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Showing posts from September, 2022

Living a Faith that can be Seen: James 1:1-11

A PROFOUND RESPONSE TO TRIALS   The TV show, Dragnet, was an old black-and-white cop show from the golden age. I never really watched it, but I do remember the catchphrase of the main character, Joe Friday. Friday was a detective with the Los Angeles Police and was a real straight shooter. When a witness to a crime would prattle on about irrelevant details, Friday would cut to the quick with his famous line, “Just the facts ma’am.”              Some would call James the “Joe Friday” of the NT. He cuts to the chase without fluff. He’s not really interested in hearing your profession of faith. He wants to see you practice your faith. You could say that James is the least theological letter of the NT, but you could also say that it is the most practical. James wanted his readers to have  a faith that could be seen in their actions.             Who was James? There were three men named James in the NT. The James of “Peter, James, and John” fame, James the son of Alphaeus (a lesser-known ap

Rethinking the Church

RETHINKING THE CHURCH The Question Series   Jesus has given us the church as a gift. When he died and rose again, a community of people who followed his life and teaching emerged as a result. Since Jesus ascended to heaven, his people have gathered together regularly to encourage each other and to proclaim Christ to the world. It is through the church that the Holy Spirit works to accomplish God’s mission to save people from sin.             However, throughout history, the church has stumbled and failed to be the church time and time again. But God did not abandon the church; instead he raised up people to rethink how church ought to be, how it should look, how it should act. The Anabaptist movement was one such event in history where a group of twenty-somethings, young adults, filled with the Spirit, chose to rethink the church. Their obedience was radical.              In light of this, I believe it is fitting to address our last question in this series:  Why are young adults leavin