Check out Peace Lutheran's Sermon page to listen to audio and subscribe to future sermons.
This little section of James is a true anomaly in his little letter. The rest of James is the epitome of a practical look at wise, Christian living. This tiny, little section is the polar opposite. There is not a single practical thing that he actually says here about wealth. Not one. What do we do with it? This sermon is a take on that. Listen in!
We often live life white knuckling it. When we’re not living life that way, we’re living life overconfidently. We really do think we know what’s going to happen tomorrow and based on what we “know” will eventually happen we act. James shoots down both approaches to life and gives us a way to approach our lives that makes us eternally confident and joyful. Listen in!
We all have an onboard belief system. We all are inherently religious even if we claim to be secular. What is that belief system? Me first. We believe that belief system so deeply that it’s raising up a little piece of hell in all of our lives. In every case it’s why we’re fighting. James calls to us in his most powerful part of his writing to turn us from that. And why? To bring heaven all the way to earth for each other just like Jesus did for us. Listen in.
The tongue has a boast to make. A great one! Though it’s small it’s the most powerful part of the body. Though it’s tiny, it can say, “I shape your destiny.” It’s just like the Proverb that James seems to be commenting on here says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” (Prov. 18:21) This is a sermon designed to meditate on that, but finally to deliver the Word of life.
It’s incredibly hard for us to understand why playing favorites with people is so damaging to us all. We struggle with that concept. We struggle further to see that valuing certain people more is even tantamount to murder. This sermon upends every valuation of the world and shows people their real and true value and by doing so bestows new value on every human soul especially yours. Listen in!
Many say we live in an age of outrage. We probably do. We can see people expressing anger everywhere. Perhaps though the epidemic runs deeper than we even think. It may be true that the anger that goes unexpressed and even unrecognized in us that ends up destroying our lives the most. James here ministers to that. He teaches us to recognize anger and melts it right down into a peaceful soul life. Listen in!