Wednesday, Oct. 31

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Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  - James 1:2-4

The first century Roman Empire was not an easy place to live as a follower of Jesus Christ.  First of all, there was serious ridicule and opposition from Jewish authorities who saw Christianity as a perversion of the true worship of Yahweh.  There was also the  scorn and condescension of Greek speaking Gentiles who looked down their nose at these foolish Christians.  Finally, there was the fast growing hostility and persecution by the authorities of Roman Empire itself.  

So, when James talks about trials and sufferings, he is not speaking hypothetically.  The early Christians who would read his letter would likely have had very real, first-hand, personal experience of trials and suffering for their faith.  It would have made sense if James had written something like, “hang in there when times get tough”, or “don’t lose faith when trials come”, but he tells them (and us) to consider it pure joy!?  What must these first century Christians have thought to hear James say “consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of suffering”?  How could he say such a thing?  How can suffering and pain be a cause for joy?  

Now, before we write James off as an extremist or a wacko, we need to recognize that he is not alone in this view, there are many Biblical writers who share this perspective.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.   - 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.   - Romans 5:3-5

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.  - Acts 5:41

 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  - Philippians 4:4 
(Paul wrote these words from a prison cell in Rome!)

Now, either all of these Bible characters are crazy, or they know something that we don’t.  What do they know?  They know what James is expressing in verses 3-4, that suffering has the potential to equip us for spiritual maturity like nothing else can.  

C.S. Lewis puts it well in his book The Problem of Pain, when he says, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, and he speaks in our conscience, but he shouts in our pain; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Throughout the Old testament, we see Biblical authors using the image of a refining fire to describe how God uses suffering to refine the character of His people.

Proverbs 17:3 - The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.

Job 23:10 - But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

Isaiah 43:10 - Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

Zechariah 13:9 - And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. 

All of this tells us that while God does not necessarily send every trial or cause every suffering in our lives, He is with us in everything we face and He is working to refine our character through the trials if we let Him!  When you face your own trials and sufferings, do not forget that God is with you in the midst of it and He is even at work to refine your character through it, you may not feel like it, and you may not understand it at the time, but He is working to make you mature and complete, not lacking anything!

Jeff Frazier

Tuesday, Oct. 30

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Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  - James 1:2-4

There is a great deal for us to understand in just these few verses.  The very first issue that James deals with in his letter of practical instruction to Christians is the problem of trials and suffering.  The first thing that James points out to us about suffering is that it is inevitable!

Notice that James says “whenever you face trials”, he does not say if you face trials, or in case you face trials, he says when you face them...because you will face them.  Difficulty, pain, loss, suffering, etc. is a universal reality of human life, nobody is immune to it.  So the question is not if you will suffer, but when and how will you face it when it comes.  

Jesus Himself indicated the inevitability of suffering in John 16:33 when He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  

You might not immediately recognize it, but this was a rather unique aspect of the early Christian message.  You see the first century worldview was dominated by the pagan religions of the Roman Empire.  The basic premise of paganism was that you followed the proper rituals and offered the proper sacrifices to the gods in the hope that they (the gods) would bless you and make you more prosperous, comfortable, etc.  In other words, the pagan gods could help you avoid pain and suffering, if you appeased them in the proper manner.  

Christianity stood in total contrast to this idea.  Unlike the pagan religions, Christianity did not promise relief from suffering by appeasing God.  Rather, it simply promised that God would not leave you to suffer alone, but He would be present with His people in the midst of it.  This is a big part of the reason that the early Christians were remarkably courageous in their care for the suffering and poor.  These early Christians had a reputation for not only enduring great suffering themselves, but for suffering alongside others without fear.  Early church historian Eusebius states that because of their compassion in the midst of the plague, the Christians’ “deeds were on everyone’s lips, and they glorified the God of the Christians.”  A few decades after Eusebius, the last pagan emperor, Julian the Apostate, recognized that the Christian practice of compassion in the midst of suffering was a main cause behind the transformation of Christianity from a small movement on the edge of the empire to cultural ascendancy. Writing to a pagan priest, he said, “They support not only their poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.”  In fact, Julian proposed that pagan priests imitate the Christians’ charity in order to bring about a revival of paganism in the empire.

