Saying yes and no

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. –James 5:12 This past Sunday, a man came up to me after the service and asked...

Distracted to our own demise

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.” James 5:7 This past Sunday, we looked at James 5-7-11, which exhorts believers to live with patient endurance. I began by noting how almost everything in our culture is working against us being patient:...

Who are you embarrassed by?

“Show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1) I recently witnessed an online conversation about COVID-19 vaccines, regarding a doctor who was advocating for the vaccines. One individual, who claims to be a...

Disruptive church

I’m currently reading a book called Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age, by Alan Noble. It suggests that our “distracted age” of ever-present social media, news, sports, streaming shows, etc., keeps us from reflecting on the deeper realities and...

God gives a “messenger of Satan”?

This past week, I preached from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, the passage about Paul’s thorn in the flesh. We focused on the role of weakness and difficulty in the Christian life, and God’s will to draw us into deeper dependence and contentment in him. As usual, there is a...