James
putting simplicity into practice
The Only Path to Greatness
November 12, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • James 5:7–12
As James nears the end of his letter, one of the last encouragements he wants to give is a call to perseverance. In a world accustomed to anger, favoritism, slander, and ambition, it’s easy to feel the pressure to give up on the practices of Jesus, the truths of Jesus, or even on the way of Jesus altogether. But James reminds us that perseverance in our relationships with others and with God will reap rewards. Everything we deeply desire, from formative friendships to a tangible hope in God, requires us to pass through suffering with endurance, not sidestep suffering with escape. When we commit to loving each other well and maintaining hope in God, we become people able to reject the lies of the world and live out the truth of the gospel.
Invisible Greed & Inevitable Pain
November 5, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • James 5:1–6
As humans, we’re all accustomed to greed. By default, we strive to hoard and live extravagantly in order to build up wealth for ourselves and our families. But according to James, this lifestyle comes at a cost. Not only do we feed our greed at the expense of the poor and oppressed, but we also bring rot to our own souls. The more we indulge, the less like Jesus we become. But the gospel frees us from this trap of greed. In Christ we have no reason to hoard, live extravagantly, or perpetuate injustice because we have true and lasting contentment that comes from living a life focused on the Kingdom in communion with God.
Sins of Slander & Sufficiency
October 29, 2023 • Caleb Martinez • James 4:11–17
After warning about the dangers of the world, flesh, and devil, James confronts us with two subtle sins that can easily pull followers of Jesus away from God and others: the sin of slander and the sin of sufficiency. Slander makes us judge and criticize others as we puff ourselves up, and sufficiency makes us prioritize our will over God’s. When we live by the way of the world, tempted to give in to our every desire by our flesh and the devil, we can’t help but give in to these subtle sins. And both of these sins reveal a lack of holistic and complete trust in God. But the good news of the gospel permeates these areas of our lives. By surrendering our deepest sins of the flesh to God, we slowly free ourselves from the need to put others down to make ourselves feel better. And by surrendering our future to God, we slowly free ourselves from the need to have more and do more in order to experience joy.
The Deceitful Schemes of the Devil
October 22, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • James 4:7–8
When most of us think of resisting the devil, we might imagine something like demonic possession, exorcism, or a dramatic and visible display of blatant evil. But the devil’s influence in the world is more subtle than that. Throughout the scriptures, Satan’s primary tactic isn’t force, it’s deception. From the beginning of time, Satan has used lies to distort God’s truth, turn people away from the way of Jesus, and live according to the world and flesh. And if we’re not aware of his tactics today, we can unknowingly give in to these lies as well. But https://biblia.com/bible/csb/james%204 promises us that the more we learn to resist the devil, the more we can find freedom through Christ from Satan’s deception.
Renouncing the World & Its Empty Promises
October 15, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • James 4:4–5
In https://biblia.com/bible/we/james%204 learn that on some level, followers of the way of Jesus are at odds with the world we live in. While we have a responsibility to love the created world, steward our lives to make it better, and love the people in it, it’s clear that the cultural air we live in is becoming more and more hostile to the way of Jesus. From sexuality and gender to justice and violence, the world normalizes rebellion against God and retaliation against man. To resist the world, followers of Jesus must choose to accept Christ’s love over the world’s promises. James 4
Gridlock of Conflict
October 8, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • James 4:1–3
We live in a culture today that encourages us to satisfy any and all of our desires as we pursue our “true selves.” The only caveat the world gives us is that our desires shouldn’t hurt other people. Otherwise, those desires are good. But what if the people we really hurt in satisfying our desires is ourselves? In https://biblia.com/bible/we/james%204 learn that not all desires are good, fulfilling, or even authentic to who we’re made to be. When the church buys into the lie that giving in to all our pleasures will bring us joy, James reminds us that this actually results in more conflict and sin. Instead, James invites us to deny our desires, stop the waging war of passions within us, and humble ourselves in confession before God. Doing this feels like self-denial, but it’s the God-designed way for us to experience true grace, healing, and satisfaction.