Well, that may be true for the early Christians, but what about us?  What about the influence of Christians and the Church in our culture?  

I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that we are living in perhaps the worst society in history for preparing people to face the inevitability of suffering.  The reason for this is that the prevailing worldview in our culture today is “Secularism”.  According to secularism, the material world, and this earthly life are all that exist.  There is no God, no heaven or hell, and there is no life after death.  In other words, you only go around once, so live it up and grab all that you can.  In this kind of world view, whatever you suffer or lose in this life, you suffer and lose ultimately, because this life is all you get!

This is one of the reasons that our culture has such a difficult time facing suffering.  Most people think that if you suffer, something must be wrong, and somebody must be to blame, and it cannot be you!  Our culture tells us that suffering is to be avoided at all costs.  The trouble is, how can you avoid something that the bible says is unavoidable?  There are even many churches that teach a “christianized” version of this world view; God wants you to be happy, healthy, wealthy, comfortable and never to suffer or feel pain.  You don’t have to look very hard to find books, songs, and sermons that are selling this kind of message.  

The problem is that this is NOT the message of the Bible and it is not the promise of the Gospel.  James is trying to help those first century Christians, and us today, see that as followers of Jesus, the way that we face trials and suffering is a critical part of our witness to the world around us!

Jeff Frazier

Monday, Oct. 29

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James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:  Greetings.   - James 1:1

Last week we began a new sermon series on the book of James called, “The Gospel in Real Life”.   James is known as one of the general letters, because it was not written to any specific church or group of Christians, but to the all of the churches and believers in the Roman world in general.  If Romans is the most theologically deep of all the New Testament letters, James is surely the most theologically practical.  James is clear, practical, pastoral instruction on how we are to live out our faith.

Who was James? There are several men in the New Testament by that name. We know that this James was not the apostle James, brother of John, because he was martyred in A.D. 44, too early for this letter.  Nor was this James the one called The Son of Alphaeus, who was a tax-collector and also one of the 12 disciples (Luke 6:15).  The vast majority of scholars agree that the author of James was the half-brother of Jesus (Matt. 13:55).  Apparently he did not believe in Jesus as Lord until after the resurrection, when the risen Savior appeared to him (see John 7:5).  He eventually became the leader of the church in Jerusalem in the years following the Day of Pentecost (Acts 15).  He became known as “James the Just” (or, “Righteous”) because of his well known holiness.

Now, before we get into what James says, we have to stop and ask what it must have been like to have Jesus as a brother?  Can you imagine if your sibling started proclaiming himself to be God?  (I am sure some of you felt like your brother or sister thought he/she was God at times)  It couldn’t have been easy for James, and it is not hard to imagine why he would have had a hard time accepting Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah (at least at first).  The gospels give us some hints as to how those closest to Jesus initially responded to His ministry

Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed.  “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?   - Matthew 13:54-55

 Jesus’ brothers said to him,  “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.  No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.  - John 7:3-5

Yet despite all of this, James eventually becomes a pillar of the early church in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:9) and a key instrument in the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 15, 21).

Now, in light of all of this, let’s look back at how James begins his letter, at how he introduces himself.  He does not name drop at all.  He could have pulled rank by opening the letter, “James, the son of the Mary the Mother of God, brother of none other than Jesus Christ. I grew up with Him!  I knew Him long before He became famous!  In fact, I taught Him most of what He knows!”  

But James (1:1) and his brother, Jude (Jude 1), both opened their letters by calling themselves bond-servants. The word means, “slaves,” and refers to those who are the property of their masters.  How incredibly humble!  They lived to do their masters’ will. James adds, “a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  James refers to himself as a slave of Jesus Christ!  His own brother!  He recognizes that the boy he grew up with is the Holy One of God!  By mentioning God and Jesus Christ on equal terms, and adding “Lord,” the Old Testament word for God, to Jesus, James affirms the deity of Jesus Christ.

