Sermon Reflections from The Bible is For Life | Alex Hardt | May 28, 2023 
 
Pastor Alex chose as the text for the message James 1:19-27.  This is a practical and direct portion of scripture that links the Word of God, Faith and actual living of life.  They interact with each other as we allow the truth of God’s Word to lead our faith in Jesus and provide us guidelines for day to day living.  James does not pull any punches but lays it out for us clearly so we can see the connection and seek to live by God’s Word.

God’s Word is for deep diving.  One can choose to live on the surface but learning to dive deeply into God’s Word leads to us being able to listen, meditate, memorize and study it with intentionality.  Why be intentional?  God want to affect change in our lives.  He wants us to be able to cope and rise above the sin of this world.  He wants us to belong to Him and know what is right and wrong by His standards.  To have the Word affect us, we need to sit down and listen to God.  That means spending time in the Word and with the Word and as Pastor Alex brought up we need to be in community as a person of God.  As the Word impacts us, we are transformed and can better cope with those around us.

James tells us that God’s Word will change how we see ourselves and the world around us.  If we listen and become a doer of the Word, we will see ourselves more clearly- as God sees us.  We won’t go away and forget who we are.  We will not be Sunday Christians but everyday Christians seeking to serve, live and honor God as His Word describes.  That authentic life will give us freedom and cause us to remember how to act with others by God’s standards using godly priorities in our lives.  We will be able to cull out the world’s pollution and influence from our lives and seek and know His truth. 

Lastly, James focuses on the truth of religion- what it is and how we are to be doers of the Word?  When we hear the Word of God, we are to take it in and then apply it to our lives.  Just letting the sermon go in one ear and out the other, does little to add value to our lives.  We need to meditate upon God’s truths we hear and read and say to ourselves, how would God have me use this?   What difference will this make in the way I talk, act and relate to others?  If you find your Bible study is not affecting change in your life, you can be assured that it is not the Word.  It is the doer- the one who hears is not processing and using the Word.  The doer is not applying the lessons and truths to their life.  For example, James 1:26 ”Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”  If you consider yourself a Christian and engage in gossip or telling tales, James would say that your faith is useless.  If you walk does not line up with the truth of God’s Word you are deceiving yourself and lying about your faith.  That makes for a worthless witness for Jesus.  James 1:27 “ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”   Here James is telling us bluntly that as a believer you are to be a doer of good for others, seeing to the less fortunate and you are to keep yourself above the sin of the world as much as you can.  You are to seek to do good and not go along to get along and indulge in the world’s practices.  Both of these verses, help  us see practically how James is telling us to use God’s Word and principles of living contained within them to live for Him.  What kind of a witness will we have if we ignore others, fail to show compassion, seek our own gain and talk openly about others in negative terms?

Pastor Alex summed this up as God’s Words lead us to action and connects what we know and learn from His Word into our lives.  Faith grows as we apply God’s lessons and truths each and every day.  Not easy stuff or for the fainthearted for sure.  However, we know God’s Word equips us.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  We can claim this truth in our lives and rely upon God and His Word through the power of the Holy Spirit to ready us for the world and its challenges.  Praise God!
Linda

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Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.

Sermon Reflections from The Bible is A Guide | Alex Hardt | May 14, 2023 
 
Pastor Alex started us out with Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”   Why is it important to be reminded that God’s Word is eternal and unchanging?  First, I think it goes to the lastingness of the Bible’s Words of truth.  Second, it reminds us that God does not change, He is immutable, and so is His Word.  Why would we want to base our lives on truth that was not lasting and solid? God’s Word is just like God, the same yesterday, today and forever.  We can count on it as we seek to build our life on something solid.  If it changed from generation to generation, it would be like building our lives on sand which can shift or even be blown away.  I am thankful that God’s Word is constant and that the ancient words have truth and meaning for my life today just as it did for those who came before me. 

In addition to God’s Word being immutable, it is also alive.  Pastor Alex pointed us to 1 Peter 1:23 in addition to Hebrews 4:12 that speaks of the dynamic living Word of God. 1 Peter 1:23 “ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”  Something that is alive has the ability to interact with the living and effect change.  That is what the Word of God does in our lives.  God’s Words are alive. His Word changes us from the inside out.  Praise God for His Word that works within us!

God’s Words are sharp and may have to cut deep to expose our sins. They desire to bring into the light that which is dark and causing us grief or distress.  These are things that grieve God that we are allowing to have a place in our lives.  He desires to see us rid of them.  Hebrews 4:12-13 in the Message translation explains how piercing God’s Word can be “God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”  God wants to get our attention and often uses His Word to do just that!  He desires that we have a new heart and character that is responsive to Him. Ezekiel spoke of this transformation in Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”   God’s Words are sharp and pierce the deepest most secret parts of our heart.  We cannot hide our true nature from God.  He know our heart and desires to give us a new heart and a new spirit! 

Lastly, Pastor Alex reminded us that God’s Word will be used to judge our actions, attitudes and thoughts.  Have you considered how you might be willfully going against God’s Word?  Do you tell small ‘harmless’ lies?  Do you treat others with callousness when you are having a bad day?  Do you think unwholesome thought towards your family, friends or enemies?  Hebrews 4:13 in the Message came with a warning, “. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”   I like the analogy God used for Amos to show the people His standards.  

Amos 7:7-8 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”
“A plumb line,” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

The plumb line that God gave to Israel was his Word. That was their guiding line to measure all things against to see if they were true, uplifting and honoring to God.  We have that same plumb line today in the Bible.  It is God’s truth to which we can compare anything and everything.  I love our memory verse for this week from Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet,  a light on my path.” Thank goodness we have God’s Word to light our pathway so that we will not stumble and fall into darkness.  God’s Word will hold us accountable, but also will give us direction and guidance through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have a great week as you consider the power of God’s Word and what place you will give Him and His Word in your life. 
Linda

SERMON LINK
Click Here to View the Sermon

Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.