech comes easily to us, especially when we are angry. So, what was it that James is seeing as sources of anger for these Jewish believers?

Earlier in this message, we talked about the trials that these believers were having to go through. They were enduring persecution as well as famine. Imagine that you were once prospering, that all your needs were met. You were in good standing in your community and respected by your neighbors. But now, your family has cast you aside. You have been disfellowshipped from your Jewish community. Your neighbors give you dirty looks as you walk by. Accusations and insults are hurled at you. And on top of all of that, you don’t even know if you are going to eat today. How would this make you feel? Can you empathize with them?

James doesn’t allow the believers to use their trials as an excuse to lash out in anger, which would poison their witness with harsh words.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights… (James 1:17 NIV)

In verse 17, James reminds us that we have been incredibly gifted by God, and we are not left to our own devices. Despite our circumstances, we are to see how incredibly blessed we are.

When we experience our own trials, we also may forget just how much has been given us in Christ. As difficult as life can get, we are not to take matters into our own hands. It would seem that this is what may have been happening with these Jewish believers. Their forgetfulness of who they were — their true identity — and what they possessed in Christ, led them to fall back into poor speech and behavior.

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:21 NIV)

James urges us on with the metaphor of planting. When our lives develop the weeds of immorality, filthy talk, anger, and falsehood, the truth planted in us gets choked out. This happens when we decide to take our behavioral cues from a corrupt society. Instead, we are to make room for growth in our lives. The Message Bible continues this theme in verse 21:

In simple humility, let our Gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life. (James 1:21 MSG)

If you are a fan of metaphors, James is your guy. In fact, in this letter, James uses more metaphors and analogies than Paul uses in all his epistles combined. He began with planting, but now switches things up to talking about the use of mirrors.

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:23-25 NIV)

We all know what a mirror is used for, right? We are trying to see how we are going to show up in the world. Is my hair disheveled? Do I have broccoli in my teeth? … and so on. In verse 25 the words “looks intently into” are from the Greek word “parakypsas” and literally means “to stoop down” in order to have a good close look.  Stooping down requires intentionality.

The perfect law of love is to continually be held up to us. When we gaze into its beauty, we will not easily look away, but we will remember how we are to show up in the world. James is asking us to consider what we see, to remember and reflect on what it is that we have been blessed with. In this way, we are truly free to live out who we were created to be.

What happens, though, when we forget what we were supposed to gaze upon? What happens when we can no longer acknowledge the Father and all the gifts that he has showered upon us? We become consumed with ourselves and how we are being treated. The last thing on our minds are the needs of others and people truly in need.2

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27 NIV)

The care for orphans and widows was mentioned sixty-six times in the Old Testament. So, these words should not have come as a surprise for the Jewish believers. These were the most vulnerable people in Jewish society. Perhaps we should be asking who is the most vulnerable in our communities as well?

Perhaps when we truly care for these members of our society, we become less prone to becoming “stained” or made corrupt by the world. Maybe if more of our time went towards meeting the needs of others, we would be better equipped to acknowledge our own blessings. The good news should be preached, the gospel should be shared with others, but let us not neglect those who need to see proof of our words manifested in our actions towards them. Our hearts honor God when we provide for the most vulnerable among us.

James is showing us a snapshot of what a Christian looks like. The Christian is someone who genuinely listens to others, and who recognizes the overwhelming generosity of our heavenly Father. The Christian is one who is not easily angered but responds out of the righteousness that we have received. The Christian is one who has been made free by contemplating Jesus’ law of love. And the Christian is not one who merely gets caught up in speaking about the faith but articulates that faith clearly by their actions to those in need. Who is God placing in your path? It’s an invitation to participate with Jesus, sharing his love and life, which includes a lot of listening.

David Kowalick—Year B Proper 17

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September 1, 2024 — Proper 17 in Ordinary Time
James 1:17-27

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Program Transcript


David Kowalick—Year B Proper 17

Anthony: We’re going to look at this month’s lectionary passages, and we’re going to pivot now to our first passage of the month. It’s James 1: 17-27. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition. It’s the Revised Common Lectionary Passage for Proper 17 in Ordinary Time, which is September the 1.

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave birth to us by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 19 You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, 20 for human anger does not produce God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. 26 If any think they are religious and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

David, I’d be grateful if you would tell us about the good news that is shoehorned into verses 17 and 18 to start this passage, and what are the theological implications of what is said there?

David: Yeah, James is one of those controversial books. It was Luther who said that it was a book of straw. I know that’s taken a little bit out of context because he still believed that it was meant to be in the scriptures, but he saw it as being not perhaps a top-shelf letter compared to some of the other letters.

And that makes perfect sense coming from his particular point of view and his background. He was so overwhelmed by the grace of God that it blinded him to everything else, I think.

And I think, sometimes I look at the church today, and I see that there are a lot of churches that are still very legalistic, and you see it as a performance. Prerequisites have to be fulfilled before God will bless you and all that kind of thing.

But then there’s been a large wave of churches that have embraced this message of grace. But then seem to have virtually lost the outworking of that grace in a life of (like the writer to James says) not only knowing these things but doing them. And I’ve fallen into that trap myself. I’ve experienced that because I had a profound experience of God’s grace that totally turned me around and it was shocking. It was amazing. It was wonderful. And then I began to preach a message of grace, but I preached it almost to the exclusion of everything else.

And I think what James is doing here is he’s taking the grace of God, right there at the beginning, he’s saying this is all coming down, it’s a gift from above, it’s all coming from the Father.

And it’s not burying, it’s just there’s no shadow of turning, as it says in the Old King James. But you can turn that light around, it doesn’t cast a shadow in any direction because it’s not a reflected light, it is the source of light. And so, God is consistent, he never changes, he’s good every day, doesn’t have mood swings. And so, you can be totally reliant on God’s goodness every day of the week and in every possible way.

But then, I think, this whole point of this entire letter is perhaps to bring correction for what he was seen happening in the broader church at that time. And I think that his letter is very relevant for the Western church right now, especially churches that have actually adopted the message of grace and have adopted it so much that they have almost seen things like good works as being very suspect that you could fall into works righteousness if you do anything that’s good or you strive too much.

And yet I look at the life of, say, the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, where he says that he was the least deserving of all the apostles because he’d been persecuting the church. But he said, I am what I am by the grace of God, and I work harder than them all, that is all the other apostles. So, he’s saying he’s received a lot of grace, but the effect of that is that he’s thrown himself into service. He’s saying that the grace of God has an effect, it has an ongoing outworking.

And I believe that’s exactly what James is trying to say. If you have received this wonderful gift from the Father of Lights, then it will have an effect upon you, or it should have an effect upon you, unless, of course, you forget what’s really going on here.

It’s like looking in the mirror. And you forget what’s really going on, and you lose sight of the extraordinary nature of God’s grace and its ability to turn you around and cause you to live a life which is a complete variance to what you had experienced before.

It’s not just the relief of salvation; it’s the capacity to serve and the capacity to respond, in kind, to what God has done. I’ve had to personally go through that corrective experience myself. And I always looked at James and thought I don’t want to preach from James. I want to preach from Galatians or whatever.

And but as I’ve gone on in ministry, I’ve discovered, yeah, we really need to hear the fullness of the gospel of grace is not just about what we’re saved from, it’s what we’re saved into. And it’s not just all sitting in the lap of God and enjoying him as Father. It’s going on to become sons of God.

And I think we’ve stopped at just the familial relationship, but the term “son of God” means someone who’s been given the divine authority to rule. And the way we’re made to rule is by living a life that serves the purposes in the kingdom of God and speaks to the world around us.

And there’s work to be done, even in the life to come. It’s not going to be just one big, long celebration and endless worship services. There’s work to be done. And that work, I really do believe, begins in this life, in the way we serve those that we’ve been given to serve around us in practical ways.

And so, unlike what a lot of people seem to be saying, it is actually a book of grace.

I think I’ve raved on enough.

Anthony: Ha, no, amen and I’m encouraged by what you said, grace turned your life around. Thank God for it because it’s turned all of us around and yet we look to a God who doesn’t turn. There’s no shadow there and thanks be to God for it.

And as I think about this particular pericope, David, it seems to me the remainder of the text is that outworking that you spoke about, our response to God’s grace, the reality that God is hyper generous and there’s no shadow or shady thing found in the Trinity.

So, if you were preaching this particular text, what else would you draw out from the passage to bless, to encourage, to challenge the community of faith?

David: I’d be willing to reiterate just what we’ve already said that God’s goodness is unvarying and then to give that sort of practical application. But I noticed he talks about looking into the law of liberty. It’s the law. I believe sometimes we see the law as almost like an enemy.

And the law, God’s law, which I mean, I think from a Jewish point of view, it is just a list of moral requirements. It’s not just the Ten Commandments. It’s rather, it’s the whole of the Old Covenant, first five books of the Bible in particular, that story of those first five books sets up the history of the world.

And we see that we’re connected to that history, and that history actually being outworked in our time, in our lives, individually and corporately. And that what we together are — and when I say together, the entire church right across the world, all the believers, and all across time, too — are involved in the history of the outworking of the law.