All of this leads us to ask the question - How do we identify ourselves?  What defines you?  Is it your career?  Is it your family background?  Is it your educational degrees?  is it your financial portfolio?  Or...is it the fact that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ!?

Jeff Frazier

Friday, Oct. 26

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James 2:14-19

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.

You may or may not be aware that a whole lot of people in our culture have a negative opinion of churches – especially Baptist churches! I remember seeing a statistic a few years ago that claimed over 80% of people in the Chicago-land area have a negative reaction to the word “Baptist.” 

Part of that reaction is undoubtedly a misunderstanding about what the word actually means; and part of it is the relentlessly negative portrayal of “Baptists” in the media. It seems like every time a Baptist minister or Baptist church is featured on the news the pastor or the congregation is portrayed in a wildly negative manner (some of them, frankly, deserve that kind of treatment!).

This past August we did something as a church to combat that negative image. We set up a huge tent and packed 3,000 boxes of food to be distributed to our local region by an organization called, “Children’s Hunger Fund.” I hope you were able to participate in the food pack that day – it was great fun! 

You may not even have noticed that, along with packing boxes of food and enjoying roast pork, we parked the “Children’s Hunger Fund” semi-trailer in such a way that their logo could be seen from Keslinger Road, and we hung a large banner with our own “Serve the World” logo on the tent in the same way.

We did that because while some people may have “issues” with organized religion; and some may have issues with Baptist churches in particular; and some people may even have issues with Jesus, NO ONE has issues with feeding hungry children!

We simply wanted to send the message to our community that “whatever you may have thought about Baptist churches before, whatever you may think about people who call themselves ‘Christians’, and whatever you think about Jesus, we are people who put our faith into action in ways that serve others. We show our faith by what we do.

James writes:

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.

Don’t skip over that last sentence too quickly! Here it is again:

Even the demons believe that – and shudder.

I can’t tell you how many people I have heard through the years say things like, “Hey, I believe in God…I don’t need to go to church … I don’t need to pray and read the Bible and do all that religious stuff… I believe in God and that’s enough for me.”

I think James might have been hearing the same thing 2000 years ago. And he says, “Good for you, you believe in God! Even demons do that much!” The whole point is to live like you believe in God!

The best thing we can do as followers of Jesus; as believers in the gospel; is to live in such a way that both Jesus and the gospel become visible!

In a sense, the whole world is waiting and watching and saying, “Show me!” 

So, what are we going to do?

Brian Coffey

Thursday, Oct. 25

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James 2:14-19

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.

Years ago, during my seminary days, I took a class on evangelism. The focus of the class, obviously, was what it meant to share the good news of the gospel with the world.

One of our class assignments involved a field trip to Chicago during which we were to attempt to engage a total stranger in a spiritual conversation. Now, while I was all for evangelism, that was completely outside my comfort zone! While those conversations are never easy to initiate, they are much easier in the context of some kind of pre-existing relationship instead of “cold turkey!”

So a group of us were driven to Chicago, dropped off on the street, and given a couple of hours to complete the assignment. I walked along looking for some kind of opportunity when a homeless man leaning against a building caught my attention.

“Can you help a guy out?” he said, or something very much like that.

I really hadn’t planned on having my “spiritual conversation” with a homeless guy, but I figured that maybe he was the one God had chosen for my assignment. So I approached the man and said, “Can I get you a burger or something?” and motioned to a “Burger King” restaurant right across the street. 

He said, “Sure, man, I’m hungry.”

I bought a couple of burgers and soft drinks and struck up a conversation with the man, whose name was John. He told me a bit about his life, which had obviously fallen on some hard times. When he asked about my life I told him I was a seminary student and I told him about my class assignment. He talked of growing up in the church and knowing Jesus, but also of straying far from the faith of his youth.

We talked about the ups and downs and pains of life, and about Jesus, for about an hour. When time came for me to had back to meet the others from my class, John thanked me for the burger and then asked me if I had a couple-a-bucks to spare. Then he said, “I’m not going to lie to you; I’m a wino and I’m going to use the money to buy a drink.”

