Continuing our series on the book of James, in James 2:8-13 James takes a shot at our self-justification by reminding us that we have have only one central thing to focus on: walking with God in loving obedience. He points us to the fact that we have all sinned and need mercy from God and mercy from one another.
The royal law, which Jesus identified as one of the two greatest commandments on which all the law and prophets depend, calls us to love others as ourselves. Our first and foremost responsibility is humble love for God, and from this love comes a selfless love for our others. When we neglect to love others and even forgive them, it shows that we have not fully understood and received the love of God for us. When we love others much, we demonstrate that we understand the beauty, relief, joy and wonder of being fully forgiven.
Continuing our series on the book of James, in James 2:1-10 James shows how favoritism and faith are fundamentally incompatible as he returns to a theme touched upon in the first chapter. We may think we don't show partiality in the same striking way that James talks about with the rich and poor, but we draw lines between ourselves and others every day, even in the family of God.
Favoritism is contrary to God's character and the inversion of the world that He desires His Kingdom to be. This is because when we show favoritism, we put ourselves in God’s place as judges, we invert what God sees by looking at the outward rather than the inward, we ignore the sin that we don’t want to see, and we forget about what God’s love looks like, the very same love He has graciously shown to us and richly lavished upon us. Instead of showing favoritism, we should reflect God's character by loving others as ourselves, regardless of who they are and because of God's great love. Faith and favoritism are incompatible, but aren’t you glad we serve a God who loves like he does?
A little over a month ago, Charlie Kirk was horrifically murdered at Utah Valley University. This tragedy rocked the nation and the world and deeply impacted so many people. In this episode of Being the Church, the pastoral staff shares their reflections on this awful event, the fallout from it, and the challenge for every Christian to be bold about their faith in Christ.
Continuing our series on the book of James, in James 1:19-21 we learn what it means to be not only hearers of the Word but also doers. The law of liberty, the implanted Good News of Jesus, calls us to hear, listen, and respond.
To both hear and do the Word, we should strive to be teachable, unhurried, silent before God, readers of His Word out loud, and attentive. If we are consistent in sharing the Word with our actions, we will be truly blessed. We preach this Word to ourselves, tasting and seeing that God is good, so that we go and tell others about the Gospel, the grace we have received from the best King and Savior.
Continuing our series on the book of James, in James 1:19-21 we learn from James that if you manage your tongue and temper, you'll be happier and others will be blessed, and that, if you tend the soil of your heart well, you'll bear fruit for that is personally satisfying and will feed others.
James urges us to be quick to listen, especially to God's Word; slow to speak, sharing the truth in love when we need to; and slow to anger, because God is Himself slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He warns us that worldly anger will lead us into sin and that instead of seeking human anger we should seek to serve God's righteousness. He concludes this thought by urging us to purge evil and sow the implanted Word. Born by the Word of Truth, we should be quick to listen to, receive, and share this Word so that it may produce fruit in the good soil of a faithful heart, a heart motivated not by human anger but by divine righteousness.
This year's Covenant Renewal Message reminds us who Jesus is, who we are, what our response is, and what His response is through John 12:20-33. When some Greeks come and ask to see Jesus shortly before His death and resurrection, His surprising response reveals His purpose and His heart for His church.
He is our Lord, glorified by God through suffering for our sake. We are His church, called out by Him. Our response is continuing to lift Jesus up and make much of Him by following Him, serving Him, and establishing His Kingdom by sharing His Gospel, and His response is to draw all people to Himself to save them. These reminders serve to remind, reset, and renew our commitment as His church to intentional growth, humble unity, bold mission, grateful service, and joyful sharing.
Continuing our series on the book of James, in James 1:16-18 we are reminded not to be deceived and pointed to God as the source of all good gifts, including salvation through His Word.
James calls us to not be deceived about ourselves or God because he knows how easily we can be misled, and he also knows how important it is that increasing, rather than decreasing, our confidence in the Bible is how we avoid being deceived. The character of God directs us toward this confident faith, because He is the Creator of all the universe who gives us every good and perfect gift, a God who never changes. The greatest gift He gives us is salvation through the word of truth, new life as the firstfruits of His creation.
Continuing our series on the book of James, in James 1:12-15 we learn about trials and tests, how these tests can become a temptation to sin, and how prone we are to blame God and others in these temptations.
Our present trials have both a present and future benefit to those who love God, ultimately proving our faith and increasing our joy. In these trials, we will face the temptation to sin, but we must recognize its source and its course. Temptation never comes from God—God tests but He never tempts—but rather from our sinful desires. These sinful desires create sin in our live, and apart from Christ these sins create death. To avoid temptation, we can prepare and act by fleeing from the sin, resisting the sin, or looking to God for escape
Continuing our series on the book of James, we are called to set our sights on what really matters rather than on what is immediately in front of us.
These verses prompt us to remember in both grateful humility and joyful exaltation that our status and hope are secured in Jesus, not in anything we do or do not have, anything we might misplace our trust in. We know that life is fleeting, and so we should make it count, stewarding our time and resources that fade away for the Kingdom that cannot be shaken and will last forever.