And so, the law isn’t, again, it’s not just this kind of — I think evangelical churches tend to make the law into a moral code. And even if they say it’s more than that, it’s the feeling you get when you hear people talking about the law. That it’s merely a moral code when it’s so, so much more than that.

There is a moral aspect to it, but we can overemphasize that and miss the point of what the law was trying to do. Part of the law is the blessing of Abraham and the promise of the coming Messiah. And that promise is, in part, fulfilled through the church as the church demonstrates the people of God living a life which is, again, a variance to the ideologies of the world and the way the world lives.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had this experience. These days you get to share the gospel, and when I was taught the whole “Romans Road” way of doing the gospel, which I don’t agree with anymore. But you can’t make people feel guilty anymore. People just don’t feel guilty. I talk to a lot of younger people, and they will actually say, “I’m the bad person? You’re the one with the issues. You’re bigoted. You have a narrow view of the world.”

And trying to give people that sense that they need salvation — boy, people just reject that out of hand these days. It’s the big story, it’s the meta story, it’s behind everything. I believe it actually informs us about everything that’s going on in the world.

And yet it comes down to this very practical thing of looking after those around you and loving those that are around you and bridling your tongue and caring for the widow and the orphan and so on. This is the way to people’s hearts, not by clashing ideologies. So, there’s very practical work and it’s very, I’ve got to say, it’s very challenging work too.

I’m way, way less than I ought to be. And yet there’s a trajectory that I see in a person’s life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people say, I feel like I’m totally failing. I’m not like the people in the Bible. I just wish that I could be better. And then I say, you’re exactly like the people in the Bible.

If you had a long, hard look at the life of Peter, for instance, and seeing the way he fell flat on his face numerous times. Even Paul, he was no fun at parties, and all the Old Testament characters and David and half the Bible is written by murderers.

It’s mind banging when you see it that way and realize that you’re not expected to get your life completely sorted out by Tuesday next week. It’s an ongoing process. But when you look back over the last five years, if you became a believer or something like that, how much have you changed?

And that’s when the lights go on and they say, yeah, I’m a different person. I live a different life. And things that I used to do, I absolutely hate them now, and things that I had no care for, they’re the love of my life now.

And so sometimes just getting out and seeing what has actually happened, and that even though we may stumble from time to time, it’s a slow-motion miracle that we’re involved in.

It doesn’t happen overnight. And that’s true for everyone in the Bible. It’s true for all of the famous believers, these books we’ve read, and so on. No one is above reproach. But at the same time, there is a moral element. There’s a moral change, and a change of perception about the world and what we’re about.

And it’s that, I believe, that brings the moral change. The moral change, really in the end, is the fruit of all this other stuff. It’s not the cause of it. I guess that’s the big thing to get across and I think James does brilliantly.

Anthony: Yeah. Slow motion miracle. I like the way you phrase that. That’s what’s at work here.


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • What advice would you give to someone who truly wants to be able to listen to others?
  • How are you able to not lash out in anger? What helps you when you are tempted to react?
  • Make a list of the blessings that we have received from our heavenly Father.
  • Who are the most vulnerable in your community? How are they being served?
  • What does it mean to be “unstained” by the world?

Sermon for September 8, 2024 – Proper 18

Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.

Program Transcript


Speaking Of Life 3041 | Jesus Interrupted
Greg Williams 

Have you ever been interrupted? We all have! Kids especially have a gift for knowing the worst time to burst in the door and throw off the whole trajectory. Every one of us has some story of the kid who yelled at church or loudly announced his bathroom needs during a quiet moment.

Mark 7 records one of the oddest interactions Jesus has—and it’s the story of an interruption. Jesus had just had a fiery confrontation with the Pharisees not long after John the Baptist was executed. He was also strategizing his mission and going through Israel and from there out to the world. At this point, he was laying low for a little while, as Mark says: “And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know” (Mark 7:24).

Even before he can enter a time of privacy, a worried mom interrupts Jesus. A Syro-Phoenecian woman begs him to heal her daughter—right at that moment when he’s trying to not draw attention to himself. He enters into a verbal sparring match with her that may leave us scratching our heads:

 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Mark 7:27-28 (ESV)

Huh?! On the surface it looks like Jesus is insulting this woman, even calling her “dog”—a common slur for Gentile people. It would be reasonable if he were upset by her interruption during this strategic moment.

But look closer. The word he uses is actually a term of affection like “puppy.” He’s hinting toward a change, a softening of the division between people. Look again and you can see, by her witty response that she’s engaging with Jesus, almost joking with him.

True, he is strategically laying low right now. True, he is called to Israel first to fulfill the narrative of the gospel. But he can’t help himself—this determined, headstrong woman captured his heart at that moment.

And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”
Mark 7:29 (ESV)

This is Jesus, interrupted. We will see later in the chapter—as Jesus fulfills a prophecy of Isaiah—that Jesus moves very carefully within his bigger story. His life and actions tie together the story of Israel and redemption.

But the greater theme of this particular story of interruption is generosity—God’s overflowing love that doesn’t always go “according to plan.” Determined and worried parents, overly active children, and faith-challenged disciples become part of the epic story.

The interruptions drive the plot.

How are we being interrupted today? Are the kids ruining our concentration? Is a difficult person calling us outside “office hours”? These moments are often uncomfortable and never predictable, but they are grace moments and Jesus is there in them. Perhaps they are part of the plot of your life with him.

This is Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 125:1-5 · Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 · James 2:10,14-17 · Mark 7:24-37

This week’s theme is the Lord’s inclusive love for all. In our call to worship psalm, the psalmist declares that God, in his love surrounds his people. In Proverbs, the writer reminds us that the Lord pleads the cause of the poor and the afflicted. In James, the apostle warns the Jewish believers to not be guilty of showing favoritism. And in Mark, we witness Jesus casting a spirit out of a girl who’s a Gentile.

Compassion Over Favoritism

James 2:1-17 NIV

One Sunday in November of 2013, a Mormon bishop by the name of David Musselman posed as a homeless person outside the church he attended. He recalled that while a few people offered him money, most people had a negative reaction towards his presence.

Much of the congregation were indifferent towards David and simply ignored him, but five people were so offended by the sight of him that they took it upon themselves to ask him to leave. Undeterred, David took his seat in the front row as the service started.

When it was time for the bishop to speak, David took to the stage, much to the shock and dismay of the congregation. Then he revealed his true identity. He said he wanted to see how a homeless person would be treated if one of them decided to show up. It was an experiment that would prove to be quite revealing to that congregation.[1]

Today, we are going to be looking at a passage of scripture found in James 2:1-17. What James is going to be addressing may sound like the situation we just heard. Although James may not have shown up dressed as a homeless person to one of their gatherings, he was aware of how the poor among them were being treated without respect.

James is going to have to call out the believers on their behavior and the favoritism that they were affording the well-to-do in their midst. James has a lot to say to us about how to treat our brothers and sisters in the faith, as well as presenting us with the challenge to prove our faith by our actions. We are going to start by looking at the first four verses of our passage.

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4 NIV)

James is not just referring to someone wearing a customary gold ring. He is drawing a sharp contrast we would all be familiar with. To modernize this for us, picture someone pulling up in their brand-new Lexus or Mercedes. They are decked out as they exit their shiny impressive vehicle, wearing an Armani three-piece suit and sporting an expensive Rolex watch. How is this person likely to be treated? After asking if they are lost, we may be tempted to give this person the royal treatment.

Now, picture someone whose appearance is the total opposite of this person. Maybe their shoes, if they are wearing any, are completely worn out with holes in them. Their clothes haven’t been washed in months and from the smell of it, they have not bathed in a long time as well. How will we treat this person?

James would argue for equal treatment in either case. If the rich person is shown favoritism over the poor person, then we have a problem. James is asking us to dig deep into our motives for how we treat others. Part of having a healthy church is recognizing where we are not operating with healthy behaviors and attitudes. This is where we honestly admit when we erroneously place a higher value on certain people over and above others.

The Christian community gets all excited when we find out that a certain celebrity or athlete is now professing their faith in Christ. It’s as if an “important” person we admire has now legitimized our faith in the eyes of the world. There is something about this that strokes our egos a bit. But why is a high-profile athlete coming to Jesus any more important to us than when an unhoused person has made the same decision?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? (James 2:5-7 NIV)

James now proceeds to point out the obvious flaws in their thinking. These believers were stuck on the external trappings of this new member. “He’s a big deal!” “He’s a winner!” At this point, James offers some rhetorical questions to challenge their thinking. In essence, here’s what he is asking:

“Is it really the person who’s on top of the world that most often sees their need for Christ, or is it those who know that they have already hit rock bottom? The kingdom of God is so near to them. These people are ripe for the good news. Can’t you see that? Besides, which one of them is more used to getting their way and who wouldn’t think twice about ruining you financially in court?”

Note: Further study would reveal there were three clear flaws. 1) their attitude was diametrically opposite to God’s long-standing concern for the poor with no partiality (Deuteronomy 1:17, Leviticus 19:18, and Zechariah 7:9-10), 2) the rich were exploiting and persecuting the church, and 3) the believers’ actions violated the “royal law” of love for neighbor.