His honesty caught me by surprise so I just said, “I hope you won’t John, but I appreciate your honesty. All I can say is that Jesus loves you and I will pray for you.”

As I gave him a $5 bill, he reached for my hand and said, “You’re gonna be a he__ of a priest.” 

I never saw John again, but I never forgot him or what he said.

James says it this way:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

I believe James is saying that faith; the gospel; was never intended to be simply a “personal benefit.” Sure, we absolutely are to experience the grace of Christ personally! We are granted peace with God through the forgiveness of sins accomplished by Jesus on the cross. We are to know the hope that comes with the promise of eternal life. God wants us to experience the joy that is ours through the presence of the Holy Spirit. But the gospel is also much more than personal blessing! The gospel is to be shared! The gospel is to explode out of us in the form of love, compassion and grace expressed to others.

In other words: if the gospel is not being expressed outwardly in our words and deeds, it has not been experienced in our hearts and minds.

James puts it more bluntly:

…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Wednesday, Oct. 24

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James 1:26

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

When you hear or read the word “religion”, what kinds of images come to mind?

Do you think of soaring cathedrals like Notre Dame in Paris, or St. Peter’s in Rome?

Do you think of listening to a sermon and singing hymns?

Do you think of lighting candles and kneeling in prayer?

Do you think of religious riots and the violence incited by religious hatred?

James says God thinks of religion like this:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

How interesting! How surprising!

Is James saying that churches, steeples, sanctuaries and rituals aren’t important? No! 

What he is saying is that any religion or religious activity that fails to produce compassionate care for others or that fails to result in a growing understanding of personal holiness is not religion at all.

One of the critiques I have heard aimed at “organized religion” is that churches are like “country clubs” in that they offer benefits only to those who are members; to those who are inside the club.

One of the critiques I have heard aimed at individual Christians is, “He (or she) is a hypocrite; he goes to church and acts all religious on Sunday but is just like the rest of us the rest of the week!”

James is challenging us as followers of Jesus to be the answer to both kinds of criticism!

He says that if we want to please God with our worship (what James calls “pure religion”); if we want to please God as his church; and if we want to demonstrate to the world the character of the God we worship, we are to “look after orphans and widows in their distress.” This directive is quite clear: we are to care for those who cannot care for themselves. In the ancient world “widows and orphans” would have been among the most helpless members of society. When the husband/father was gone those left behind had little protection or access to economic support. James is saying that, as followers of Jesus, we are to exist for more than our own existence. We are to care about more than our own little personal “kingdoms.” And the church is to exist not for itself but for the world.

The second directive is much more difficult to both understand and follow. James says that if we want to please God in our personal lives we are to “keep (ourselves) from being polluted by the world.”

To James “the world” was that which stood in opposition to God. The world was full of temptations and values that are contrary to the holiness and purity to which we are called as God’s people. We get that. 

But we also live in the world! We go to work and school every day; we are surrounded by the world on all sides; so how do we keep from being “polluted” by the world?

This past summer Pastor Jeff, Pastor Bruce and I took a 24 hour retreat to a Trappist Monastery in Dubuque, Iowa. We were just wanting to get away from our day-to-day responsibilities for a time of refreshment, but in the process we learned something about the monks who still live and work at this 150 year old monastery. They believe they are called by God to separate themselves from the world in order to focus on purity, prayer and worship. They gather for prayer 8 times a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, including a service called “vigils” at 3:30 am every morning. Is that what James is suggesting we all do? Are we to remove ourselves from the world?

While this may be the calling for the monks in Iowa, I don’t think that’s what James is talking about. He says not that we are to remove ourselves from the world, but rather that we are to keep ourselves from being polluted by it.

When Jesus prayed for his followers in John 17, he said it this way:

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17:15-18)

We keep from becoming polluted by the world not by removing ourselves form it, but through the protection of the truth of God’s word.

