James
January 8, 2017 - February 26, 2017
What Tomorrow May Bring
February 19, 2017 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Not a job, not a home, not a person, not a breath is guaranteed. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Not I. I know only that I will need him every hour, more than ever. That is the dying of pride, and, what do you know, it feels wonderful! To need him without hesitancy, without pride, is joy sweet and deep. The things that can be shaken have been shaken. But what cannot be shaken remains. Oh draw near to God today. Bring him your wounds. Bring him your losses. Bring him your need. Bring him your feelings of having a wave knock your feet out from under you. Bring him the sense of being lost on the trail. Bring him all of it. Call for him to put you on the rock that is higher and stronger than you are. Draw near to God that he might draw near to you. James 4: 7-8, 13-`7
Wisdom from Above
February 12, 2017 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
Hysterical. Fearful. Anxious. Does the current atmosphere in our country leave you feeling any of these things? James 3 and 4 tell us that the peace, confidence and faith that allows us to remain steady comes from above (James 3 and 4). And remember, "The LORD is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27)
Taming the Tongue
February 5, 2017 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
Why did I say that? No human being can tame the tongue, says James (1: 8). Don’t we know the truth of that? James tells us nobody can do it perfectly. And simply biting our tongues will not really change us in the heart. We need to understand more deeply how speech relates to our God. We human beings are made in the image of God and speech is unique to us among earth’s created order. So we can better understand our God when we see why our speech connects so deeply to him.
Show Me Your Faith
January 29, 2017 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
Faith without works is no faith. Not because we have to work to gain God's favor. But because real faith issues in loving action. Living Christian faith is not just signing onto a creed written on a piece of paper. It's not making a transaction with the Lord where I say "I believe in you so you give me eternal life."
Growing Our Ears
January 22, 2017 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
Lord, make me slow to speak and slow to anger. James 1: 19 Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires. This is hard work for many of us. Listening requires a great discipline of focus. It can feel to us like a waste of time, when in fact we are pouring forth a great deal of creative, loving energy.
Falling Into Joy
January 8, 2017 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
Testing and suffering produce perseverance in our lives, especially when we see that our circumstances come to us from the hand of a God who loves us and is using all things in our lives to make us whole and complete in him. There is joy in suffering if we can see Christ with us and leading us in the midst of it. But don’t stop with yourself. There is a world of aching hearts right in your midst. To whom are you called to bring joy and hope this week?