Sermon Audio: Gospel Meets Life- Authenticity

Good morning church! Believe it or not, one of my favorite group games to play in college was called “mafia.” (Don’t worry – it was completely innocent.) In the game, each person is secretly assigned a role to play – townsperson, mafia, policeman, or doctor. With each round, the mafia has opportunity to quietly choose people to remove from the game while the townspeople try to eliminate the threat by guessing who the mafia really is. If the mafia is good at acting, it can be a fascinating (and frustrating) game as they become indistinguishable from the innocent townspeople. To get what they want, they must act as someone they are not. In life, we can sometimes feel the same way. It can seem that living in pretense has its advantages, particularly in its effect on how others view us or what we like to think of ourselves. This is especially true in the area of spirituality and our relationship with Christ. And, this is especially dangerous. Today, we continue our series “Gospel Meets Life” and study of James. True Christians are not pretenders; the grace of Jesus has truly changed our hearts and lives. In the end, only true faith overflowing into righteous living will count for anything. As we will see today, the gospel brings authenticity. Glad you’re here!