There is an old ad campaign for “American Express” credit cards that says, “Don’t leave home without it.” I think we can apply that phrase to our calling as followers of Jesus. When we head out into a world that is full of pollution, “Don’t leave home without Christ; don’t leave home without his word; don’t leave home without the gospel.”

Brian Coffey

Tuesday, Oct. 23

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James 1:25-26

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

The word “religion” is a very dangerous word. Not only does the word represent one of the topics that should be avoided at family gatherings (along with politics and whether you are a Cubs or Sox fan), but also the cause of some of the most violent conflicts in the world today. 

It’s also a word that I try not to use. When someone asks, “What religion are you?” I usually respond with something like, “I’m a Christian, but I don’t think of it so much as a ‘religion’ – but more of a relationship.” 

The word James uses here, threskos, is only used once in the entire New Testament, and could be translated either “religious” or “devout.” The verb form, threskeia, is only used 3 times and carries the meaning of “ritual worship, reverence for the gods, or religion.”

James seems to be referring to the kind of “religion” that is contained in outward ritual but which fails to change the heart from which all genuine change flows. He’s talking about the kind of religion that allows a person to deceive themselves.

Interestingly, the first issue that James points to as an indicator of superficial religion has to do with the tongue; with how we speak. 

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

When I was in about second grade I heard a boy use a word that I had never heard before. I did not know what the word meant but it seemed to have quite an impact on the playground. I couldn’t wait to try out the word myself. So when I got home from school that day I went up to my room on the second floor of our house, which was packed tightly with other houses on our small street, opened my window, and shouted this word as loud as I could. As you’ve probably guessed it was a four-letter word rhyming with the word “spit.” 

I quickly discerned, due to my mother’s swift and forceful reaction, that although the word did have impact, it was not good impact! Simply put, my parents taught me that our family did not use words like that and that Christians should not use words like that.  

James is saying the same thing in a different way. 

When he says we are to keep a “tight rein” on our tongue, he is using imagery from the equestrian world. Just as a rider is controls a horse by the use of reins and a bit, so we are to control our own tongues. 

Perhaps you have noticed, as I have, the increasing vulgarity of language allowed on prime time TV and over the radio. It is simply no longer surprising to hear words used routinely that just 15 years ago would have been regarded as appalling, offensive or both.

I think James would be concerned about language like that filtering into our every-day vocabulary as followers of Christ.

In fact, later in his letter James writes:

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:6)

We might think, “Well, they are only words, and words don’t really hurt anything!”

Consider what Jesus said in Luke 6:45

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45

What does your tongue say about your heart?

Pastor Brian Coffey

Monday, Oct. 22

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James 1:22-25

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at  himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.

Have you ever been to an amusement park that has a set of those trick mirrors that grossly distort your image? One might make you look very long and skinny; the other makes you look almost round. They make us laugh, but the truth is many of us have slightly distorted views of ourselves!

I saw some research recently that reported that most people tend to misrepresent themselves when surveyed about certain issues. For example, the study said that when asked if they exercise regularly, most people will report that they go to the gym about twice as often as they actually do. The same thing happens when we are asked how much we give to charitable causes or how often we attend worship. In other words, we tend to “fudge” the truth a bit so as to present ourselves in a bit more positive fashion!

Here James uses a similar kind of image to talk about how the word of God, the gospel, is to shape our lives.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at  himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

He is putting his spiritual finger on the tendency we have to listen to God’s word, nod our heads in approval, and then go on living as if we never heard a thing. The phrase, “in one ear and out the other,” comes to mind!

James is telling us that the gospel is intended to be a kind of spiritual mirror in which we can see ourselves as God sees us. And how does God see us?

Tim Keller writes:

We are more flawed and sinful than we ever dared believe, yet we are more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope at the same time. (from essay, “The Meaning of the Gospel”)

The gospel, then, reveals both who and what we are in stark clarity, as well as who God is in his holiness and grace. When we see both ourselves and God clearly the gospel has the power to save and transform. When we see only part of our sinfulness; or when we see only part of God’s grace; we see only part of the gospel and therefore are like the man who looks at his face in a mirror but immediately forgets what he looks like. We hear the word of God, but we do not allow it to penetrate to our hearts and therefore we do not experience its power to change.

