It seems so ordinary.Get in your car. Gather with a big group. Sing some songs. Listen to someone talk. Spend time with other people.Week after week after week.Why is gathering as a church so important…

Christians get together. Over and over and over and over again.Week after week we meet as a church. Why? We are looking at Hebrews 10 and we’ve seen that one reason has to do with God. A second reason for our gathering together is found in verse 23, and it has to do with you…

We are to get together as a church on a regular basis.But what for?After reminding us why we gather in chapter 10, verses 19 through 21, the writer of Hebrews, draws out three implications for our life together as a church in verses 22 through 25…

The church gathers.We get together week after week. That seems obvious. But, why? Why is gathering as a church so important? It’s a command. We see that in Hebrews 10:19-25. But, it’s not just a command…

It would be strange to be asked to be part of a group and not have anyone tell you exactly why or what was expected of you once you joined. It certainly wouldn’t be fair, for example, if you were hired for a certain job with specific responsibilities and yet your employer never told you what those responsibilities were…

If we are going to understand the Old Testament, there are a couple of key words we have to understand first.One is kingdom.Another is covenant.The Old Testament tells the story of how God is going to establish His kingdom, and it tells that story, through a series of covenants God makes with men…

We are looking at the Old Testament.What is the Old Testament about?Obviously you know the Bible is divided into two parts.The Old and New Testament. It wasn’t always called that, by the way, the Old and New Testament. Those were names given to them, I think, around the third century a.d…

Favoritism is a serious sin.Why?One reason according to James is because when you show favoritism, 'you become judges with evil motives.'In other words, when you show favoritism you are setting yourself up in God's place as a judge…

We’ve seen James condemns favoritism in James 2.But what does favoritism look like?He illustrates.Picture this scene in your minds. The church has gathered together. They've come to worship…

Ever had a rude awakening? I have nine children, so I have had plenty. Honestly, probably more of them, have been cute awakenings, actually. Like the time, I awoke to my two year old daughter singing, I may never march in the infantry…

Is your religion real? In James 1:26 and 27, we are given three tests. 1.) The way we speak. 2.) The way we relate to the vulnerable.And 3.) The way we relate to the world. Are we worldly? Over the past couple of posts we have been defining worldliness and thinking a little about why it is dangerous…

Worldliness is dangerous because it stains us. James says true religion is to 'keep oneself unstained by the world.'In other words, if you are not actively keeping yourself, you are going to be stained by the world…

Are you worldly? That’s an important question.After all, listen to James 1:27." This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father...to keep oneself unstained by the world." Worldliness is a problem because the world wants to stain you…

Yesterday we looked at what it means to speak against others.Today, why.Why do we speak evil against others? We speak against others because we think we know better than God's law…

What does it mean to speak evil against someone?Let me get specific.We speak against others when we speak words that are intended to hurt not to help. When you speak against someone your words are like soldiers that you send out to do war…

“Do not speak evil against one another brothers...” James 4:11Every week, every one of us experiences all sorts of different problems. Our car breaks down, a friendship crumbles, we lose our job…