3 Thoughts from Preaching through James
By: Steven Hill, Lead Pastor
April 8, 2025
It is bittersweet each time we end an expository preaching series through a book of the Bible. On one hand, I find myself eager for what the Lord has already placed on our preaching calendar next. Prayer and preparation begin months before an actual series begins so when it finally arrives excitement has already been building in my heart for several months. On the other hand, I feel a sense of loss as one series ends because I deeply enjoy the Word work each week requires, and God’s people deserve, to seek to understand how God inspired the original author of a specific book.
As we concluded James this past Sunday, I want to share with you three things the Lord reminded me of in our 14-week study.
1. Nothing reveals the true nature of our faith like trials and suffering.
James begins (1:2-4) and ends (5:7-12) with encouragement to joyfully endure seasons of suffering with patience. Christians need not seek out suffering. However, when it comes, we can see how our promise-keeping God has given us all we need to endure (1:5). In The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” How might God be getting your attention in a season of suffering?
2. Real faith in Christ produces real evidence in every area of our life.
From anger to financial generosity…from the power of our words to the way we make decisions for the future, James speaks Gospel truth to countless areas of our practical life. To ignore such advice or to relegate Jesus to a limited “faith box” that doesn’t affect other areas of our life is to fail to heed the invitation from God to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (1:22).
3. Prayer is absolutely vital to life with Christ.
In times of trials and suffering that are difficult to manage, James prescribes prayer as the vehicle by which we obtain the wisdom needed for such seasons of life (1:5-6). James ends his letter by focusing on the eternal impact our prayers and pursuit of people can have (5:13-20). I wonder if our schedules might reveal a functional disbelief in the power of prayer. What a wonderful invitation and reminder to more active and fervent prayer, one of the best ways to spend time with the God who is love!
April 8, 2025
It is bittersweet each time we end an expository preaching series through a book of the Bible. On one hand, I find myself eager for what the Lord has already placed on our preaching calendar next. Prayer and preparation begin months before an actual series begins so when it finally arrives excitement has already been building in my heart for several months. On the other hand, I feel a sense of loss as one series ends because I deeply enjoy the Word work each week requires, and God’s people deserve, to seek to understand how God inspired the original author of a specific book.
As we concluded James this past Sunday, I want to share with you three things the Lord reminded me of in our 14-week study.
1. Nothing reveals the true nature of our faith like trials and suffering.
James begins (1:2-4) and ends (5:7-12) with encouragement to joyfully endure seasons of suffering with patience. Christians need not seek out suffering. However, when it comes, we can see how our promise-keeping God has given us all we need to endure (1:5). In The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” How might God be getting your attention in a season of suffering?
2. Real faith in Christ produces real evidence in every area of our life.
From anger to financial generosity…from the power of our words to the way we make decisions for the future, James speaks Gospel truth to countless areas of our practical life. To ignore such advice or to relegate Jesus to a limited “faith box” that doesn’t affect other areas of our life is to fail to heed the invitation from God to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (1:22).
3. Prayer is absolutely vital to life with Christ.
In times of trials and suffering that are difficult to manage, James prescribes prayer as the vehicle by which we obtain the wisdom needed for such seasons of life (1:5-6). James ends his letter by focusing on the eternal impact our prayers and pursuit of people can have (5:13-20). I wonder if our schedules might reveal a functional disbelief in the power of prayer. What a wonderful invitation and reminder to more active and fervent prayer, one of the best ways to spend time with the God who is love!
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