From the Pulpit
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
Last week we saw an example of dead faith. This week we’re going to look at an example of living faith. And it’s related to motherhood. It’s a story about infertility.
You see Mother’s Day can be a very difficult day for women who have tried and wished and prayed to God to be mothers.
And if ever gone through that struggle, you can probably identify with the fears and doubts of Abraham and Sarah.
Trans: And yet interestingly James is going to use Abraham as an example of living faith that surrenders.
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
You see some of you are wondering, “Why is he talking about work again? It’s almost the beginning of summer. I’m sick of homework, seat work, school work. All I can think about is my summer vacation. How many of you kids can’t wait for school to be out? How many of you parents can wait?
Even though vacation and Sabbath are good. They are the exception, work is the rule. God is a worker. We are made to work.
God is a worker. We are made to work.
Work is not a curse from God. It is the gift of God.
When God created Paradise, he gave man a job.
You see paradise is not a vacation. Paradise is a vocation.
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
Is it possible to know the truth about Jesus Christ, to understand who He was and what He did, and yet not have a genuine faith in Him, just a head knowledge? Is it possible to go through some motions—bow your head, pray a prayer, walk an aisle or some other rituals, but never exercise real faith?
James was writing to converted Jews who knew a lot about ceremonies and rituals and going through the motions. They were good church people. And yet as a pastor, he was concerned that their faith was dead.
And so to make his point, he introduces a shocking comparison. Worse than comparing them to ducks, he compares them to demons.
James shows us the insufficiency of dead faith through the case study of demons.
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
Many years ago when the church sent our family to Disney World, I remember being overwhelmed by the Magic Kingdom. The parking lot that can hold 75,000 vehicles. The Disney characters walking down the streets. Space Mountain. But one of my favorite things was the animatronics. Back then it was country bears and the Hall of Presidents. Today they have Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Caribbean and many more.
And what was so amazing to me is how life-like these figures were. They could stand up and sit down. They could move and talk like real people. It was an amazing feat of engineering back then. People who look and act real—but they aren’t. They’re just machines with wires and hydraulics—simply programmed to do things.
They have the appearance of reality on the outside, but are really just imitations on the inside. What we’re going to see in the next few verses is that James says many professing Christians are like this. They have a form of godliness on the outside, but nothing on the inside. They claim to have faith. But their faith isn’t real. They’re not real Christians.
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
I wonder how many of you have worked at some kind of service job, where you were serving others? Customer service, waiting tables, servicing equipment, something in the service industry. How did people treat you?
I think the show Undercover Boss reminds us how prejudiced we are—how easily we show favoritism. Makes you think, “How would I treat the exact same person if he was wearing different clothes, a different uniform or introduced with a different title? Would I treat him with the same respect if I knew he was the CEO of my company, not just a line worker?”
We’re so easily impressed with rank and status.
We’ve seen in James 2, that prejudice is wrong because it usurps God’s glory and opposes God.
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
Jack was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother single-handedly raised Jack and her 4 other children.
They encountered prejudice as the only black family on their block, but it only strengthened their resolve.
#42 Jackie Robinson experienced prejudice throughout his baseball career—becoming the first player to break the Major League color barrier that segregated the sport for over 50 years.
Unfortunately prejudice is something people, even Christians, still struggle with today.
We saw last time prejudice usurps the glory of God. Because who is the glory of God? Jesus Christ. And Jesus was not a respecter of persons.
He didn’t discriminate based on age, race, gender or social status. In fact he intentionally broke down those barriers.
Not only does prejudice usurp God’s glory. Now James shows us that prejudice opposes God.
Monday, April 8th, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
Easter, like all American holidays, quickly turns into a way for merchandisers to make money. And there’s nothing wrong with having some jelly beans, marshmallow peeps, chocolate bunnies or Cadbury eggs. But that’s not what Easter is about.
A Sunday School teacher asked her class to write in 1 sentence “What Easter Means to Me.” One student wrote: “Egg salad sandwiches for the next two weeks!”
But Easter is about much more than eggs or chocolate. It’s about resurrection. It’s about new life. But first, it’s about death.
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
Pastor Josh preached this message on March 23, 2013. The message is the eighth sermon in his ongoing series from the book of James entitled, “Real Faith Works.”
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
Pastor Josh preached this message on Sunday, March 17, 2013 during the morning service. The message is part of his ongoing series from the book of James entitled, “Real Faith Works.”
Monday, February 25th, 2013 by Pastor Josh Crockett
In 1988, Nike began using the slogan, “Just Do It” inviting sports enthusiasts everywhere to get off the couch and get into the game. Nike wants you to get serious about your sport—running, jumping, cycling, swimming, diving, tackling or whatever it was. If they are going to sell apparel and shoes, they need you to do more than just talk about it or watch it on TV, they want you to—just do it.
James has a similar message for Christians. It’s great to receive the Word, to listen and read and memorize and even be convicted by the Word. But it’s not enough to be a mere listener, a “hearer only,” you have to be a doer of the Word.
