No one likes going through hardship. In fact, hardships often surprise us when they occur, like, “where did this come from?” Because we live in a first world society, we don’t wrestle with how to acquire our daily necessities. We wake up, turn on the water to make our morning coffee, or just run down to the local Starbucks. We live generally easy lives where the brokenness of our world is mitigated by wealth and conveniences. For many Americans, the biggest trial of the week is poor Wi-Fi. 

Then we’re suddenly faced with a bill or repair that we didn’t anticipate in our budget, a negative health diagnosis, or an unexpected loss. Now our attention is focused and our thoughts, somewhat confused. How could this happen? Why is this happening to me? What does this mean? 

In out text, James challenges our response to trials or hardships and tells us how to interpret these moments with the God who is present and committed to us. Join us Sunday as we seek Wisdom from Above.

If wisdom from Above (God) is marked by humility, how would you expect James to open his letter? Remember, James (Jacobus) had lots of advantages, the primary one being he is Jesus’ brother (Galatians 1:19). In addition, he was known as a pillar of the church (Galatians 2:9), and when he talked, it settled disputes (Acts 15:13-22). You might expect him to lead with these facts. He doesn’t! He’s a slave, a servant of God and the One that God made Lord, his brother, Jesus Christ.

Join us Sunday as we consider the humility of wisdom from God and how it affects how we think about ourselves. Let’s worship the One that God made Lord over the church.

James is a favorite letter for many believers. According to one author, it’s a punch in the gut that confronts our thinking and actions head on. I remember when James 1:20 confronted me. It says, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. The Holy Spirit confronted my anger with my children at home. I could give some intensity, express some anger, and get my kids to shape up quickly. My anger was productive. It accomplished what I wanted it to. But it didn’t accomplish the righteousness of God. It was destructive and sinful. As God led me to repentance, my children and my relationship with them grew closer, and God was glorified.

James is like this. It confronts the deception of our thinking and beliefs. The beauty of this wisdom from God is that it is a manifestation of the character of Christ and grows righteousness in our lives. Join us Sunday as we worship Him and grow in His grace.

This Bible project video on James is helpful.

Have you ever tried to teach someone something that they weren’t really interested in learning? I once had someone helping me build a fence. I was leaving them in charge of finishing a section of the project. So I showed him how to do it, and how to make sure that the fence was straight, or plumb. The entire time, he was checking his phone, "Yeah, yeah—I’ve got it,” he said. I came back the next day and nothing was plumb, so the tear-off began. 

The text, Hosea 14:9, functions like a proverb, saying, Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. The first part urges Hosea’s readers to pay attention and learn from the text. The second part reminds us that God’s ways, while not always fully understood, are right. The last part gives the application and warning. Do we understand the lessons of Hosea? Are we paying attention? Are we submitting ourselves to the Lord? 

Join us as we humble ourselves before the Lord, worshipping Him for His upright character, and petitioning Him for submissive hearts.

Many of us have read Tim Keller’s book, Prodigal God. His book examines the story of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15. While the main emphasis of the story is the failure of the elder brother, directed at the self-righteous religious leaders, Keller wants us to marvel together at the patient, loving, generous Father. In the story, notice that the father acquiesced to his son’s demands and insults. The father bore his son’s damage to his reputation. The father gave generously to his son, knowing it would be wasted. Yet, the father looked every day, longing for his son’s return. When his prodigal son finally did return, he blessed him, restoring to him the privileges of being his son. The father celebrated the return of the son, without resentment for the evil the son committed against him. Look at the father in the story and see your Heavenly Father.

Our text highlights that glory. After all that Israel has done against God, He anticipates a day when Israel will repent, and He will love them freely. No matter where we are spiritually today, we can always return home to God. When we return, we find that He has been with us, even in our rebellion, and longing for us to return, even working for our repentance. As we gather this Sunday, let’s rejoice in the overflowing mercy of God through Jesus Christ.

