Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
Acts 12:1-5 Introduction Is life fair? I suppose that depends on what we mean by ‘fair.’ When we complain that life is just not fair, what we normally mean is that we feel that it is not right that this bad thing is happening to us or someone we care about. We might say the … Read More “When Life is Not Fair” »
James 4:13-17 Introduction It was early in 2019 and I was a pastor at a church in Ontario. I had been at the church for about four years and was ready to work on a plan of where to take the church next in terms of our ministry. Thinking about the year, I realized that … Read More “The Problem With Plans” »
James 3:1-12 Introduction Have you ever said something and you have known immediately that it was the wrong thing to say? It’s almost like you can see the words leaving your mouth and you wish you could grab them and shove them back in. I have done this more times than I would like to … Read More “Taming the Tongue” »
James 2:1-10 Introduction I love the Bible in general but the letter of James in particular. I believe that all of the Bible is relevant and applicable. But I will also admit that some books and some passages need more work for us to bridge the gap between the text and our context. But when … Read More “Favouritism” »
James 1:26-27 Introduction I remember very clearly a time approximately thirty-five years ago at Brock University in Ontario, early on in my undergraduate studies, sitting around with a group of friends between classes. Somehow, the question came up about whether any of us were religious. This question surprised me because religion was not a common … Read More “True Religion” »
James 1:26-27 Introduction Someone comes up to you and asks: “Are you religious?” What do you say? Have you had someones ask you that question? What kind of thoughts went through your head? Perhaps you thought about talking about your connection to a church or your thoughts about God, but were you ready to embrace … Read More “Getting Religion” »
At my church, we have been doing an online Bible study on the letter of James. I love James as it is so practical. There are many parts of the Bible where there is a considerable leap in context from there to here. James is incredibly relevant to our current experience. I thought I would … Read More “Online Bible Study: James” »
A devotion based on James 3:9. The letter of James is one of the most practical letters in the New Testament. James, who was the half-brother of Jesus, was not interested in purely theoretical aspects of theology. While rooted in biblical theology, James spent much of his time working out the applications for the Christian. … Read More “Devotions: James” »
A message based on James 3:1-12. Introduction I love to have opportunities to preach. It is such an honour to be able to dig into the Scriptures and to build bridges between the original context and our present setting. And yet what passage am I assigned? I get to preach about the danger of the … Read More “Watch Your Tongue” »
I have really been enjoying the Biblical Theology of the New Testament series. I just had the opportunity to read A Theology of James, Peter, and Jude by Peter Davids. I was not disappointed. Although these books (with the possible exception of James) are often left out of people’s study, they are extremely interesting and … Read More “A Theology of James, Peter and Jude” »
There is a great line in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch is having a conversation with his daughter about why he has taken on the extremely unpopular defence of Tom Robinson. In explaining his stand to Scout, Atticus says: This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of … Read More “Faith Like Atticus Finch” »
Many scholars doubt that the epistles in the New Testament named after James, Jude and Peter were actually written by those individuals. There is some logic to that doubt. After all, James, Jude and Peter were all blue collar Galileans with no formal education. Yet the Greek and the rhetorical skill found in these letters … Read More “James, Jude and Peter” »
A number of years ago, I had the privilege of being able to speak at a conference in Belgium on the resurrection. One of the speakers was Gerd Ludemann.[i] Although I knew I had some different opinions than Ludemann, I was eager to learn from such a well-known scholar. Ludemann began his presentation with an … Read More “Seeing is Believing” »
James 5:13-20 Introduction Each Sunday, we have an opportunity to share our prayer requests. Very often people share requests for physical healing, either for themselves or for their sick loved ones. Have you ever thought about what we expect to happen? Is saying a prayer for a sick person, simply a show of solidarity, like … Read More “Does God Still Heal?” »
James 5:7-12 Introduction I want you to imagine the perfect life, the life of comfort and ease where everything goes according to plan and you always get your way. I want you to take that image and I want you to wake up. It is never going to happen. I am not a pessimist, I … Read More “Patience in Suffering” »
James 5:1-6 Introduction What is the purpose of life? According to one bumper sticker: “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” Look at almost every area of life and it would seem to point in that direction. Education is not just to broaden the mind or create well rounded people but to train … Read More “You Poor Rich People” »
James 4:13-17 Introduction I am a person who always likes a plan. By a plan, I don’t mean just some general hopes to one day do such and such. I like timelines and concrete goals. Having studied leadership, I know that there is wisdom in this. It is good to have a short-term plan and … Read More “You Want to Do What?” »
James 4:1-12 Introduction How to become a Muslim? Did you come to the right place? I want to reassure you that I am not preaching a form of Chrislam. Chrislam is a view that puts Christianity and Islam on the same level, seeing them as equal paths to God and suggesting that they have pretty … Read More “How to Become a Muslim” »
James 3:13-18 Introduction If you could have any of the God-given abilities of people in the Old Testament, who would you want to be like? You could be like Abraham and Sarah and be able to have children at a very old age. That does not sound good. You could be like Moses and part … Read More “So You Want to Be a Wise Guy?” »
James 2:14-26 Introduction One of the distinctives of Christianity is that we believe that salvation is by faith alone. There is no religious ritual or level of good deeds that will bring about our salvation. The thief who died on the cross hours after meeting Jesus for the first time is just as saved as … Read More “Dead Faith” »
James 2:1-13 Introduction I want you to imagine the perfect church. New people would come in and the church would be completely oblivious to their outward appearance or circumstances. I don’t mean we wouldn’t care if someone was in need. I mean there would be no judgment as to value, there would be zero partiality. … Read More “For Richer and Poorer” »
James 1:19-27 Introduction A long time ago there was a man who was very active in church. He had a great desire to live a life pleasing to God. There was only one problem. He was all too aware that he was sinful and that he was unworthy of God’s love. He tried everything, from … Read More “Hearing and Doing” »
I am preaching on this passage at my church and while I was writing my sermon, I was reflecting on the application for apologetics. “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore … Read More “James 1:19-27 and the Apologist” »
James 1:1-18 Introduction Why do bad things happen to good people? It is a question that has crossed most of our minds. We have all seen people, that from our perspective, deserve an easier life than they experience. Where is God in all of this? There are a few options. One is that God cares … Read More “Trial by Fire” »
In our house we ask our children to share by giving, they respond by redefining sharing as taking. In the same way, we see reinterpretations of Scripture that look like contradictions. Genesis 15:6 says “And he (Abraham) believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Paul cites this as evidence of justification … Read More “Righteous Reckoning: Paul vs. James on Genesis 15:6” »
