James exhorts us to “Be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.” Everything is temporal. Yes, including the suffering that we at times endure. The great backdrop of comfort for us, regardless of what we are going through, isn’t so much that soon we will stop suffering.  Rather, it is the fact that soon the Lord will be returning again! Then, and truly only then, Jesus will stop all suffering.  James reminds us also of Job's perseverance in his lengthy and devastating ordeal that he went through. This illustration was given not to point to Job’s suffering, but to remind us of what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Do you hear voices in your head? No, you’re not crazy! We all hear thoughts and ideas in our minds (or soul) that often sounds like wisdom. James addresses two forms of wisdom that we must distinguish between—wisdom from heaven and wisdom from the devil. It’s vitally important that we know the difference and can discern the origin of the thought that is compelling us. Specifically, we will look at envy and selfish ambition, both of which are not God’s kind of wisdom.

Our culture is plagued with discrimination. Marked by racism, cliques, the poor devalued, and gender inequality; favoritism causes huge division and damage. If God’s commands can be summed up by loving God with everything we are and loving others as we love ourselves then these mentalities have no place in a believer’s life! We must be people of love and mercy if we are to reflect Christ in our world!

Jesus was tempted in every way, yet without sin. He promises us that with every temptation, He will make a way of escape. In this teaching we will look at how temptations occur in our lives; how they increase when we allow them to and the fruit that they bare. Most importantly we address how we can stand firm and overcome temptations and choose not to sin.

The only life pleasing to the Lord is one lived out in faith. In our lives we are promised many trials and hardships. It is these very trials that test our faith. James says that they do such a work in us that we should have joy when we encounter these tests.

The gospel was announced in advance to Abraham, known as the father of our faith. Abraham was justified before God not based on anything he himself did or did not do, but rather because of his faith. He believed and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Jesus was revealed to Abraham centuries before Jesus walked this earth; Abraham believed and put his hope in Him. Faith is the activating agent for us to accept the good news, believe upon the Son of God, be justified from our sins, and receive the promise of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Faith is revealed in Jesus Christ. Before faith comes, we are locked up; held prisoners to the law, our sin, and our efforts.

In this second message in the Healing and Dealing series on Divorce, we focus on the impact divorce has on parents and on their children. Within our current culture, it is not a stretch to say children of divorce often times are modern day 'orphans' and the 'fatherless'. God cares a great deal for them and the Bible admonishes us from cover to cover to see to their needs. Two testimonies will be shared about how individuals have navigated this very difficult and heart-wrenching aspect of a severed family. John Bronson will share about how he saw his own divorce affect his child and Hedie Wiens will share concerning how her parent’s divorce affected her as a child and the struggle in her soul it caused.