Hijacking God's Mission with Selfish Ambition
October 1, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • James 3
One of the greatest dangers plaguing the church today is also one of the oldest — selfish ambition. Since the church was first established, the people of God have experienced conflict, disagreement, and division, and often times these circumstances provide an opportunity for us to become bitter, envious, and boastful. But https://biblia.com/bible/csb/james%203 shows us what it looks like to endure conflict well. Rather than give in to the bitterness and envy that comes naturally to us in conflict, James instructs us to practice godly wisdom. We reject selfish ambition and instead choose to be people of peace, mercy, and good fruit.
Faith Without Works is Dead
September 24, 2023 • Caleb Martinez • James 2:14–26
Throughout the Bible we read that our salvation comes from our faith in God alone. The apostle Paul reminds us that we’re saved, declared righteous, brought near to God, and adopted into the family of God all by our faith, not by our works. It’s often people’s faith that Jesus commends, and at times, the disciples even ask God to increase their faith. All of this begs the question, what exactly is faith? In chapter 2 of his letter, James gives us an answer. Contrary to what most of us might think, faith isn’t the same as belief. According to James, just believing the right doctrines about God isn’t faith at all. Instead, faith is described throughout the Bible as whole-hearted loyalty and trust. Faith starts with our minds and beliefs but moves to our lifestyles and habits. And for James, the most important element of faith is our lives. We demonstrate the trust we have in the good news of Jesus and his Kingdom when our faith moves us to good works of love for God and for our neighbors.
Faith Without Mercy is Dead
September 17, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • James 2:1–13
It’s part of our human nature to play favorites. We often move towards, look up to, and speak highly of those who have wealth or achievements while also looking down to, ignoring, or withholding mercy from those who lack these things. Christians aren’t immune from this sin of favoritism, and it goes back to the very beginnings of the church. James likely witnessed his half-brother Jesus correcting this sin by extending mercy to the poor, the ignored, the marginalized, and the outcasts. According to Jesus, the Kingdom belongs to the least of us. As a leader of the early church, James applies the way of the Kingdom to how we treat others. By accepting the free mercy of God as a gift rather than as something we have to achieve, we can then extend that same mercy to everyone regardless of their wealth or status. But to try and earn mercy or to withhold it from others is to neglect the heart of the gospel itself.
Slower and Stronger
September 10, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • James 1:19–27
https://biblia.com/bible/csb/james%201 confronts us with a painful reality: life will be hard. We’ll be persecuted, gut-punched, and exposed as we continue practicing the way of Jesus in our everyday lives. But https://biblia.com/bible/csb/james%201 also gives us a vision for the kind of people we can be if we endure these hardships with humility and patience. The church is at its best when we’re people who speak graciously, serve selflessly, and live holy. To become this type of church, James invites us to examine how we react when people offend us, and when the Bible confronts us. When in conflict with others we often react with anger, and when exposed by the Bible we often react with apathy. But to learn to submit ourselves to God in both of these situations will allow us to mature into the kind of church God has called us to be.
Mockers to Martyrs
September 3, 2023 • Caleb Martinez • James 1:1–18
Jesus’ half-brother James is first known as a mocker to Jesus and a doubter of faith. When we first see him, he’s trying to stop Jesus’ ministry and prevent him from fulfilling his purpose. But after witnessing the resurrection of his older half-brother, James’ life is transformed. He’s called an apostle by Paul, considered a pillar of the early church, and eventually gives his life as a martyr for his faith in Jesus. The book of James is a book about transformation. It’s about how to put our faith into practice, starting with how we respond to trials. For James, the first thing we must understand as faithful followers of Jesus is how to face our trials, find wisdom, and fight temptation. James 1:1-18 CSB