James: Our Faith in Action

A Servant of Jesus

January 31, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen

In this introductory message to the book of James, Pastor Jeremy explores the theme of servanthood and what it means to be a servant of Jesus.

How to Face Trials

February 7, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:2–4

Trials are an inevitable part of life in a fallen world. Naturally, we ask ourselves, how do I avoid the trial, remove the trial, or get out of the trial. But what if there was a better question that we should be asking—how should I face the trial? In this message, James teaches us how to face the various trials of life and to do so with joy.

How to Gain Wisdom

February 14, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:5–8

What do we need to face trials with joy? We need wisdom. But wisdom is much more than knowing a bunch of facts and information. In this message, we continue our study of James and learn how to gain the wisdom we need to appropriately navigate the trials and complexities of life.

Applying Gospel Wisdom

February 21, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:9–11

What does it look like to apply the wisdom of God to our changing circumstances? In this message, James offers us two basic case studies on how to apply the wisdom of the gospel to our everyday lives.”

Blessed with the Crown of Life

February 28, 2021 • Pastor Kevin Baird • James 1:12

James revisits the theme of how we face trials in James 1:12. Doesn’t that seem appropriate in our experience? We continue to face trials of “various kinds”, so we probably need to think about it more. In this short passage, we are taught that going through trials is a true struggle, but not without purpose and even blessing. How can this be and how do we know it to be true?

Understanding Temptation

March 7, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:13–15

Temptation is common to all of us. Because of our fallen humanity, each of us experience temptations from within and temptations from without. And understanding the deceptive dynamics of temptation is part of growing in spiritual maturity. In this message, we continue our study of James and learn some key truths about how temptation works.

Overcoming Temptation

March 14, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:13–18

Temptation is a deceptive trap that is difficult to overcome, but it can be overcome! Through the mind-renewing truth of God’s Word and the new I AM power that resides in each believer, we can learn to overcome the power of temptation. In this message we discover some key principles in the fight against temptation.

What God Wants

March 21, 2021 • Dr. Sean McDonough • James 1:18

All too often, Christians imagine that the book of James is just an endless series of do’s and don’ts. In this message we will take a deep dive into James 1:18 and see that James’ emphasis on obedience flows from an even greater emphasis on the transforming grace and love of the good and giving God.

Receiving the Word of Love

April 11, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:19–21

In this message we turn our attention to the subject of God’s Word. Just as James taught us how to appropriately approach the trials of life, now he’ll teach us how to appropriately approach the Word of life. How do we make the most of our engagement with God’s Word? How do we approach the Bible in a way that transforms our lives?

Receiving the Word of Power

April 18, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:21

In this message we will be looking at James 1:21 in more depth. We’ll be considering the second key attitude in approaching God’s Word—expectancy. Are we coming to the Bible with a spirit of expectancy? And if so, what are we expecting it to do? What should we expect? Listen as we rediscover the power of God’s Word in our lives.

Hearers and Doers

April 25, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:22–25

How can you tell if you’re personally receiving the Word or not? In this message we’ll be continuing our study of James and looking at James 1:22-25. We’ll be considering the most fundamental test of Word reception—our actions. Who are we? Are we hearers who forget? Or hearers who act? Listen as we learn about the importance and blessing of putting God’s Word into practice.

When Your Religion Becomes Real

May 2, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 1:26–27

What does it practically look like to be a doer of the word? How do we break free of just “going through the motions” of religion and start living a life that's on fire for Christ? In other words, what does it look like when your religion becomes real? In this message we continue our study in James and discover the three keys areas of life where Jesus always brings about a profound change.

Building a Healthy Community

May 9, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 2:1–7

As we live in the world but not of the world, what are some of the unhealthy cultural norms that we need to be careful to avoid? Partiality hits the top of James’ list. In this message we learn what it looks like to build a healthy community by avoiding the pitfall of favoritism and partiality.

Judgement and Mercy

May 16, 2021 • Dr. Sean McDonough • James 2:8–13

In this message we explore the challenging question of the relationship between judgment and mercy. In a confrontation between the two, who wins? James 2:8-13 will give us some surprising answers.

The Problem Plaguing the Church

May 23, 2021 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • James 2:14–26

In this message we will be considering one of the problems that is plaguing the church today: empty professions of faith—individuals claiming to believe in Jesus but denying that claim by their lives. As someone put it, “This is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” So, what does genuine saving faith look like? How can we tell if we have saving faith in Jesus or not? What’s the proper relationship between our faith and our works?

The First Congregational Church of Hamilton

If the Gospel is True How Should We Live?