In Rome, Vatican City, rests Saint Peter’s Basilica. It’s a magnificent building with its arms wrapping the courtyard to embrace worshippers. As you enter this temple, you are greeted by multiple former popes, encased in coffins, some made of glass, and worshippers praying before their corpses, asking them to secure God’s favor. On your way to the altar there is a beautiful bronze statue of Saint Peter with a line of worshippers waiting to touch and kiss the foot of the statue. So many petitioners have rubbed or kissed the statue’s foot, it has rubbed down, removing much of its definition. It’s fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. It illustrates something in our text, those who worship idols become “calf kissers.” While this tendency is part of the reason that the Reformers argued against icons in the church or images of the Triune God (also something forbidden in the second commandment), it reveals something about our hearts. We can look as beautiful as the Vatican on the outside and be filled with corrupting corpses and idols in our hearts. Join us Sunday as we ask the Spirit to reveal our idolatry and draw us to worship the Living God.

Like father, like son. You’ve heard the phrase and probably used it in your home. “You are so much like your mother,” or “You got that from your father.” My daughter has a sarcasm that she learned from me. Sarcasm is my love language, which, for the record, I’m not always proud of this.

In our text, God gives us a history of Jacob, the deceiver. That’s literally what his name means, supplanter. He was born clinging to the heal of his brother, Esau. His life was marked by deception, manipulation, and lies. Then one day, he wrestled with the Lord. Even though he was losing, he wouldn’t give up, pleading with God to bless him. In those raw moments, the Lord blessed him, renaming him Israel, which means one who struggles with God.  God does more for Jacob than just change his name, He changes his character. We see that change almost immediately as he approaches his brother Esau and generously blesses him.

The problem is that the people of God, descendants of Jacob, have remained deceivers, liars. They haven’t experienced the grace of God, and their character hasn’t changed. They are like their father, before his encounter with God. Join us Sunday as we worship the One who is like our Heavenly Father and can make us like Himself.

Sunday, I mentioned how God used Isaiah 1:2 in my life. God mourns that He has raised children and they have rejected Him. While I’m thankful that God knows what it’s like to have children rebel and follow their own counsel, the real lesson for me was that I’m that child. As good as I tell myself that I am, I’m still a rebel at heart, and any growth and fruit of righteousness in my life is the fruit of His grace. In those tender moments before God, my heart shifted from anger and judgment toward my child, to one of humility and grace. As I repented of my self-righteousness, I was able to extend the grace of God to my child as a fellow recipient of God’s mercy.

As we work through Hosea 11, we’ll learn more about God’s mercy and find hope in His righteousness. Join us as we worship the One who offers us mercy and grace in our time of need. See you Sunday!

How would you define the ideal soldier? Is it his courage? His loyalty? His obedience to orders? I’m reading Ghost Soldiers, the story of the 1945 raid on a Philippine POW camp where 514 American soldiers were liberated by the Army 6th Ranger Battalion. It’s a daring rescue by very courageous men who knew they may never come home. But does that make them the ideal soldier? What about Corporal Desmond Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist who entered WW2 with the conviction he would not carry a weapon. Yet, in one battle, without a weapon, he rescued seventy-five soldiers pinned down by the Japanese army in Okinawa. He crawled toward the wounded, under direct fire, and dragged them back to the 400ft cliff, lowering them down to safety. Because of his dedication to his fellow soldier, his selfless courage and deep conviction, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

Whatever makes one the ideal soldier, we know what would make a person the ideal child of God: righteousness! As we have worked through Hosea, it’s become obvious that the people of God have fallen short of that ideal. But in our text this week, Hosea 11, we have hope in the One who would come and be a faithful Son, a model member of God’s family, the true vine that would produce righteous fruit. Join us Sunday as we worship Jesus, the True Son!

Have you ever made promises to God? “God if you get me out of this jam, I’ll go to church every Sunday?” Or maybe, “God if you bless me financially, I’ll give more to the church.” Or, “If you give me a good grade on this test, I’ll study harder next time.” These are manipulative prayers that in truth we don’t have the power to fulfill. I’ve knelt at many an altar, confessing sin, surrendering myself to Christ, making promises that I want to fulfill, but remained powerless apart from gospel grace. Living righteous lives isn’t something that we can produce by will, discipline or grit. We need the powerful Spirit to bear the fruit of righteousness in us as we seek the Lord. We need His transforming grace as we repent of sin and move by faith into gospel driven obedience. 

In our text God’s people were deceived by their own hearts. Their confidence in themselves twisted their hearts, blinding them to their evil, which led to severe discipline from God. While we are not under the Mosaic national covenant, we are much like Israel. God does not and has not changed. What He demands, He supplies, grace upon grace in Christ. Join us as we worship Him.