James #1: What do I do with my FAITH?

Sunday we kicked off a 4-part series on the book of James – “A Personal Litmus Test.” We’re going to be asking four self-examination questions.
1. What do I do with my faith?
2. What do I do with my words?
3. What do I do with my money?
4. What do I do with my attitude?

James is an extremely uncomfortable book to read. James calls us to a life of faith that is far from easy. It’s a life of whole-hearted surrender and service to the One who surrendered His very life to serve us.

This week’s question was “What do I do with my faith?” We looked at four different passages in James that talk about our faith and our deeds working together.

James 1:24 – Faith + Deeds = A sign of BLESSING
James 3:13 – Faith + Deeds = A sign of WISDOM
James 4:17 – Faith + Deeds = A sign of OBEDIENCE
James 2:14-26 – Faith +Deeds = A sign of LIFE

Questions:
1. Am I simply a “hearer of the word” or am I a “doer of the word?”
2. Am I really willing to do whatever God calls me to do?
3. Is my faith just something I believe or is it something I do?
4. Is my life characterized by a pursuit of God’s glory or a pursuit of comfort?

Reminder: Between now and July 5th, I’m asking each of you to read James four times each week. We have to be in this together. If I simply preach these sermons on Sundays, this book won’t change us at all. But if we are reading together, praying together, struggling together, and challenging and encouraging each other, God can use this time to grow our faith into a faith that truly changes us, our community, and our world. Truly.

“But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He call us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.”
(Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, page 124)