Hello, Saints!
Please pray for Pastor Joshua who is preaching at the Impact Conference this weekend. (You can explore the conference website, and I’m sure Pastor Joshua would love to share with you about his experience there!) Joshua will also be preaching Sunday morning at the church hosting the conference.
This Sunday we’ll take a week off from Pastor Joshua’s series on how the Old Testament prepares us for Jesus and return to the book of James.
One of James’ big concerns was that the church’s evaluation of their spiritual lives did not match up with their actions and words. Many were hearing God’s Word but not doing it (James 1:19-27). They were upholding some parts of God’s law but not his commands to love their neighbors, especially those who were poor (James 2:1-13). They confessed faith but were in danger of lacking works (James 2:14-26). They needed to listen to what their words revealed about their hearts (James 3:1-12).
In the next section, James asks his readers whether they viewed themselves as wise and understanding. He expected many to answer “Yes!” But if you read further into Chapter 4, you’ll see that James was concerned that they were not.
This week in James 3:13-18, we’re going to explore how James describes the wisdom that is from above, so that we can discern whether we are wise and understanding. I think we’ll both be encouraged by what Christ is doing in our lives and exhorted to pursue wisdom from above! This wisdom is beautiful, and when it characterizes our lives, we’re going to have the opportunity to point to Jesus, the only one who empowers us to live this way.
And, just in case your kids are wondering, they can still get candy, even if Pastor Joshua is gone! Tomorrow’s word to listen for is wisdom. If they listen well, they can bring either their word count or their sermon notes to my wife, Melissa, for a treat.
In Christ,
Isaiah