Do you ever wish you were farther along in your life than you are right now? It’s always harder and costs more than we think to reach our intended destination, but the pain is worth the payoff.
I love the New Testament book of James because it is super practical and always relevant to the real issues that we face in our day. The book of James was written by none-other-than James, Jesus’ brother. Which is in itself pretty remarkable. How hard do you think it would be to grow up with an actual perfect sibling. You just thought your parents had a favorite child, but in the case of Jesus, it would be hard not to favor Him over the other kids. So, it’s not surprising that Jesus’ brothers and sisters weren’t easily ready to follow Jesus during his earthly ministry. But, after He rose from the dead, they were convinced that Jesus is who He says He is. That adds all the more credibility to the book of James.
Because of its heavy emphasis on doing what God says to do, it has been a controversial book throughout history. That’s not surprising because God’s word is always harder to live out than it is to just hear. At its heart, James is all about what it means to be a fully-devoted follower of Jesus. That’s God’s goal for everyone who is part of His family. He wants us to be complete and mature. This involves our attitudes and our actions. It’s about loving God and loving people.
We’re starting a brand new study at The Connection Church through the Book of James that we’re calling Stay Humble/Hustle Hard, two big ideas drawn from this book. We need to hustle hard because growth takes effort. And in the process, we need to stay humble, understanding that God is the one who enables and empowers us to grow to be more like Jesus.
In this message series, each week, we’ll focus in on a specific way we can grow up in our faith and take steps to go to new levels in our lives. The issues we’re looking forward tackling over the next seven weeks are topics like: how to grow through the problems I’m facing; the balance of faith and actions; controlling my mouth (and my social media posts and comments); why I shouldn’t judge people; how do I manage my money; having patience; and the power of prayer.
As usual, we’re going to present these messages creatively and clearly, so everyone will walk away with exactly what they need to be propelled ahead in their connection with Jesus and others. You can be sure that this is going to be one of those “don’t miss” teaching series you will want to be a part of. I can’t wait to see you there! Sundays at 9am, 10:30am and Noon.