James continues:

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.

We usually think of “law” as that which limits our freedom. James says just the opposite; there is a law that gives freedom. By the phrase “perfect law” James is referring to the word of God; the gospel that sets us free from what Paul called the “law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). 

The way to experience this freedom, James says, is to “look intently into” the gospel. I think he is saying that as we look intently into God’s word, God’s word will also look intently into us. And when the gospel penetrates deep into our hearts it begins to change who we are and how we live.

Pastor Brian Coffey

Friday, Oct. 19

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Romans 12:1-8

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;  if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

When I was in 1^st and 2^nd grade my father was the pastor of a small church in Akron, Ohio. I still have several very clear memories from that church and one of them is Mr. Drake. As I recall, Mr. Drake was an older man – probably in his 60’s at the time which seemed extremely ancient to me as a little boy – who was always at the church. He was probably the head usher but seemed like part of the building itself, like the pews or the pulpit, because he was always there. 

I remember that Mr. Drake always seemed to be happy, in the way a favorite uncle or grandpa is always happy, and especially happy to be at church. In particular, I remember Mr. Drake being the one who rang the church bell every Sunday morning. The little church had a steeple with an actual bell that had a rope hanging down into the lobby and at a certain time on Sunday morning Mr. Drake would grab that rope and ring the bell. I remember watching Mr. Drake ring that bell with such enthusiasm and joy that it made me want to ring the bell too! 

I thought about Mr. Drake when I read these words from Romans 12:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;  if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Paul is teaching us not just about the different gifts God has given to us, but about how we are to use those gifts! Do you sense the passion and joy that is to accompany the use of God’s gifts?

Let me take the unusual liberty of re-writing a part of this paragraph:

We have different gifts, according the grace given us. If your gift is speaking God’s truth to others, then do it boldly and without fear! If your gift is serving, then give your life away for others as your Lord did for you! If you have the ability to teach others, then study and teach with passion and creativity! If you enjoy encouraging others, then trust that your encouragement can actually allow others to experience God! If you are blessed as you share your resources to help others, then be wildly generous! If God has gifted you to lead, then be courageous and take on the responsibility of leading well. If you are sensitive to the pain of others, then take joy in offering them mercy and compassion. 

Now let me add one more sentence: 

And if all you can do is ring the church bell, then ring it for all you’re worth, because a little boy might be watching and just might see in you the joy of Christ at work!

Thank you, Mr. Drake, for helping me see the gospel through such a simple thing; and may we all learn serve our Lord with such faithful enthusiasm! 

Pastor Brian Coffey

Thursday, Oct. 18

To download an audio version, click here.

Romans 12:1-8

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;  if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Americans love football. 

Research shows that over 70% of men and over 50% of women watch at least part of an NFL game every weekend.

In fact, some have called the NFL “America’s religion.”

There are probably many reasons why football is so popular in our culture – speed, violence, excitement, and pageantry - but the main reason I like football is the teamwork. Football is often called the “ultimate team game.” 

I can remember my father teaching me about football and saying, “on every play every player has a specific job to do; and if each player does their job perfectly, the result of every play should be a touchdown.” I suppose the same thing is true for the defensive team as well – but we didn’t talk about that!

The point is that, on a football team, every player is absolutely dependent on every other player for the success of the team. As one famous and rather petulant Chicago quarterback has noticed, he can have all the talent in the world, but if his linemen don’t do their job well, he winds up on his back!

Football is also a bit unique in that there are so many specific positions on a team that need to be filled by players with different gifts, abilities and body-types. You need quarterbacks who can throw; running backs who are both fast and strong; wide receivers who are really fast; and linemen who are very big and very strong. A team needs a punter and a kicker – who often look like they just walked from the library; you need a long-snapper and someone to hold the ball in place for field goal attempts. And you need even more types of guys for defense.

