Intro to James 1:19

Intro:

Hey TRC Family,

So excited you’re with us this morning. As you might know, this week is Man Camp (our annual Men’s Retreat). Right now, I’m with over 30 men from our church (and 200 other men from all over New England) at Camp Berea, worshiping Jesus for the weekend. It’s one of my most favorite times of the year.

That being said, if you were with us last week, you know we just started a brand-new sermon series that will take us through the rest of 2024. We started the Book of James!

James is a short, but powerful book written by the half-brother of Jesus. He was a man highly respected in the early church. When James spoke, people listened. And James spoke many things that encouraged the church in their faith, but he also challenged them!

You see, for James, he fully understood what it meant to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. What the cross did for him and all others who turned from their sin and put their faith in Jesus. He knew that when that happens, we are truly transformed.

Or, as his friend Paul put it…

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Christians, we are brand new in Jesus!

…but James is also very New-England-ish. He’s direct. He can be in your face. Not because he’s a jerk, but because he cares and he takes following Jesus seriously. And the sense of James’s letter is this:

James is writing to a transformed people that needs to start living that way. No more messing around. Time to go all-in. If Jesus changed us, then it’s time to live that way.

James is also simple. Because… honestly, God is simple. We know this because Jesus was once asked to sum up everything important in life, and He said this…

Matthew 22:37–38 ESV

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.

Simple. And James is all-in with that. And this letter is a strong encouragement to SIMPLY DO WHAT IS RIGHT. That whatever you do, make sure it is an expression of loving God and loving people.

And today, we continue in our verse-by-verse journey through James, picking up in chapter 1, verse 19. However, we’re gonna do something a little different today…

I’ve asked our RiverKids Director, Jackie Owens to help… for a couple reasons:

Jackie has been part of the team helping me prepare the sermons each week. Her insights and heart have been very helpful in shaping my sermons. I think they will be a blessing to you…

Here at The River Church, we prioritize discipleship. And one of the ways we do that is through our River Kids ministry. However, it’s not our kid’s ministry’s job to disciple your children. God has called you to do that. You’re the Batman, we’re the Robin. And today is an opportunity for you to not only personally learn from James, but be equipped as parents to teach your children how to learn from him too. I’ve asked Jackie to share with us in a way that will allow our church to go home and discuss the Scriptures in a way that the entire family can grow at home.

Jackie is also gifted at thinking about things no one else is thinking about, and loving people that no one else might be considering. She’s been helping our church grow in this area. And James speaks to this priority too. So, it’s fitting for Jackie to help us with this.

Finally, I’m not available (obviously). So, instead of watching a video, I asked her to share in my place…

So, Jackie, would you come help us learn and apply what the Holy Spirit is speaking through James’s words this morning?