October 18, 2020 | James 1:1-18 | Maturity In Seasons Of Trial

Sermon by Phil Reinders James is an epistle of pastoral encouragement and wisdom for the everyday living out of faith. Connecting the rich Hebrew wisdom tradition and the gospel of Jesus Christ, James shows us the way to walk as we follow Jesus. While James doesn’t teach new theology, he does show how faith works, challenging followers of Jesus on how they should live. Written by the half-brother of Jesus, James is filled with lively metaphors and powerful one-line wisdom sayings, calling the church to live the wisdom of Jesus. Eugene Peterson writes: “The letter of James shows one of the church’s early pastors skillfully going about his work of confronting, diagnosing, and dealing with areas of misbelief and misbehaviour that had turned up in congregations committed to his care. Deep and living wisdom is on display here, wisdom both rare and essential. Wisdom is not primarily knowing the truth, although it certainly includes that; it is skill in living.”