At the risk of drawing a hopelessly sports-oriented analogy, the church is like a football team. Read Paul’s words again:

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;  if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Do you see it? One body (team); many members (players); each has a different gift and function (talent and position on the team); and each member belongs to all the others (teamwork and commitment to a common goal). 

Now notice the difference: there are no “bench-warmers” in the church! There is no “inactive list” in the church. God intends every member to be active and engaged because he has gifted and called every single one of us into his church for a purpose.

I am reminded of a story Pastor Jeff told me a couple of years ago. Jeff has volunteered on and off as a coach for a local high school football team. One Friday night the team was winning a game rather handily and one of the main coaches told Jeff to put some of the second and third team boys into the game. But when Jeff told one particular boy to get ready to go into the game, the kid looked rather surprised and frightened and replied, “Are you sure coach?” 

In other words, even though the young man had come to all the summer workouts; even though he put in 2 ½ hours at practice every day; when the time came to get into an actual game, he was hesitant, timid and afraid.

Do you know that Jesus wants you to do more than sit in a pew or stand on the sideline? Do you know he wants you in the game? Do you know that, if you are a follower of his, he has invested his own resources in you and that he calls you to invest those resources in his eternal kingdom? 

Ask Jesus to show you where and how he wants you to serve him. But, I need to warn you; if you ask, he will tell you; so keep your helmet ready!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Wednesday, Oct. 17

To download an audio version of this, click here.

Romans 12:1-8

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;  if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

I don’t know how many of you have ever watched one of the seemingly dozens of TV shows that are built around talent competitions; “American Idol”, “X-Factor”, “America’s Got Talent”, etc., etc., etc.

I’ve watched enough of them to notice that some people seem to have a clear sense of their own talent and ability while others don’t seem to have a very accurate view of themselves at all. Sometimes that comes in the form of a person who doesn’t realize how talented they really are; sometimes it comes in the form of a person who thinks they have talent but really don’t.  The first kind of person seems shocked when the judges tell them they performed well; the second kind of person seems shocked when the judges tell them they can’t sing!

I think Paul is saying the same thing can happen in a spiritual sense.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

I think Paul is saying, “Think of yourself the way God thinks of you.” This is actually a quite liberating thing to consider. Most of us tend to think of ourselves in relation to other people. We relentlessly compare ourselves to others; or we spend our lives trying to measure up to some standard or expectation instilled in us by family or culture. 

Paul is saying that there is only one standard we need to concern ourselves with: What does God think of us?

Interestingly, I have rarely encountered people who, spiritually speaking, “think more highly of themselves than they ought.” Now certainly some of us who tend to overrate ourselves in some area or another and we are all vulnerable to the sin of pride. But far more often than not I hear things like, “Well, I’m just not very good at ___________ (fill in the blank; teaching, leading, serving, singing, speaking in public, etc., etc., etc.); there are just so many others more gifted than I am.”

I think many, many Christians believe that Jesus died for their sins, that they are saved by the power of the gospel, but that it kind of stopped there. They don’t believe they are particularly gifted and, as a result, they actually think “more lowly of themselves than they ought.”

Jesus didn’t go to the cross and rise again from the dead just so we can experience his grace through the forgiveness of sin and be saved! Of course, that is the gospel, but it is not all of the gospel!

In his grace he gives not only the gift of salvation, but the gift of his own Holy Spirit as well. And when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts he also brings gifts, abilities and passions that Jesus wants us to use to make the gospel visible and tangible to others.

Jesus saves us, but he doesn’t just save us for ourselves! I fear some of us have settled for a truncated gospel that fails to see the richness of what God has accomplished in and through Christ! Jesus has also saved us for others; for new relationships; for participation in his body (the Church); for sharing in the great commission of taking the good news to the world; for participating in his ministry of reconciliation; and ultimately for ruling together with Christ in his eternal kingdom!

In his book, “Gospel Deeps” Jared Wilson writes:

He makes us not serfs in the kingdom, but brothers and sisters of the King, princes and princesses under his Lordship….But we aren’t just any kind of royalty, we are royal priests. We’re made ambassadors for Christ, go-betweens charged by God to bring the ministry of reconciliation to the lost, commissioned to make disciples of all nations (in “Gospel Deeps” by Jared Wilson).

