James Part 2
Reconstructing Christianity
James Week 11
June 4, 2023 • Bruce Miller
All at once prayer seems to be the easiest and most difficult spiritual practice. It’s simply talking to God. And yet, we have questions. Does prayer work? Does it make a difference whether you pray or not? Do you have to pray in Jesus’ name? Does the level of your faith matter? In other words, if you believe stronger is your prayer more likely to be answered the way you hope? Does your level of righteousness impact your prayers? If you live a righteous, good life, does that make your prayers more effective?
James Week 9
May 7, 2023 • Bruce Miller
How many pairs of shoes do you own? How many cars? How new are they? How much stuff do you buy that you don’t need or use? Most Americans vastly underestimate how rich they are. Compared to the rest of the world, we are wealthy. You are wealthy. I realize a few of you are living in poverty with very limited incomes, but most of you are living on more than $100,000 per year, and some on far more than that.
James: Week 8
April 30, 2023 • Bruce Miller
Why can’t we get along in our churches? Christians attack each other over minor differences of opinion. Why can’t we get along in our country? People on opposite sides of an issue vilify each other. Protests get physically violent. Why can’t we get along in our world? There has not been one year in the last 100 years without war.
James: Week 7
April 23, 2023 • Jon Ewton
This week James talks about wisdom. This might seem like a significant shift, but it isn’t. Think about how many Proverbs talk about the words that come from our mouths. If you think about wise people, you will know they are wise by how they live and speak. There is a vast difference between the way a wise person uses words and a foolish person.
James: Week 6
April 16, 2023 • Bruce Miller
In the book of James, God reveals one of the most difficult beasts to tame. Our tongue. Our tongues are dangerous and powerful. James counters the common false saying, “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Words often hurt worse than sticks and stones, and the wounds last longer.