James is continuing to share the long-standing tradition of the fair treatment of the poor. In Luke 14:13, Jesus said, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.” In Deuteronomy 15:11, it says “Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.” James, then, is not presenting a novel idea to these believers. He is insisting on participating with an idea that was birthed in our heavenly Father’s heart ages ago.

If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “you shall not murder.” If you do commit adultery but do not commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:8-13 NIV)

James is writing to Jewish converts to Christ. These are a group of people who are well acquainted with the Law of Moses. As such, he wants to drive his point home to such a degree that the message goes to their very core.

In verse 8, he sites one of the two great commandments to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

The phrase “really keep” has extreme emphasis and is used only twice in the New Testament, (the other occurrence in Romans 2:27). This phrase means to “bring to perfection” or to “bring to completion” and is much stronger than the Greek word used for “observe” or “keep” used later in verse 10.

Not “really keeping” the law was seen as breaking the law. Being accused of being a lawbreaker is not something that James’ audience would have had an easy time hearing. He allows no wiggle room either, as if they could claim that at least they were not adulterers or murderers. Maybe not, but they are still lawbreakers.

If the Jewish believers were unwilling to act kindly towards others, how could they possibly think that they will be treated with mercy? Instead, merciful kindness wins out over judgment every time.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead. (James 2:14-17 NIV)

Here we come to perhaps the most famous quote from the book of James: “faith without works is dead.” So, in context, what is James communicating to us? He is telling us that it is more than not discriminating against others; we are also obligated to do something for them. We are not merely to tolerate their presence among us; we are to make them feel welcomed, and we are to address their needs.

Sadly, we need to make something clear. Some come to a body of faith to take advantage, and they are unwilling to help themselves. This is a different topic. Here, James is talking about brothers and sisters we worship with who come to a place of need. He is not telling us to meet every need of those who seek to take advantage.

So, this just took James’ message to a higher level. A level that moves us to taking responsibility for our siblings who require our care and assistance. This echoes what James wrote in James 1:27 that God considers caring for the most vulnerable among us as the purest form of religion. A faith that is alive will concern itself with a focus that looks beyond oneself. He is exhorting us to trust God with our whole being as we look outward to minister to others.

Faith reorders our own desires away from securing our well-being by our own efforts, from enhancing our image by associating with glittering celebrities, and summons us to make our friends among the shabby poor, and to trust the provision of God, who gives freely to all.2

We live in a time where celebrities are worshipped, where those who seem to have it all are seen as more valuable and worthy. It looks like we have this in common with first century believers. And yet, James speaks loudly to our present culture. He reminds us to esteem our siblings whom the world may despise. He would agree with Paul’s statement that “we regard no one from merely a human point of view.”

As we put our faith into action, we do so by tangibly loving our neighbors as ourselves. This is what pleases our Father, who in his heart, sees all of us as his treasured possessions. We welcome all to our assemblies with a seat of honor not based on class, but on the esteemed value God has placed on all his beloved children.

  1. K. M. Adam, Tutor in New Testament and Greek at St. Stephen’s House at Oxford University, wrote the following:
  2. Pastor Disguises Himself as Homeless Man | Snopes.com
  3. Commentary on James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary

David Kowalick—Year B Proper 18

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September 8, 2024 — Proper 18 in Ordinary Time
James 2:1-17

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Program Transcript


David Kowalick—Year B Proper 18

Anthony: Let’s pivot to our next passage of the month. It’s James 2:1-17. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 18 in Ordinary Time, which is September 8. David, would you read it, please?

David: Sure.

My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality. For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Anthony: Mercy triumphs over judgment. I’m not sure how it is in Australia, but here in the United States, David, far too many Christians hold up wealth as a sign of success and God’s blessing. Whereas poverty, it’s a curse based on, often, what is considered apathetic or lazy living. All of which can lead to a pathway of showing partiality.

From your perspective, what instruction does this passage give the church that we need to hear?

David: Yeah. Sure. Again, I would be saying that there’s something extraordinary that takes place in a person’s life when they become a believer. And the circumstances of your life really have little bearing on the outcome of that because if grace is up to good breeding, good luck. Then that means that grace isn’t grace after all. It’s just pure luck.

And the fact that God can take anyone from any situation, even of the worst situation in the world, and not just poverty in a financial sense, but poverty in the way that they’ve been raised, their education, maybe health, whatever it is. And he can take that person and turn them into an extraordinary human being who can be involved in things that are beyond the imagination that they would have had under natural circumstances. That means we can’t look at those surface things like even your personality and your socialization, education. All those things count little in the end when it comes to what God can do with someone.

And in fact, it’s almost as if God deliberately turns everything upside down. And to me, one of the best examples of this is the choosing of Jacob over Esau. You remember the story where Ephraim and Manasseh were being blessed by Jacob later in life. Because Jacob had experienced being chosen by God over his older brother, which was exactly the opposite to the way things would normally take place.

And then when he goes to put the blessing on Joseph’s children, he crosses his hands, and he puts his right hand on the son who’s on the left side and his left hand on the son who’s on the right side. And he deliberately does this because that’s what he had experienced, because he’d seen God do that to him. God sort of deliberately crossed his hands, and he put the greater blessing on the lesser of the two sons.

And in a way, you can see that taking place at a broader sense that God puts the greater blessing on those who have the greatest poverty, whether it be in spirit or in finance or both or everything. And so often God’s choosing is not based on the ways that we judge people.

So, someone wanders into the church — and I think this is what James is really saying — don’t look down on someone who is poor, considering them to be less because in the eyes of God, that makes absolutely no sense.

And often God chooses the people that we would never choose to get the job done, like Jacob. Look, let’s face it, Jacob wasn’t the greatest [inaudible]. And yet he became the bearer of the message. And Paul takes that point, and he says, nothing can thwart what God is going to do.

And so, if he’s going to cross these hands — beware, if you treat someone who in this world looks like they’re lesser, they may actually end up being the one who’s got the greater blessing. And you put your — I’ve forgotten the verse in the Old Testament where it says to show contempt to the poor is to show contempt to God.

And so, if we look down our nose on anyone, then we’re really putting ourselves in a great danger, in a sense. And we make ourselves the judge of the situation, and if we do that, as it’s very plain elsewhere in the New Testament, that if we lack mercy, then we thwart mercy. If we don’t give forgiveness, then we shut the door to forgiveness.

I suppose that the story that really gets me every time is that story where Jesus said to Matthew, come and follow me. And so, he left his tax collecting job, and then he got all his reprobate friends around for a party. Then the Pharisees were talking to the disciples and saying, how come your rabbi hangs out with these lowlifes and what’s the deal with that?

And then Jesus comes out and he understands what’s going on. And he talks to them, and he says that a doctor only comes for the sick, he doesn’t come for those who are well. And I can imagine, and it’s not actually stated, but it’s implied that the Pharisees heard that and were thinking, oh, okay that explains why you don’t hang around with us because we’re healthy and we don’t need a doctor. Right?

And of course it was a thinly veiled rebuke, and they couldn’t understand it. But of course, they thought themselves above the sickness and above, in the spiritual sense, needing help. And of course, the ones who know they need help are first in line to receive it. And the ones who don’t know they need to, or don’t think they do, don’t line up for the grace of God.

There was an old TV game show that used to be here in Australia, probably you had something similar in the United States. It was called the Money or the Box. And in the game, if you acquired a certain amount of wealth in the game — let’s say you, you’d earned a thousand dollars in the process of the game. At some point in the game, you could choose to give up all of your money to get a box, which you don’t know what’s inside of it. Now inside the box, there could be a million dollars or there might be an old shoe.

And so, then you were given that opportunity to trade your thousand dollars for whatever’s in the box. Now of course, if you’ve got a decent amount of money, you’re going to be loath to trade it for what you don’t know. It could just be nothing, and you’ve given it up and it comes to nothing. But if you’ve only earned, say, 10, and then the offer is made to the money or the box, of course you give up your 10, and you receive what’s in the box, and who knows, you might get a million dollars.

And something like that is true between the person who is poor in spirit. Jesus said, blessed is the poor in spirit, the person who knows that they need help. They’re the ones that are going to trade in whatever they’ve got and say, I’m trading this whole thing in. And that’s exactly what Matthew did.

He said, I’m trading in my tax collecting business because I know it’s leading nowhere and I’m going to take a chance on this. Whereas the Pharisee or the person who’s rich in spirit or rich in things of this world, may be loath to do it and wants to hang on to it and doesn’t want to give up what they already have.

I guess the rich young ruler falls into that category. He was rich, he was young, and he was powerful. And it turns out that he was not only those three things, but he was also kept the Ten Commandments since he was a boy, he bragged.

Jesus said, how are you going with the Ten Commandments? He said, been keeping that since I was a boy, no problem. Got that sorted. And he’s like that kid at school, in your class, if you remember him. He was a good athlete; he was a great artist and brilliant at arithmetic and all of the STEM sciences as well.

