Category Archives: church
authenticity: mutual appreciation
1 John 2:7-17. Real Christians rejoice in the differences they have with others. There is no competition among the children, the young men, and the fathers. There is mutual appreciation and love among the brothers and sisters. LORD, help us … Continue reading
authenticity: obedience and confession
1 John 1:1-2:6. John had lived and served Jesus for a good long time. His concern for the churches under his charge was that they had been infiltrated by people whose faith was pretense. He wanted to remind his readers … Continue reading
Posted in church, confession, discipleship, faith, genuineness
Tagged 1 John 1, 1 John 2
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after faith: body life
James 5:13-20. James shows that faith in Christ is more than a personal conviction. It leads to body life. Genuine faith in a community means that the whole body of believers: prays for one another (14). confesses to one another … Continue reading
Posted in church, confession, discipleship, genuineness, giving, prayer, reconciliation
Tagged James 5
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after faith: no rat race
James 4:11-5:12. James is warning his churches not to try to get ahead in the rat race by… speaking evil against one another (4:11). boasting in arrogance (4:16). laying up treasure by defrauding their workers (5:1-6). swearing falsely for gain … Continue reading
Posted in church, commitment, dependence upon God, faithfulness, humility, suffering, will of God
Tagged James 4, James 5
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after faith: humble yourselves
James 4:1-10. The same apostle who advised us to count it all joy when we face trials now tells us to “be wretched and mourn and weep” – to humblle ourselves “before the Lord and he will exalt” us. Remember … Continue reading
Posted in church, commitment, discipleship, humility, submission, will of God
Tagged James 4
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after faith: no wisdom wars
James 3:13-18. James had warned the churches not to produce too many teachers. It seems that the churches were in danger of wisdom wars – where teachers would compete with each other for the loyalty of the other believers. James … Continue reading
Posted in church, conflict, discipleship, divisions, faith, gentleness, genuineness, kindness
Tagged James 3
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after faith: a disciplined tongue
James 3:1-12. James had encouraged the churches to prove their faith by their works. Many people were ambitious and wanted to be teachers like James. He warned them that with such authority came much responsibility. The tongue could do much … Continue reading
after faith: proof
James 2:14-26. After faith comes into a person’s life, there will always be things that the person does that demonstrate the validity of that faith. These works could never be the basis of that person’s salvation, but they can prove … Continue reading
Posted in church, discipleship, faith, faithfulness, genuineness, grace, works
Tagged James 2
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after faith: impartiality
James 2:1-13. James continues to show what it is supposed to look like after faith in Christ has come into a person’s life. One of the differences is that believers see each other differently. They do not judge by … Continue reading
evangelism: celebrating the team
Romans 16. Lest we get the mistaken assumption that Paul was single-handedly bringing the Gentile world to Christ, he includes the names of over 30 of his co-workers in this chapter. This serves as a reminder that the work of … Continue reading
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