Faithroots Podcast on Revelation 21-22
Posts
Self Examination
Far from sitting in contradiction to the rest of the New Testament, particularly Paul’s epistles, the letter of James can be seen to compliment and flesh out both Paul’s teaching and that of Jesus. James offers us a vision of the practical Christian life with obedience to God flowing out of and demonstrating our faith… Continue reading Self Examination
Faith, prayer and healing
So, how are we to respond to our trials? What does real, living faith look like? Well, James has been showing us that real faith is trust in God which is put into action. This affects how we speak to and about one another, it affects our attitudes and actions towards each other. But faith,… Continue reading Faith, prayer and healing
Patience as a better way
How do you respond to hard times? The temptation, and the one that the richer members of James’ audience had fallen for, is to look after yourself at any cost. The motto of such people is “Let everyone else suffer, I’m not so weak.” So, difficult times encourage exploitation as we seek to protect our… Continue reading Patience as a better way
The fate of the rich
Wealth was often seen as a mark of blessing in the ancient near east. Even today, we can confuse success with God’s favour. A look at the text (read James 5:1-6) The invite to the rich is repeated, they are summoned to come but not to celebrate and receive, rather to weep and mourn as… Continue reading The fate of the rich
A different kind of invite
Frequently in Scripture, there is a sense that people are summoned, called. Sometimes they are invited to come and receive good things from God, at other times they are summoned to give an account for themselves and to face judgement and consequences. It is in the latter sense that James issues an invite or summons… Continue reading A different kind of invite
Boasting and the future
As we move towards the end of the letter, James is continuing to help us to see what true faith is all about. Read James 4:13-5:20. Faith can easily be confused with confidence and so there is a warning against boasting. This is particularly given to the wealthy who may be tempted to go around… Continue reading Boasting and the future
Victory
Faithroots Podcast on Revelation 19 -20
COVID, Judgement and letting God disagree with you
One of the questions that came up during the COVID-19 pandemic was whether or not the pandemic was an act of judgement from God. Some people suggested that God was judging particular countries such as the US and UK, others argued that we could at least see God using the pandemic to speak to, challenge… Continue reading COVID, Judgement and letting God disagree with you
The pastoral dynamite of genuinely mutual submission
I’ve been arguing for some time that when Paul says “submit to one another” in Ephesians 5, that this means mutual submission, husbands and wives are both to submit to each other. This is controversial in some quarters but actually there is some heavy-weight historical support behind it including from the likes of John Calvin.… Continue reading The pastoral dynamite of genuinely mutual submission
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