He was one of those guys and Jesus said, would you trade all of that? Would you give that all up and come and follow me? And I don’t think he was saying, well done on the Ten Commandments. Now let’s go to the next level. You’ve got through the primary level. Now you go to radical discipleship.

I really think he was saying to him, are you willing to give up everything that you put your hopes in, which is your good, strong spiritual life, your wealth and power, which you would see as a blessing from God. And of course, at the end of that whole thing, after that guy went off, Jesus said, how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

And at the time, of course, those Jewish people would have been saying if a rich man can’t get in, a man who’s blessed and has got all the obvious signs of God’s blessing, then there’s no chance for any of us. And he wasn’t saying that. That being poor is a virtue, but he was saying that being rich can blind you to the things of God. But then, of course, the [inaudible] that Jesus gives is with man, it’s impossible. But with God, all things are possible. In other words, anyone, no matter who, can be brought into the kingdom of God and nothing can stop you being brought in.

But one thing that can stop you is being blinded by your own spiritual wealth or physical wealth or whatever it is, the sort of markers that the world says, these are good things.

And so, when we make those distinctions with our brothers and sisters in church, we are really muddying the pool of God’s grace very much.

Anthony: Yeah. Amen. And we know that God chooses the weak and base things, the powerless. And I think we’d all do well to remember, that’s us. We want to project that onto others sometimes.

David: I’m not having any trouble remembering that.


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • What do you think would happen if a homeless person walked into your service?
  • Point to examples of favoritism that may exist in the world and church
  • What are some practical ways to help those in need in your community?
  • Why do you think that God has always had a “soft spot” for the poor and needy?

Sermon for September 15, 2024 – Proper 19

Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.

Program Transcript


Speaking Of Life 3042 | Who do You Say I Am?
Jeff Broadnax

What comes to mind when you imagine God? Perhaps you think about his nature: his love, mercy, and grace. You may see God in creation—in the beautiful harmony of the universe. Maybe you see God in the ways he works through other people. We see God in a smile, an act of kindness, and in tearful forgiveness. All of these are faithful ways to imagine God. However, at one time or another, we all have ideas about God that are motivated by our own desires. It is often tempting to imagine God in ways that are self-serving.

The Bible reveals that God made humanity in his own image, however, since the Fall, humanity has been trying to recreate God into our image. Sometimes, we put our values, opinions, and beliefs on him so that we can do and think the things that seem right to us. Unfortunately, this never works because we were created to follow him, not the other way around. This is why one of the most important questions for any person to answer is, “Who is God?” The answer to this question affects everything else in our lives.

During the incarnation, Jesus declared an understanding of who God is beyond the disciples’ human expectations: a full and Spirit-filled revelation. In Mark 8:27-38, we read:

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Mark 8:27-3
3

By asking his disciples, “Who do you say I am,” Jesus was teaching them the importance of identifying the Son of God accurately. Peter accurately confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, but then he wanted to define the kind of Messiah Jesus was. In the verses that follow, Christ used the opportunity to discuss self-denial, which includes the denial of our own self-serving ideas about God. We have to look to Jesus to define God for us and resist the temptation to view God through the lens of our own biases. In our relationship with God, we do not change God to fit our preferences. Rather, as we devote ourselves to God, we change and become who he has created us to be.

Jesus refused to be defined on our terms. However, when we accept God as our God, he shows himself to be more glorious than we could possibly imagine.

I’m Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 19:1-14 · Proverbs 1:20-33 · James 3:1-12 · Mark 8:27-38

This week’s theme is words have consequences. In our call to worship psalm, David desires that the words of his mouth would be acceptable to God. In Proverbs, the writer speaks about the importance of listening to the words of wisdom. In James, the apostle writes about the importance of taming the tongue. And in Mark, Jesus warns us about being ashamed of him or his words.

Who Can Tame the Tongue?

James 3:1-12 NRSVUE

Growing up, most of us heard something along the lines of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?” We might not have realized it at the time that we were receiving sage, biblical advice. Perhaps you were also told something like “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” You don’t have to live very long to discern that this is not biblical. Words misspoken can crush a soul. Haven’t we all been victims of someone else’s words?

We are going to be focusing on a passage that talks about the importance of our words as there is great power in our tongues. Our words can set the course of our lives for good or for evil. Although James’ words may seem daunting, we will also see where our hope lies in taming the tongue.

Read, or have someone read, James 3:1-12.

Those of Jewish background who were now converted, had previously held their former rabbis in high regard. To fulfill this cultural norm they naturally looked for teachers for their new Christian community. Apparently more than enough men were aspiring to serve in that role.  These unofficial teachers may have been taking certain latitudes in their teachings. Thus, James admonishes his readers to “not have many masters.” James warns those who teach that they are held to a higher standard. I think this is partly because teachers and preachers are afforded a captive audience, therefore their words can affect more people. Also, those who preach and teach generally have more training than the average churchgoing person. You would assume as well that these people have a certain amount of maturity.

Those who teach are to lead by example. This would be in line with the overall message of James’ epistle. Our faith is to be made evident by our works. So, if you are teaching others, make sure you are growing in the areas that you are teaching about. For instance, a fitness instructor who is poorly out of shape by neglecting his own workouts loses all credibility. Likewise, those who teach should live out what they are asking of others. This is good advice for any believer, not just those who teach.

 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. (James 3:3-4 NRSVUE)

James uses a couple of analogies here to show how small things can be quite powerful. In the first century A.D., horses and ships were the primary means of transportation. The horse held a bit in its mouth and with it, the rider could control where she wanted this powerful animal to go. Ships have rudders that enable the captain to steer it wherever he chooses.

Modern travel now consists of automobiles and airplanes. A mere steering wheel can turn an entire bus. Small ailerons cause the wings of an airplane to respond to the pilot’s steering. Human beings are also equipped with something very small that can steer the course of our lives. Our tongues are to be used to bless and to encourage, to speak to what is true and right and good, to utter the praises of God.

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:5-6 NRSVUE)

Just as our tongues can be used for blessing and praise, they can also just as easily be used for cursing. A careless word can tragically alter the course of a friend or loved one’s life.

This is a good place to share a personal story about when the words of someone hurt you, or how your words hurt another person.

So, what James does now is turn from the analogies that show the usefulness of the tongue to analogies of how destructive it can be. The analogy that is being employed here is that of a forest fire. In many cases, it is a small spark that causes great damage.

The state of California is known for its wildfire season, which occurs nearly every summer. In July 2018, the largest wildfire in their history, the Ranch fire combined with the River fire, burned more than four hundred thousand acres of land. After a thorough investigation, it was determined that the cause of the Ranch fire was started by a spark from a hammer striking a nail. The spark landed on some flammable materials nearby.2

The tongue then, can set fire to every good thing in your life. It can consume your friendships, your family, and even your congregation. Wars have been waged over words, costing millions of lives. So, when James says that the tongue is a “world of iniquity,” and “is itself set on fire by hell,” he’s insistent about making his point.

It’s easy to pick out the overt sins. Any believer is likely to abhor murder, theft, drunkenness, and sexual immorality. But what about sins of the tongue? We probably know those who are prone to gossip, or those who speak harshly to others. We may not appreciate these things when we witness them, but at the same time, do we understand how deadly this can be for a congregation that desires to be healthy?

For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:7,8 NRSVUE)

Think about how amazing it is that we can train animals, whether it is for laborious tasks or mere tricks. Parrots can be taught to speak. Whales and dolphins can be taught to jump out of the water on command. Certain dog breeds learn to herd sheep. Cats? Well, they seem to be able to train us better than we can train them. Despite how well we can tame and train non-human creatures to perform human-like tasks and tricks, we still are not able to tame our own tongues.

James repeats himself here with the idea of how evil the tongue is, while also giving us a different analogy. He now describes the tongue as a deadly poison. Now that is something to consider! What if every time we were tempted to say something negative about someone, we saw an image of our tongues as a bottle of poison. What if the image of a skull and cross bones on the bottle came to mind?

When James says that “no human can tame the tongue,” he is not leaving his statement open for human hope. After all, what would be the point of James telling us all of these difficult things to hear without giving us any hope? He is reminding us that we know the one who can tame it. The Father has sent the Holy Spirit to us. The Spirit is here to guide us as he lives through us. The Holy Spirit helps to train our speech in ways we could never perform by our own strength and will. Our trust is placed in God’s abilities and not on ours.

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. (James 3:9-12 NRSVUE)

I don’t know if you have been keeping track of the analogies, but James offers up some more here. He mentions that trees can only produce certain fruit. Springs of water can only contain that which is common to them, salt or fresh water. The analogy is that we have been made in the image of our loving Father. We have been accepted in the life of Christ Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit, there is a quality of life that is consistent with whom we flow from and are rooted into. This life of ours is not consistent with the foul things that the tongue wants to say.

When James asks the rhetorical questions regarding trees and springs producing that which flows from their proper source, we are to see ourselves as God’s newly designed people who resemble the life of his son, Jesus. We are not merely left to our own devices. The Holy Spirit with us assures us of our relationship with the triune God. As the body of Christ, we share that same relationship with one another, where we speak the truth in love, and where our tongues are used for blessing and not cursing.

