• 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
with James 5:13-20
www.FirstChurchBville.com @FirstUMCBville @kerrfunk
with James 5:13-20
www.FirstChurchBville.com @FirstUMCBville @kerrfunk
A video of this sermon can be found at https://youtu.be/3VrHR9Fjslw
•
Question: How do you evaluate your own work?
Now
imagine you’re God. You create world, stuff, critters, people. You enter world
for a season to teach, redeem.
How do you evaluate your work?
How do you evaluate your work?
I
won’t say it’s the only or the best measure,
but by one measure, you evaluate your work
by what your disciples do, how they live their lives.
but by one measure, you evaluate your work
by what your disciples do, how they live their lives.
Your work is measured by what your
students produce.
•
We come to the end of James’ sermon, James’ call to action.
Yes, James says, pray, and Yes, James
says, do something.
You
cannot separate the two.
Are
things going well? Pray! Praise!
Are
you sick? Pray! In company! And do something to treat the illness. Don’t just
pray. Our response to brokenness in the
world must include prayer and it must include action. ENGAGE.
There’s
two times to pray: when you feel like it and when you don’t.
Likewise
there’s two times to take action…
•
Perhaps you’ve seen the cartoon / bumpersticker
“Jesus is coming! Look busy!” And there is something to that...
When you’re at bat, go down swinging. ENGAGE.
“Jesus is coming! Look busy!” And there is something to that...
When you’re at bat, go down swinging. ENGAGE.
•
James says to confess to each other (verse 16). Be honest with yourself and
with others. We’ve seen this week when you hide something it can come back and
destroy. Confess the secret sins and get clean on the inside.
“We are as sick as our secrets,”
(secrets prevent wholeness) and the goal is wholeness.
“A secret kept in the dark grows and becomes more harmful,
but once it is exposed to light or released, its power is lost.”
“We are as sick as our secrets,”
(secrets prevent wholeness) and the goal is wholeness.
“A secret kept in the dark grows and becomes more harmful,
but once it is exposed to light or released, its power is lost.”
•
James talks about Elijah. Just a man like us. There is no celebrity. Elijah did
not have something special that you don’t have. You are as beloved of God as
Elijah.
•
James closes with help a brother. Engage.
Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens,
and in this way fulfill the law of Christ.
Luke 15:7 There is much rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents…
Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens,
and in this way fulfill the law of Christ.
Luke 15:7 There is much rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents…
•
May your life benefit others. The measure of God.
•
Let God lead you.
•
Hymn 142 If Thou but Suffer God to Guide
Thee
James 5:13-20
(NIV)
13 If any of you are
suffering, they should pray. If any of you are happy, they should sing. 14 If
any of you are sick, they should call for the elders of the church, and the
elders should pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the
Lord. 15 Prayer that comes from faith will heal the sick,
for the Lord will restore them to health. And if they have sinned, they will be
forgiven. 16 For this reason, confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous
person is powerful in what it can achieve. 17 Elijah was a
person just like us. When he earnestly prayed that it wouldn’t rain, no rain
fell for three and a half years. 18 He prayed again, God
sent rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brothers and
sisters, if any of you wander from the truth and someone turns back the
wanderer, 20 recognize that whoever brings a sinner back from
the wrong path will save them from death and will bring about the forgiveness
of many sins.ò
(here ends the
book of James)
No comments:
Post a Comment