Small groups have just kicked off at Northstar, and they are such a vital part of our church ministry. So, we've devoted this week's podcast to highlighting small groups! Sean and Matt talk about why they are so important, how they "fit" into the life of our church, and also how they have impacted each of them in the past.
If you haven't found a group yet, you can go to dontgo.be/groups to sign up!
Music by antonio jade from Pixabay.
Continuing our series on the book of James, we are encouraged to seek wisdom in trials, knowing that this wisdom comes from God and is given generously when we ask for it.
We need to recognize that there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom, as well as between earthly and godly wisdom. Wisdom is not a commodity that is available only to a few; it is something anyone can attain. Instead, biblical wisdom is being able to see and understand God's perspective on what we ask Him about. Walking in wisdom on a daily basis requires us to live in trusting faith, guided and informed by God's truth, and actively choosing paths and responding to life in ways that show we value God's Word above our own desires or fears. Remember the source from which we receive wisdom, and remember the Savior with whom we walk in wisdom!
In our second message in the book of James, we see how the reality that Jesus is Lord gives us the ability to evaluate our trials. We can respond to trials with Christ's joy as He strengths us through them.
Trials test what we testify, and the joy James calls us to consider within trials is not ours to manufacture. It is the work of God to make us more like Christ. Trials test our faith, the test of faith produces a joyful perspective, this perspective forms endurance, and this endurance grows into maturity.
Recently, we've seen a cultural trend in the U.S., and even around the world, of increased curiosity about Jesus and a relationship with him. When we dig deeper into the data, we see that this trend is mostly fueled by a surprising demographic - Gen Z and Millennials. Matt and our Young Adult Minister, Braeden, talk about this trend and why it is exciting, encouraging, and challenging.
To get more involved in college ministry, whether as a student or a volunteer, go to dontgo.be/college, or email Braeden at braeden@northstarfamily.org
Music by antonio jade from Pixabay.
Starting our sermon series, Jeff introduces us to the letter of James, covering who wrote it, when was it written, who it's for, and its central message.
The letter of James teaches us to be and do, to root our identity in Jesus and live faithfully, no matter where we are or what season of life you're in. The life of James teaches us to pray for our unbelieving family members and pursue humility through service to the church. Ultimately, our lives and works are the proof of faith, as we will see throughout the letter of James.
In this standalone sermon, we learn from an New Testament apostle and a 17th-century mathematician what it looks like to contend for the Jesus and for others, being all in for Him and all out for others.
In Colossians 1:29-2:1, Paul writes about contending strenuously, working agonizingly hard, for fellow believers, surrendered to the strength Christ and his work through the Holy Spirit. We see the same striving in the life of Blaise Pascal, who, after he became a believer by writing his Mémorial, passionately defended his Christian faith in his Pensées, which included his famous wager. Both Paul and Pascal contended for Jesus and for others with their talents and time. For both of them, Jesus provided the example, the strength, and the inspiration to be focused on leading people to know Jesus and encouraging them to grow in faith, and he has given us the same through his spirit so that we can be all in for Him and all out for others.
This is a very special episode of the Being the Church podcast! Jeff, Sean, and Matt answer some questions from kids that were recorded during our Sunday morning kids' ministry time. They had some great questions, and it was really fun answering them! Kids, check out the episode to listen to the answer to your questions!
Music by antonio jade from Pixabay.
God worked through history to bring about events that seem too good be true. Using God's words to Habbakuk as a springboard, Jeff challenges us to reflect on God's activity with a renewed sense of awe.
In the third and final BIGsmallGroup message on what the good life truly looks like, Jesus teaches us about how our relationship with him relates to goodness. Jesus taught us to do good works and modeled how to do good works.
This session explored major heresies in the early church—such as Gnosticism, Marcionism, and Arianism—which distorted the nature of Christ, Scripture, and salvation, prompting theological responses like the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) that affirmed Jesus as fully divine and of the same substance as the Father. It also examined how Constantine’s legalization of Christianity transformed the church’s structure and culture, leading to widespread growth, nominal conversions, clerical privilege, and eventually the rise of ascetic movements like the anchorites and stylites. These developments marked the end of the early church era and the beginning of new theological and ecclesial challenges.
Continuing our "Living the Good Life" series, we learn from Luke 10:38-42 that living the good life means living simply but not slowly, because not only is hurry unhelpful; it's also harmful to every part of our lives. While Mary sits and learns at the feet of Jesus, her sister Martha becomes overly occupied in providing for Jesus and his disciples. Though her work is good and noble, her disordered and hurried heart is worried and upset about many things, and it is harming her.
Hurry is not an external condition; it is an internal condition of the heart. As an outflowing condition of the heart, hurry hurts us, it hurts others, and it hurts our relationships with God. We should not allow our disoriented and disordered hearts full of hurry distract us from what is most important: being with Jesus. Reordering our hearts with simplicity rather than hurry through the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude allows us to love others and love God more deeply. Both contemplative learning before Jesus and intentional action for Jesus, all with an unhurried simplicity, are essential elements in living the good life, and we should challenge ourselves to consistently take time to be in silence and solitude, alone with Jesus and focused on him. Embracing simplicity instead of hurry, aided at times by the discipline of silence and solitude, reorders our hearts to what is truly important: being with Jesus.