Saturday – May 28th – Intro to James -----
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational for today:
THE FIRE OF GOD IN YOUR HEART WILL MELT THE LEAD IN YOUR FEET.*
Good Saturday my friends. I am excited to be back from our daily scripture recess, and back into daily conversation with all of you good folks. This weekend is both a holiday celebration of Memorial Day and the second week of our new series “Who We Are”. In this series we put a renewed focus on where God is already busy plowing the ground for our individual witnessing of the joy of being a follower of Jesus. This series opens the door for us to see how all parts of SunRise work together for the glory of God and how each of us are vital and instrumental to our mission of “Populating The Kingdom of Heaven.” I am not much of a musical person, but I know that the absence of an instrument from a band or an orchestra is quickly noticed and reduces the overall effectiveness of the intended piece of music as written by the composer. God is busy composing the life of SunRise and He has written a part for all of us. Join us to find out where your part fits into God’s perfect song of grace and unconditional love.
Today we begin a new book in the Bible – James. While I am particularly fond of this book simply by its title, I am more drawn to it because it is filled with five chapters of very practical wisdom and straightforward instructions on being a follower of Jesus. Way back in the day when I was a co-director of middle school church camps, we - year in and year out - used the book of James as our memory book during the week. There are literally hundreds of thirty-somethings scattered through the US that can quote multiple verses of this book. So here are some important facts about this powerful book. The author of this book is very likely the James who was the leader of the Christian community in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). He may also be the brother of Jesus – both supported by Paul’s references and through hints from the gospels. Most scholars believe this book was written early in the development of the church, between 45AD and 62AD, as James was martyred in 63AD. If in fact James of Jerusalem is the author, then the original receivers of this letter were the Christians living in the shadow of the Jewish temple. This thought would make sense, since James is most noted for his statement that faith without works is a dead faith. Conversion form Judaism to Christianity was dependent upon expressing thankfulness for God’s grace through acts of service. But more about that later.
Blessing
Pastor Jim
Sunday – May 29th – James 1:1
*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Location 27761). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational for today:
THE FIRE OF GOD IN YOUR HEART WILL MELT THE LEAD IN YOUR FEET.*
Good Saturday my friends. I am excited to be back from our daily scripture recess, and back into daily conversation with all of you good folks. This weekend is both a holiday celebration of Memorial Day and the second week of our new series “Who We Are”. In this series we put a renewed focus on where God is already busy plowing the ground for our individual witnessing of the joy of being a follower of Jesus. This series opens the door for us to see how all parts of SunRise work together for the glory of God and how each of us are vital and instrumental to our mission of “Populating The Kingdom of Heaven.” I am not much of a musical person, but I know that the absence of an instrument from a band or an orchestra is quickly noticed and reduces the overall effectiveness of the intended piece of music as written by the composer. God is busy composing the life of SunRise and He has written a part for all of us. Join us to find out where your part fits into God’s perfect song of grace and unconditional love.
Today we begin a new book in the Bible – James. While I am particularly fond of this book simply by its title, I am more drawn to it because it is filled with five chapters of very practical wisdom and straightforward instructions on being a follower of Jesus. Way back in the day when I was a co-director of middle school church camps, we - year in and year out - used the book of James as our memory book during the week. There are literally hundreds of thirty-somethings scattered through the US that can quote multiple verses of this book. So here are some important facts about this powerful book. The author of this book is very likely the James who was the leader of the Christian community in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). He may also be the brother of Jesus – both supported by Paul’s references and through hints from the gospels. Most scholars believe this book was written early in the development of the church, between 45AD and 62AD, as James was martyred in 63AD. If in fact James of Jerusalem is the author, then the original receivers of this letter were the Christians living in the shadow of the Jewish temple. This thought would make sense, since James is most noted for his statement that faith without works is a dead faith. Conversion form Judaism to Christianity was dependent upon expressing thankfulness for God’s grace through acts of service. But more about that later.
Blessing
Pastor Jim
Sunday – May 29th – James 1:1
*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Location 27761). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Posted in Who We Are
No Comments