Note what the psalmist said:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 NRSVUE)

We won’t always agree with one another. We don’t all have the same temperaments or personalities. But how we speak to one another in the body of Christ is of vital importance. We are to remind one another of who we are in Christ. We are to speak God’s praises. We are to build up, encourage, and edify one another. Our tongues are to be offered up to our loving God who wants to set the course of our lives through speech filled with grace and love.

This week, ask God to help you use your tongue for good. Ask him to give you the words that encourage and bless others. Watch what happens.

 Hammer spark caused California’s largest wildfire | CNN

David Kowalick—Year B Proper 19

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September 15, 2024 — Proper 19 in Ordinary Time
James 3:1-12

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Program Transcript


Anthony: Let’s, for the sake of time, transition to our next passage of the month. It’s James 3:1-12. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 19 in Ordinary Time, which is on September 15.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is mature, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

David, you’re a teacher who uses your tongue as an attempt to communicate divine truth. No pressure, but this text is holding you and the rest of us to account. So what would you like to share with the pastors, teachers, and church leaders listening to this conversation?

David: Oh, I think we might just skip over that one if that’s all right with you.

Anthony: No, you’re not getting off that easy.

David: Yeah, sure. Yeah, it did frighten me once when I was reading about the spiritual gifts that all of the spiritual gifts actually involve the use of the tongue. Even if you say the gift of healing, you speak something.

There’s a very profound passage, this. Because I think sometimes, we think it’s just the things we do, but everything we do is preceded by things we say. And it is an extraordinary thing that the things that have hurt me the most are not the things that happened to me physically, but the things that have been said to me.

And I’ve broken bones, I’ve had a broken back, I’ve done all those things and I count them as not significant compared to the things that have been said to me. And I got to say, to much shame, the things that I have said have done more damage than anything else I’ve ever done.

I can’t look at this passage and say, you got that one sorted. It’s a constant struggle. And again, we’re not meant to condemn ourselves over this, but at the same time, it does hold us to account. And so, whenever we read a passage like this, it is really easy to take this and then feel all despondent because we’ve failed or whatever.

But again, I go back to the fact that every single person, every major character in the Bible has failed at this point as well, says things they wish they hadn’t done, things they wish they hadn’t done. And the more you read the Bible, the more that becomes apparent too.

I’ve just been reading the book of Samuel lately (sorry, 1 and 2 Samuel) and just looking at the life of David and of Saul and all of it — it was a hot mess that was going on there.

And I look at that and yet I see the transformation that takes place of someone like David, or Paul or Peter or any of the characters. And there is a transforming work that takes place. And the outworking of that is our words.

So yeah, that’s a tough passage to preach. And I do take that very seriously when I say I realized that I’m going to be judged more harshly than someone who’s not a preacher. And yeah, that’s a concern. And again, I know that people will be perhaps even listening to this and saying how’s this got anything to do with the grace of God? Where’s this coming from?

And I guess I’d be saying, again, the grace of God has a long-term effect. It changes your life. But again, it’s a slow-motion miracle. And one of the ways you can see that some of the miracles take place is the way you speak. I was reading the Didache some time ago and it struck me that the Didache is very much like the book of James.

And when you see what was taking place in the church, and the church was really persecuted there in those early days, and it was under a lot of pressure. The way that the early church spoke, the words they said, the way they conducted themselves in the world, really did challenge the world. In fact, part of the reason they got persecuted was because of the way they acted and blessing those who curse you. That’s one of the hardest things in the world to do.

And again, I’ve found this difficult in my own life, but I cannot tell you how many pastoral conversations I’ve had with people saying, this person did this bad thing to me. What am I meant to do? And then you go back to the scriptures and say, what did Jesus say to do with those who curse you? You bless them, forgive those who sin against you. And it’s very straightforward, basic teaching, yet it’s nearly the hardest thing in the world to do to forgive someone who’s genuinely and powerfully hurt you.

And yet, there it is! It comes from the mouth, it’s the words you say, it starts with that. Bless those who curse you. And there’s something very powerful that gets released, I think, when a person does actually put this into action with their words, because those words produce other actions, but with an ongoing and rolling effect.

Anthony: Go ahead.

David: Yeah, go on. Go on.

Anthony: I was going to say earlier, you had talked about, okay, where’s the grace in this pericope because it seems like it’s a difficult teaching. But as we think Christologically, James is telling us to bless those who curse you. And all we have to do is look at Jesus on the cross.

He was being ridiculed, being mocked, being killed, being murdered, unrighteously. And yet, his words are, Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.

And yet in the face of these words that we’re doing anything but bringing life, we can look at our Lord and see, like a good teacher or a good coach, he’s not asking us to do something that he himself, in his own person, hasn’t already done, right?

And so, all we have to do is look at the life and words of Jesus to see it lived out.

David: Exactly. The picture here of a rudder and of a small spark that can set a whole forest on fire, they’re good ways of looking at it because not only is that true in a negative sense, but it’s also true in a positive sense. If you reverse the order of that and you bring blessing where there’s been cursing, it can produce huge amount of good at the same time.

I think there’s a place for talking on both sides of that, talking about the blessing that comes from speaking well and of the curse that comes from speaking poorly. Both of those are relevant. But yeah, it’s a very confronting passage, the whole of James. I’ve got to say, you read it and you go, yeah, I’ve got work to do.

Anthony: Yes, there’s no other way to walk away from it.

So, speaking of that work, let’s get practical. Especially in a divided world here in the U.S., we have a national election coming up later this year. And, as I skim through social media and talk to people, I know there’s a lot of cursing going on as we project our pain onto other people who are made in the image and likeness of God.

Do you have anything to say — you’ve already touched on it, but any practical words of wisdom based on this text and how we can bridle the tongue and speak words of life versus words of curse?

David: Yeah, it’s definitely since social media has become a thing that the level of cursing going on just seems to have gone completely off the charts.

I heard somebody quip that the source of all evil is the comments in YouTube rather than the love of money. But we have a YouTube channel, and it’s amazing, even from Christians, some of the words that you get. It can be very disheartening.

So, I guess, practically just taking the straight teaching of James here and then contrasting what evil words can do. Again, I would reiterate, evil words can be more damaging than what can be done with a fist or with violence, even though that’s evil. That’s got its own thing going but there’s something extraordinarily powerful in words.

People talk about toxic masculinity, for instance, and how men can be violent and so on. I’ve seen the other side of that; I’ve seen toxic femininity, which can be all just done with words and doing character assassinations and so on. Yeah, none of us are above this. This is something that if we are under the grace of God, and we realize that we’ve been blessed, it changes your heart. It changes your perception of people, your perception of the world, and most cursing comes out of defensiveness or tribalism. And when you’re in the kingdom of God, that defensiveness disappears and evaporates, and your tribalism, it’s no longer necessary.

And yes, I am aware of this division that’s not only taking place in the United States, it seems to be happening right across the West. There’s this polarization between the left and the right. And yet, when I look at Jesus, he was neither on the left or the right. People would say, who would Jesus vote for? And you can’t answer that question because you can’t describe Jesus on the political spectrum. He’s coming from a completely different place. And if we are in the kingdom of God, we ought to be coming from a completely different place as well and representing that kingdom.

That kingdom is not of this earth. It is for this earth, and it is on this earth, but it hasn’t emerged from the earth. It has come from above, from the Father of heavenly lights, and it’s a different kingdom. It cannot be rated on the left or the right, or it’s not centrist, it’s not right, it’s not left. It’s completely other, it’s another kingdom. And the people of God ought to be from that other kingdom, and not just be considered left or right or centrist or whatever it is.

But we’ve got something better to say. We’ve got a different kingdom, a kingdom which is above socialism and above capitalism and above democracy and above all, any -ism you can think of. The kingdom of God’s above it and the people of God speak in a different kind of a language. And I believe that’s the kind of thing that James is saying.

Yet keeping in mind that the warning is there. And when we do fail, which we do, we stumble — anyone who can control their tongue is of course, perfect and we’re less than perfect. But we continue to get up, receive the gift of grace, the forgiveness of God and move on. But in that space, we have the power and the capacity to experience that grace and it gets inside of you.

Again, the slow-motion miracle takes place, and it changes the way we speak.

Anthony: Yeah. Yeah. Amen. Those are good words and I think timely words that you’ve just spoken. And given the text, that’s what we’re looking for: words that are fitly spoken.


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • What advice have you received about the importance of what you say?
  • Share a time when you experienced the Holy Spirit aiding you in holding your tongue.
  • James used several analogies to describe the tongue. Name one that you can relate to.
  • Share why recognizing our identity in Christ is vital to taming the tongue.

Sermon for September 22, 2024 — Proper 20

Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.

Program Transcript


Speaking Of Life 3043 | An Unlikely Object Lesson
Greg Williams

I imagine that we have all witnessed the wonder, honesty, and even humor in kids as they grow and develop.

When my son Glenn was three years old, he somehow got away from the family and initially, it caused great fright and concern, but within moments we found him nestled in a corner of the lady’s cosmetic section and he was painting his face with bright red lipstick. When my mother heard this story, she reminded me that when I was the same age, she temporarily lost me in the grocery store. She discovered me in the canned vegetable aisle, and I was fixated on a can of Green Giant corn and I was mimicking the giant by repeating the advertisement jingle, “HO, HO, HO Green Giant.” What can I say?

