This past Sunday, Jonathan Putnam preached an outstanding message on James 5:7-11. His main point was that, though we can easily be discouraged by the details of life, focusing on Christ's return fuels faith for the believer... or, as he said it, focusing on our future enables patience in the present.
One of the main application points came from James 5:9, "Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door." Jonathan pointed out that we often grumble because we have forgotten the good news of the gospel. At his first coming, Jesus' finished work powerfully defeated sin's hold on our lives... releasing us from the fear that Jesus will come to judge us for our sins. Only then can we anticipate his second coming. How this releases us from complaining and grumbling like those without hope! We're not trying to scramble after our rights... we're not acting like we're entitled to anything good. Instead, we remember that God has shown us grace, and so our future is good in light of Jesus' upcoming arrival. As Jonathan said, "focusing on our future enables patience in the present."
Perhaps you found during the sermon that God was bringing conviction for you. You might have seen that you've been "waiting for the wrong bus" as Jonathan said. Maybe you've found yourself grumbling about your situation, blaming others. Acting as the "armchair quarterback" as Eric mentioned a few weeks ago. It's easy to put our hopes in something other than Jesus' arrival... maybe something that seemed good. If so, why not use your care groups this week as a way of confessing this wrong focus and encouraging each other as we're told in Hebrews 10:23-25... "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
In you the orphan finds mercy...
That's a reference from Hosea 14:3. After living out a picture of God's mercy to the unfaithful, Hosea instructed Israel to return to God... the God who extends mercy. The view we have of God must be informed by this portrait of his mercy: mercy to those who need both kindness and forgiveness.
I received an e-mail update from Covenant Mercies, an organization that desires to show God's character by their attempt to demonstrate God's mercy. (Led by Doug Hayes, a pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, Covenant Mercies seeks to care for the widows and orphans who are living in Uganda, Zambia, and Ethiopia. It's estimated that there will be 42 million orphans by 2010 in the sub-Saharan Africa alone.) I wanted to make you aware of this ministry. In a small way, it's one of many organizations that provide us with the opportunity to support those who are fulfilling James 1:27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction..."
What a privilege we have to partner with groups like this as pictures of our God in whom orphans like us have found mercy.
I received an e-mail update from Covenant Mercies, an organization that desires to show God's character by their attempt to demonstrate God's mercy. (Led by Doug Hayes, a pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, Covenant Mercies seeks to care for the widows and orphans who are living in Uganda, Zambia, and Ethiopia. It's estimated that there will be 42 million orphans by 2010 in the sub-Saharan Africa alone.) I wanted to make you aware of this ministry. In a small way, it's one of many organizations that provide us with the opportunity to support those who are fulfilling James 1:27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction..."
What a privilege we have to partner with groups like this as pictures of our God in whom orphans like us have found mercy.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Applying the gospel in community
I've heard blogging described with the phrase: "Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few." In light of this truth, we don't simply want to add our voice to the chaos. Instead, the main aim of these entries will be to help us live out James 1:22-25 "...be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."
It's easy to think that listening to a sermon or participating in a discussion is life-changing. That's a deceptive train of thought. The blessing of change comes through the faith required for application, so we must be committed to applying the truth of the gospel to the details of life. Living out the good news that we're set free from sin requires us to trust God. We trust Him that His Word is true, trust Him that His plan is perfect, trust Him that His grace is sufficient... and we look to the Cross, where we see all this most clearly. So each week, these blog posts will be geared around a follow-up to our Sunday meeting... and from time to time, we'll try to apply other messages as well.
Let's get started: On Sunday we looked at James 5:1-6, where we saw that the way we view wealth reveals the way we view God. Hoarding our treasure and indulging ourselves only reveals that we don't think God's glory is worth enjoying or that His kingdom is worth investing in. But living with the view that God is greater than the treasure of this world and that God will rightly deal with the injustice of life frees me. In particular, it frees me from wanting to be rich in the world and frees me for the desire to be rich towards God. In light of that, I'm planning on accompanying the Liberatores on their next trip to hand out clothing to those in need. What's one thing you plan on doing to keep pursuing a life of investment in God's kingdom?
It's easy to think that listening to a sermon or participating in a discussion is life-changing. That's a deceptive train of thought. The blessing of change comes through the faith required for application, so we must be committed to applying the truth of the gospel to the details of life. Living out the good news that we're set free from sin requires us to trust God. We trust Him that His Word is true, trust Him that His plan is perfect, trust Him that His grace is sufficient... and we look to the Cross, where we see all this most clearly. So each week, these blog posts will be geared around a follow-up to our Sunday meeting... and from time to time, we'll try to apply other messages as well.
Let's get started: On Sunday we looked at James 5:1-6, where we saw that the way we view wealth reveals the way we view God. Hoarding our treasure and indulging ourselves only reveals that we don't think God's glory is worth enjoying or that His kingdom is worth investing in. But living with the view that God is greater than the treasure of this world and that God will rightly deal with the injustice of life frees me. In particular, it frees me from wanting to be rich in the world and frees me for the desire to be rich towards God. In light of that, I'm planning on accompanying the Liberatores on their next trip to hand out clothing to those in need. What's one thing you plan on doing to keep pursuing a life of investment in God's kingdom?
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