So while we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought; neither are we to think less of who and what Christ has made us! 

Ask Jesus to allow you to see yourself as he sees you!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Tuesday, Oct. 16

To download an audio version, click here.

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. 

When I was a boy the church my father served as pastor always had Sunday night church. That is, we not only had worship and Sunday school on Sunday mornings, but we came back to church every Sunday evening at 7:00 pm for an evening service. That service always had teaching/preaching but was also a bit more informal than the morning. And quite often there would be a time set aside on Sunday nights for “testimonies.” 

“Testimonies” (what we call “Faith Stories”) were people from the congregation standing up to share something that God had done in their lives. Sometimes it was an answer to prayer; sometimes it was a spiritual decision the person had made; sometimes just something they had been learning from God’s word. 

I remember one night a lady that I did not recognize stood up about three pews behind us (I was sitting with my younger brother, Joe, and our mom) and began to speak. She seemed nervous and her voice trembled with emotion. She said that she had just recently understood the gospel and had become a Christian. She said she believed that Jesus had died on the cross for her sins and that she had given her life to him. Then she said,

“I know I have a heckuvalot of changing to do; but I know that I’m saved and he’s going to help me change.”

Only she didn’t say “heckuva” – she used the other “H-word”! My brother and I poked each other because we had never heard anyone use that word in church before! I thought to myself, “Wow, she sure does!” because she didn’t even know how to talk in church!

Later, of course, I realized that I had been privileged to hear a miracle that night. The miracle, of course, was that a person had experienced and expressed what Paul says in Romans 1:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for all who believe.”

She was the living example of what Paul taught in Romans 10:

That if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

So that woman had been “saved;” that is, she had been forgiven and had received the gift of eternal life, but what about change? How does change happen?

I think Paul is saying that while the gospel is about change, that change demands surrender.

Paul says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. 

Whenever I read this text I always think of an old football coach I had in high school who was fond of saying, “You’ve got to sacrifice your body!”

I wasn’t terribly fond of the expression myself because he meant that, in order to be a good football player, you had to be willing to disregard your own safety, your own well being, all your instincts for self-preservation, and throw your body into the fray for the sake of the team and winning the game. When he said, “You gotta sacrifice your body!” he was calling for total commitment! He was challenging us not to hold anything back; to be willing to surrender our bodies for the good of the team. 

When Paul says, “offer your bodies as living sacrifices,” he is using language from the Old Testament. A sacrifice was that which was offered to God as an act of worship. But what does it mean to offer our bodies to God?

Paul uses an interesting combination of words here: he says we are to “offer our bodies” as a “spiritual act of worship” (italics mine). Evidently, the people Paul was writing to had separated their worship from the rest of their lives. Worship was spiritual; the body was physical; and the two had little to do with one another. I think that we can tend to make the same false separation at times. Paul is saying that our body; that is, how we live and how we behave, has everything to do with worship! 

In essence, Paul is teaching a spiritual version of what my old football coach used to say! If we want to experience the transformation that the gospel can bring to our lives, we must offer our bodies – our whole selves – to God as a sacrifice of worship. 

In other words, gospel change requires complete surrender to the gospel. We must surrender our minds to the truth of the gospel; we must surrender our hearts to the grace of the gospel; and we must surrender our bodies to obedience to the gospel.

The problem is we don’t like to surrender. We like to withhold parts of our minds, our hearts and our bodies; to keep them from Jesus and for ourselves. To the degree we withhold parts of ourselves from Jesus we deny the power of his grace to transform us from the inside out. 

But when we finally surrender heart, mind and will to the gospel we experience what one writer calls “The Magnificent Defeat.” 

C.S. Lewis describes his own surrender to Christ in this way:

“You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted for even a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps , that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England” (in Lewis’s book, “Surprised by Joy”).

Gospel change begins with surrender to the gospel. Have you waved the white flag?

Pastor Brian Coffey