Kids have a way of making every room—pretty much the whole world—their own.      

Have you ever tried to “kind of” welcome a child? There are no half-measures when it comes to kids. Once they arrive on the scene, they own it. The whole dynamic changes. Adults might slip in and out of the room, but kids never do.

We see one of Jesus’ interactions with children in Mark 9. The disciples have just finished arguing about who is the greatest, and Jesus gives them an unlikely object lesson:

And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Mark 9:35-37 (ESV)

In the honor/shame culture of the ancient world, hosting a respectful person at your home brought you honor, which brought status and connections. Children weren’t worth much on the honor spectrum. Better to spend your energy and time on having a great rabbi like Jesus or a rich man to your house.

And here, right in the middle of an argument about honor, Jesus plops a child down in front of them. Runny nose, sticky fingers, constant demands—a child. And he says when you welcome this person—this person who is the least of these, whose only gift is their need—then you welcome him.

When you welcome the inconsequential that’s when you meet Jesus.

Because the presence of Christ can be a bit like that child— occasionally overturning tables, always full of wonder and forgiveness. Jesus changes the dynamic. His values change the gravity. This is what it means to welcome Jesus. He doesn’t play by our rules, he doesn’t follow our plan, but to welcome him is to welcome life.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of that Life.

Psalm 1:1-6 · Proverbs 31:10-31 · James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a · Mark 9:30-37

As we continue in the season of Ordinary Time, we want to give our attention to how we live out the gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of our neighbors. This not only requires us to embrace the Great Commission, but it also requires us to be wise in our dealings with those whom the Lord leads into our path. The theme for this week is the wisdom of God. The first psalm admonishes us to find our delight in the ways of the Lord. In Proverbs, we read about an ideal wife who acts and “speaks with wisdom.” In the James passage, we learn about the difference between human wisdom and the wisdom that flows from God. Finally, in Mark, we see Jesus trying to teach his disciples (impart wisdom to them) and his followers having a difficult time understanding his lesson in humility.

Humility that Comes from Wisdom

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a NIV

The day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, many of Jane Elliott’s third grade students in Riceville, Iowa came to school upset and confused about how such a terrible thing could happen. She decided to conduct a two-day social experiment to help her students better understand discrimination and how it affects people. She divided her class by eye color — brown eyes and blue eyes. On the first day, she informed the class that blue-eyed children were smarter, nicer, and generally better than brown-eyed children. Throughout the day, Elliott gave her blue-eyed students more privileges and overly criticized the work of the brown-eyed students. She even made the brown-eyed students wear a collar so they could be easily identified. On the second day of the experiment, the two groups switched places, with the brown-eyed students becoming the privileged group. The results were immediate and startling.

On both days, the group designated as inferior performed their schoolwork more poorly than usual as they internalized the labels being placed on them. They were more withdrawn and often lamented having their eye color. The group designated as superior performed better academically, yet they became cruel to the children in the group designated as inferior. Elliott later said, “I watched what had been marvelous, cooperative, wonderful, thoughtful children turn into nasty, vicious, discriminating little third-graders in a space of fifteen minutes.” The teacher repeated the experiment with other third grade classes, college students, and adults with similar results each time.

Elliott’s experiments showed that dehumanization hurts everyone — both the dehumanizer and the one being dehumanized. The dehumanized group internalized the false narratives and viewed themselves as less than what they were. While experiencing academic success, the dehumanizing group became insensitive, cruel, and entitled. Despite the negative effects of dehumanization, every large society — past, present, and probable future — has created hierarchies with some humans on the top and some on the bottom. Nazi Germany, pre-genocide Rwanda, India’s caste system, patriarchal systems that discriminate against women, South Africa under apartheid, discriminatory laws against the Irish in Europe, and the Jim Crow laws in the US are all examples of destructive systems of dehumanization with devastating consequences for all involved. In the book of James, the brother of Jesus makes clear why dehumanizing hierarchies are so destructive.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a NIV)

In this passage, James guides the reader’s attention to both sides of dehumanization — the side of the oppressed and the side of the oppressor. “Bitter envy” can refer to a desire to possess what another has to the point that one feels resentment or hostility. A person who is being dehumanized may feel bitter envy — a resentful desire to have what another person or group has. At the same time, James warns us to avoid “selfish ambition.” We can understand selfish ambition as a drive to fulfill one’s desires without regard for the impact on others. Dehumanizers or oppressors can usually be placed in this category.

The truth is we all feel bitter envy and selfish ambition at one time or another. At some point, we have all looked with disdain at a person who enjoyed privileges we did not have. At some point, we have all pursued something only to find out we hurt people in the process. James acknowledges we may have feelings of bitter envy or selfish ambition, but he tells us not to harbor those emotions — not to let them linger and fester, which is a danger with both these emotions.

James warns his readers that bitter envy and selfish ambition can seem like wisdom. Bitter envy can masquerade as justice, prompting us to pursue our rights. To be sure, Christians are invited to participate in Christ’s work to bring justice to the world. However, God’s justice begins with Christ and is driven by love of God and love of neighbor. The type of earthly wisdom that results in bitter envy is oriented on the self and on satisfying a desire for vengeance. Similarly, the earthly wisdom that results in selfish ambition can disguise itself as merit. It causes us to tell ourselves that we deserve what we have, and others should work hard if they want the same. Of course, God wants us to be diligent in the work he has given us to do. At the same time, the work that God gives us to do builds the kingdom, which causes us to bless the poor, the mourners, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

In the American society, we can clearly see the impact of bitter envy and selfish ambition. We see divisions along political lines, racial lines, class lines, gender lines, and among believers and unbelievers. Our unredeemed desires cause us to fight and quarrel, as James explained. And there is a strong temptation to choose sides. We are tempted to be Democrats or Republicans. We are tempted to say Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter. We are tempted to stand with Israel or stand with Palestine. There is a lot of pressure to declare the team to which we belong. However, James points to another way. He reminds us that Christ followers are not called to win arguments and expose our enemies. Rather, Christians are called to be “peacemakers who sow in peace” and “reap a harvest of righteousness.” We are supposed to be on God’s team, and he loves all his children without any partiality or preference. He loves those on both sides of human-caused divisions. So should we, even as we are led by the Spirit in striving to right wrongs and heal hurts.

Instead of harboring bitter envy and selfish ambition, God wants us to live humble lives, filled with the “wisdom that comes from heaven.” In other words, we should resist the behaviors that seem to come easily, but are actually against our true nature because God wants to reveal to us his way of seeing our world and responding to it. In our dealings with others, we are to be “peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” We neither reinforce nor approve of divisions. We are not convinced that every opinion we hold is unquestionably correct. We do not automatically dislike those who disagree with us. We do not tolerate any form of dehumanization. Instead, we seek to reconcile estranged groups. We are humble and leave space for those who see things differently. We affirm the humanity and value of those with whom we may not see eye to eye. We stand with the poor and the outcast. We are the Church, the light of Christ shining in this world. We confound the wisdom of this age and shine a light on a better way. We illuminate the narrow path that leads to glory.

It brings more focus to Paul’s statement to the Corinthian church, when he said we no longer view others from a worldly point of view because we are called to a ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18)

While we are the church, we cannot be the church apart from Christ. We cannot hope to purge our hearts of bitter envy and selfish ambition in our own strength. In this passage, we are commanded to submit ourselves to God — to go before him, surrendering the things that do not originate with him. This includes our self-centered desires, our unprocessed hurts, our rights, and our opinions. We are able to submit all to Jesus because he has drawn near — near enough for his ways to rub off on us. He has drawn near enough that his gravity attracts our focus away from ourselves and onto him. He has drawn near enough for his light to reveal the optical illusions covering the sins of bitter envy and selfish ambition. He has drawn near enough that there is no room for the devil, the one who is the father of division and strife.

In our drawing near to God, as he humbles us and gives us his wisdom, we participate in Christ’s work to make peace. It is easy to look at our society’s divisions and lose hope. But we need not despair. Our God has made peace in the person of Jesus Christ. When we look at how we dehumanize each other, it can look like evil has triumphed. But, beloved, our God promises that one day all that is broken will be repaired. He is making everything new. Let us start now by laying aside bitter envy and selfish ambition. Let us do all we can to spread Christ’s gift of peace.

1) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/introduction-2/

David Kowalick—Year B Proper 20

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September 22, 2024, 2024 — Proper 20 in Ordinary Time
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8

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Program Transcript


David Kowalick—Year B Proper 20

Anthony: Let’s move on to our next pericope of the month. It’s James 3:13-4:3, 7-8. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 20 in Ordinary Time, which falls on September 22. We’d be grateful, David, if you’d read it for us, please.

David: Okay.

Who is wise and knowledgeable among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant and lie about the truth. 15 This is not wisdom that comes down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Anthony: I believe all Scripture should have Jesus as the hermeneutical key since he said, all scripture is about him. So how might this pericope teach us about the God revealed in Jesus Christ?

David: And again, I’ve got to say, as a preacher, you can look at this passage and you can say, that’s actually a bit of a challenge.

Because it almost seems to be saying that you earn your way into God. And again, I have to say, these kinds of rebukes that are not only here but in other parts of Scripture, including the words of Jesus, are in the context of grace. It’s always the backdrop of: God has been good to you, he’s been gracious to you, therefore this is how you should act.

And it’s not a “therefore,” this is how you should strive to it, but rather this is the outcome, the fruit of the Spirit. And of course, fruit doesn’t come immediately, but it takes time. But it is an inevitable outcome that will take time, will take place eventually. Plant an apricot tree, you will eventually get apricots, not tomatoes. And the same is true if we are planted in the good soil of God’s grace, we will eventually produce words and a life which is gracious.

And so, if that’s not taking place, then you’ve got to ask yourself the question where is your life planted? It’s very likely that you’ve planted yourself in the wrong place and you’ve got your mind governed by the way of the world rather than by the goodness and grace of God.

So, in the context of the Father of heavenly lights is giving this “every good and precious gift from above,” that is the river that flows down through the church and changes each individual in the church over time. And it becomes normalized to be peaceable and gracious and kind and all these things that James is talking about here.

And when we see that these disputes and that sort of thing taking place, it usually means that we’re insecure. We’re not secure in the grace of God, and the outcome of that insecurity always ends up being selfish ambition and so on.

I always remind myself that where Paul writes, listing the good outcomes of the fruit of the Spirit, love, kindness, and generosity and so on. He also puts this other list of things that come out of the flesh. And it’s easy to think what he’s talking about is there is all those terrible people outside of the kingdom of God. That’s what they do. But no, he was addressing that to people in the church. That was what happens to people in the church when they operate in the flesh.

And of course, the flesh here isn’t — he’s not talking about the physical body. He’s talking about a mindset where you make your own way and make things happen rather than relying on the goodness of God.

And so, I guess I’d be taking this passage, and I’d want to preach it in a way that says: are we governed by the grace of God? Or are we, in fact, governed by a kind of effort to climb the stairway to heaven? Because anyone who’s trying to climb the stairway to heaven will always be standing on the heads of those under them. But anyone who is being captured by the grace of God will actually be promoting others rather than trying to climb up the greasy pole of power in the church.

And it can happen in the church. I’m sure you’re well aware that people in the church can really crave power and crave positions and crave notoriety. And look, preachers, of course, are under more pressure than most because you know, we want — I want people to like me. Strangely enough, not everyone does, but I do want people to like me.

And it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing what it takes to get people to like you and then compromise and compromise the message of God. Or to preach in such a way that you can just make people feel good, and they say, what a great preacher! That kind of a thing. That’s all “anti” the kingdom. It sounds nice, but it can just be quite the opposite.

There’s one little thing here I noticed. He says, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he’ll flee from you. And draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. That could easily be seen as it’s all up to you. It’s up to me. I’m going to go and pursue God and then God will notice me, and he’ll come my way.

I don’t think that’s what it’s saying. It’s more you see, you might find yourself trapped, you might find yourself trapped in a vice. Maybe you’ve got an addiction, maybe you’ve got someone you just cannot stand, or you’ve got an enemy that you cannot forgive, that kind of a thing. They’re insurmountable problems and when you’re in that vice of unforgiveness or under temptation, you’re easy pickings for the devil, in this case.

But what he’s saying there, I believe, is all it takes is just don’t give in. Don’t make it easy for the schemes of the evil one, rather just take a stand and trust that God’s going to look after you. And amazingly, when you do it, it actually happens. And if you give your attention to God, guess what? He is ready and waiting right there to pour out his goodness on you.

And he will come near to you — he’s already near to you, but he’s waiting for you to turn to him and then he just wants, he wants to shower you with his kindness and goodness, but we resist him by turning the other way.

I like to go fishing but every single fish I’ve ever caught, I’ve caught while I’m actually out there fishing, not when I’m at home thinking about it. And I think the same is true here. You don’t get a victory over the schemes of the evil one by just wishing them. You take a stand and the blessings of God, as you decide just to get on with the job and be involved in what God is doing and submit yourself to his plans. Guess what happens?

It just opens the door. And things happen that are well beyond your human capacity, and you find yourself in the middle of miracle making and think, this is obviously not me. This is something else.

Anthony: That’s a good metaphor, for what you brought up about fishing. It makes me think of repentance.

I think one of the harms that has been done in the church is to think of repentance as a one and done scenario on our end. Of course, it is one and done in terms of Christ’s repentance on our behalf, for us and in us. And we thank God for that because that’s what allows us to repent.

But for me, David, repentance is an ongoing day by day, sometimes moment by moment experience. Because as I look at this passage, I’ve had bitter envy. I’ve had selfish ambition. I’ve been arrogant. I have lied. I have not spoken out of wisdom. I’ve done all the things it says not to do, not to take the stand. But by the grace of God, I’m seeing those things die slowly, a slow-motion death (to use your words), but it happens. And I think we have to see it as, we are where we are by the grace of God, and yet there’s more to go. There’s the work to be done. Let’s go fishing. Let’s go repenting and see God show up in amazing ways in our life.

 


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • What do you think of Jane Elliott’s social experiment? What do you think it reveals about human nature?
  • Can you think of a time when you felt bitter envy or selfish ambition?
  • What do you think are some ways we can submit ourselves and draw near to God?

Sermon for September 29, 2024 — Proper 21

Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.

Program Transcript


Speaking Of Life 3044 | How Enemies Become Friends
Cara Garrity

If you’re an animated movie fan, and I say, “To infinity and beyond!” you probably will immediately think of Buzz Lightyear from the movie Toy Story! In the movie, Buzz Lightyear was an astronaut toy character who was voiced by actor Tim Allen. If you remember the very first Toy Story, Buzz was the new toy that captured the boy Andy’s attention, leaving his old favorite, Woody the Cowboy, cast aside. Woody was understandably jealous, so at the beginning of the movie, Woody and Buzz were rivals. But it’s when they’re kidnapped by the nasty boy Sid that they realized they didn’t have to be enemies. Buzz and Woody needed to work together to escape Sid and get back to Andy. Their common goal fostered empathy and respect between the two.

The gospel of Mark reports a similar type of story where the apostles saw others outside their group casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and they might have been a little jealous. Let’s read what happened:

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
Mark 9:38-41 (NRSV)

Jesus points out an important lesson, not just for the disciples but for us, too. Love and kindness have their roots in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so when they’re expressed—even by those who don’t hold similar beliefs—they’re furthering the good news of God’s love for all humanity. In this context, Jesus is addressing those who were doing good works in his name.  We might think of the many different Christian denominations who often may disagree about some theological doctrines but who still love and serve the same God.

Buzz Lightyear and Woody were united, at least at first, in their desire to get back to Andy, and as they worked together on that goal, they developed a relationship based on respect, empathy, and even love. Though some would like to restrict good works to their own understanding we’re encouraged to recognize how the Father, Son and Spirit infiltrate all aspects of creation.

When we see love and kindness at work, we can rejoice because we know God is meeting the world’s needs and affirming humanity’s value, no matter who is doing the loving or showing the kindness. May you recognize God’s love and kindness in the world today, and may you pass it along.

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 124:1-8 · Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 · James 5:13-20 · Mark 9:38-50

In the season of Ordinary Time, just like in every season, we are reliant upon God. Thankfully, we can trust God to give us aid when we need it. This week’s theme is God our help. In the call to worship psalm, David boldly declares that our help is in the “name of the Lord.” In Esther, we read about how God delivered Israel through the courage of the young queen. In James, we are told about the power of prayer. Finally, in the Mark passage, we are warned to do all we can to separate ourselves from the things that prevent us from receiving the help that is in Jesus Christ.

Everything is Better with God

James 5:13-20 NIV

Bacon. For those who eat both meat and pork, just saying the word can make mouths start watering — crispy, salty, smokey bacon. It is not good for us, but we cannot stop eating it. Bacon is so good that vegans came up with a plant-based version called “facon.” Even those reluctant to eat meat, by their actions, admit that bacon is hard to live without. The desire of Americans to find a way to put bacon on almost anything has led many to believe that everything tastes better with bacon. In fact, Sara Perry set out to prove it. The author and commentator wrote a cookbook called Everything Tastes Better with Bacon: 70 Fabulous Recipes for Every Meal of the Day, where every recipe features, of course, bacon. For the culinarily adventurous, you can eat bacon on a doughnut, in a bar of chocolate, in a gum ball, infused in mayonnaise, in a smoothie, and in many other forms. Even when bacon appears in the most unlikely of places, many will eat it because, apparently, everything tastes better with bacon.

What bacon does for our taste buds, good relationships do for our hearts. When something good happens to us, the first thing we want to do is share the news with a beloved relative, spouse, or friend. When something awful happens to us, we often turn to the same person for comfort. If everything tastes better with bacon, then everything is better with love. Even bacon! There is a saying from Euripedes, “Friendship doubles your joys, and divides your sorrows.” Most of us would agree that life is better when we get to share it with a friend who loves us. Perhaps James had a similar thought in mind when he wrote:

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5:13-20 NIV)

James begins this passage by encouraging his readers to turn to God in prayer in every situation. Whether we are feeling troubled, happy, sick, or another emotion, we can share that moment with the Lord. When sharing the ups and downs of life, we tend to give our attention to human beings first. It makes sense because most of us do not perceive God with our senses. It is harder to accept God’s presence when we cannot see or hear him. However, if we truly understood the love of God, he would be the first one we turned to in our time of trouble. He would be the first one we tell our good news. He would be the first one we reach for when we are sick, in pain, weary in the flesh, or worn down by life itself. He is truly the best friend who makes everything better. He gives everything meaning. He is life itself. Lord, I pray that we would learn to turn to you first. I pray that we would realize that you make everything better.

We should resist viewing this passage through a transactional lens. In other words, we have to avoid the temptation to view prayer as simply a means to get something we want from God.  Although prayer changes things, we should not approach God seeing him as a servant to our will, remaking the world as we desire it to be. Rather, prayer is a way to deepen our relationship with God and the primary means by which we spend time with him. James is encouraging us to “pray continually,” as Paul would put it, sharing all of our moments with our loving Father. As we spend time with God, we become more able to discern who he is, who we are, God’s will, and the things he is doing in and around us.

Of course, we should be transparent with him about our feelings and honest about the desires of our heart. However, when we ask God for something, it should flow from who he reveals himself to be. In other words, our prayers should be in line with who he is, what he has said, and what he is doing. This is what James calls the “prayer offered in faith.” And, as we make our requests known to God, we should do so with an open heart, leaving room for God to be God.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus expressed his desire not to die, which was in line with God’s nature. However, he also prioritized God’s will over his own and remained open to whatever God wanted to do. Jesus showed us how to express our deep desire to God like a child to his father, while also honoring the fact that God is sovereign.

The prayers we offer in faith have power. James stated that the “prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” The “righteous person” is not some kind of special, super Christian. “Righteous” means to be rightly related and connected. Righteousness is the right thoughts, words, and actions flowing from our right relationship with God. As an example, James mentioned Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. That means that he was not perfect in thoughts or actions. He fled because he was afraid (1 Kings 19:3), he was depressed and even sounded resentful toward God (1 Kings 19: 9-14). Yet Elijah started and ended a drought with prayer.

We can assume the drought was not Elijah’s idea, and he was acting based on what God told him to do. This is what gave Elijah’s prayer power; he prayed what God revealed to him. He prayed God’s will. Therefore, the prophet’s prayer was not him trying to manipulate God into making the world the way Elijah would want it. Rather, Elijah’s prayer was a witness statement based on what he saw and heard. It was a pledge of allegiance to the will and ways of God. Let it be so for us as we pray for those who are sick or weary. Let us remember that it is not the persuasiveness of our prayers that brings forth healing and rejuvenation. God does not need to be convinced to be good. He is good. Let us remember that healing is possible because of the nature of God and his love towards us. When we pray for healing, we are discerning and affirming the will of the one who promised us healing in this life and the next.

Before asking God for anything, we would be wise to first seek his heart. How does God view our situation? What is he working out? What is he trying to show us? How can we bring him glory in this moment? In other words, we should let our relationship with God, cultivated in prayer, inform our requests. When we hear from God, we can pray with conviction and power because we know that he cannot lie. He will keep his word. This is what empowers us to pray bold prayers. We are not being bold in our own strength. We are being bold in God’s strength. We are bold because Christ is at the Father’s right hand making intercession for us. Because of God’s radical love for us, our prayers can be audacious, as the Spirit leads.

As we share more and more of our life with God through continual prayer, we will find our joys doubled and sorrows divided. He is a Father and a friend. He is the one with whom we share all of our firsts. Jesus opened the door and showed us the way to relationship with God. Now, we can bear witness to the fact that everything is better with love. Everything is better with God.

David Kowalick—Year B Proper 21

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September 29, 2024, 2024 — Proper 21 in Ordinary Time
James 5:13-20

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Program Transcript


David Kowalick—Year B Proper 21

Anthony: Let’s move on to our final passage of the month. It’s James 5:13-20. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 21 in Ordinary Time, which is September 29. And it reads …

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth yielded its harvest. 19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

As I look back at verses 13 through 16, it does strike me as showing the community of faith as being a place where the healing, and I’m talking about healing of the whole person, and the hospitality of God can be experienced through one another. So, my question is this, why are the relationships in the church so vital for us to experience the unfailing love of God here and now?

David: Yeah, I look at this passage and I think there’s a kind of a real sense of realness about it because he talks here not as if being a believer is skipping along, singing hallelujah and everything’s going great all the time. He’s presupposing that there will be among you, sometimes there’ll be people who will be sick, and there’ll be people who have fallen over and committed sins.

And he’s saying to us, we should confess our sins to one another. He’s not saying you’re going to be sinless, but I think that we need to get that really clear that, in the community of the church, that we are beggars together. Or what was it? Being a believer is one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread or something like that. We’re all broken people together, but there’s something about a bunch of broken people who do actually care for and love one another and are gracious to one another that does have that healing effect.

And like you say, not just healing of the body, but healing of the mind and the soul and of every part of our being. And we can’t do this Christian thing alone. There’s something about gathering together with the saints and walking together, carrying one another, bearing each other’s burdens. Because it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter how strong you are, the day’s going to come when you’re not going to be strong, for whatever reason.

Eventually if you live long enough, you get old and you need physical help, but every one of us faces times of tumult, times of tragedy. And it’s just part of the normal day-to-day life. But we also face facts of imperfections. And when you’re around a community of grace who picks you up and dusts you off and carries you along, that gives you the power, the capacity and the power to do the same for someone else as well.

And there’s something really extraordinary about the church. The church is ordinary on one level. I’ve been involved in a number of churches over the years. I’ve seen thousands of churches around the world, and they’re all pretty much the same. They’re just a bunch of ordinary people just getting on with their ordinary lives.

But there’s something extraordinary about what takes place in that you get people, all different backgrounds, all kinds of bizarre people get brought into the church and yet they are transformed by the gospel and by the grace of God. But it’s not just by the concepts of the grace of God, it’s by the reality of living with other people who actually experience that love and then let that love flow, flow through them to others.

And I have been massively healed, not just by individual people, but by the entire community of the church. And the church is a blessing. It’s part of God’s grace to us. And there’s something, there’s some kind of proving of us, a character building in this whole process. I really do believe that this world and the church is boot camp for the real thing that’s going to come later on. And this is our training, this is our training ground. And it just comes in the ordinary everyday things like forgiving your brother or sister when they sin against you or helping someone in need of praying for the person who’s sick, or calling to account someone who’s doing something which is bringing the word of God into disrepute, that kind of thing.

And the people who love me the most are also the people who tell me off, the people who correct me when I’m wrong, and they have the track record of caring for me in the past. And you have to listen to them, you have to hear them.

There is safety in numbers, which you just simply can’t have by yourself. So yeah, I just think this is a very practical, very human part of this letter of James. He’s not casting us as having to be cosmic saints who float around 15 centimetres off the ground. There’s something very real here, very earthy. But it’s still all of God’s goodness and grace.

Anthony: Yeah, it is very earthy. And I think of several instances where Jesus is healing someone physically, but he’s doing something rather extraordinary in that he’s restoring them to community, whether it be the woman who had 12 years of the flow of blood, who had been seen as unclean and outside of the synagogue or the leper. Part of the healing goes way beyond just the physical aspect of the sickness they endured, their disease.

But rather being restored to community. It is in community, truly, that we experience healing. And of course, it makes sense. God as Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit, the triune God, is a community. And the church, like you say, is made up of just, as I often say, it’s people that I probably wouldn’t be friends with otherwise.

But God brings us together and calls us together, and we learn to love one another. And I like what you said that that carries on it. It echoes into eternity, and these are the things we will be doing ongoing because this is the divine life.

David, you’re a beloved child of God, and I love the way that you’re working out your sonship as you actively join Jesus in relationship and ministry. So, I want to deeply thank you for being a part of this podcast.

I also want to thank our team of people who make this happen. Michelle Hartman, Reuel Enerio, and Elizabeth Mullins all provide a great service in bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ forward in this podcast. And so, I want to say thank you each and all.

David, it’s our tradition here on Gospel Reverb to end with prayer. And so, I’d like to invite you to speak words of life over us.

David: That would be my privilege to do.

Father, we thank you that you are an unvarying God, that you have given us your own son. You shared him with us, and then he has shared you with us, and he has opened our hearts to you.

Father, we pray that as we open our hearts to you, and you pour your Spirit into our hearts, that we will open our hearts to those around us in the church and in the world around us. And that we will speak words of life and live a life which challenges the world around us, in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • Why do you think friendship doubles our joys and divides our sorrows? Can you think of an example from your own life?
  • Why do you think it is sometimes hard to turn to God first with our life situations? Why is it hard sometimes to see him as a friend?
  • Have you ever witnessed the power of prayer? What makes a prayer powerful to you?