Newborn King: The Promise
He is either King of all or he’s not King at all.

Welcome to our Advent Series The Newborn King

Throughout this advent season we are seeking to understand more deeply what it means that the coming of Jesus was the advent of a King.

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:15‬‬
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

From the moment sin entered the human story, the countdown to Christmas was on.

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:26-33‬‬
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“The focus of attention is not on the birth itself, but on the significance of the child, and on the role he will play in fulfilling God’s will” -Donald Hagner

It’s not about the manger or the inn or the stable. It’s about that baby. The coming of a King, that would change everything.

That’s the miracle of Christmas. That’s what we celebrate.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2:1-12‬‬
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

How will you respond to the news of The Newborn King this Christmas season and beyond?

There are a million ways we can miss the profound significance of this season. Friends, after all we have been through the last 20 months, let’s commit together, not to miss Christmas.

To know the story isn’t enough, we must get into the Christmas story.

Let us come and worship the Newborn King!

Other verses for further study/reflection:
Micah 5:2
2 Samuel 7:16
Hebrews 1:3
Jude 1:25

http://bible.com/events/48801251

James and the Tamed Tongue
Your words are a super power. Will you use them for good or for evil?

A review of our journey through James:
-James is writing to believers who were facing difficult days and his letter is reminding them of what is critical.
-In the trial and through the trial, God is working.
-Do not doubt Him in the midst of the trial you are facing, but instead persevere.
-Keep trusting Him, even in difficult circumstances, because our God is generous and He is at work.
-This faith that we proclaim impacts how we live, because we don’t just read the Word, we do the Word.
-We are people of action and this impacts everything:
-it impacts our attitude, how we respond to others (we are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger)
-it impacts the way we treat those that others ignore
-it prevents us from showing favoritism or discriminating among God’s children
-To claim to have faith without acting on it is worthless. It’s dead faith.
-Abraham and Rahab were considered righteous because of what they did. Their faith resulted in action.

Today, as we turn the page to chapter 3, we see another specific example of what this faith in action looks like.

‭‭James‬ ‭3:1-12‬‬
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Our words have incredible power. And James provides three specific visuals of something small having such great power:
-bits in the mouths of horses (verse 3)
-the rubber of a large ship (verse 4)
-a small spark igniting a large fire (verse 5)

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James 3:6

-James says that our mouths can be set on fire by hell.
-When bragging, or lies, or gossip is flowing out of my mouth, that is not of the Lord. When harsh words, or yelling, or dishonoring others is flowing out of my mouth, that is not of the Lord.
-Jesus himself spoke pointedly about this topic also.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12:36-37‬‬
But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Your words are a super power. Will you use them for good or for evil?

The challenge:
Speak life-giving words to others every chance you get.

Other verses for further study/reflection:
Matthew 18:18
Proverbs 13:3
Ephesians 4:29

James is known as “the Proverbs of the New Testament” and that is evident in connection to James 3:1-12:
-“The tongue has the power of life and death.” – Proverbs 18:21
-“There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” – Proverbs 12:18
-“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” – Proverbs 13:3
-“A brother who has been insulted is harder to win back than a walled city, and arguments separate people like the barred gates of a palace.” – Proverbs 18:19
-“The words of a good person are like pure silver, but an evil person’s thoughts are worth very little.” – Proverbs 10:20
-“Without wood, a fire will go out, and without gossip, quarreling will stop.” – Proverbs 26:20
-“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” – Proverbs 21:23

James in 8 Minutes
This overview video on the book of James breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY

James and Rahab: Faith that Stands
The courage to believe means the courage to act.

“Faith without works isn’t faith at all, but simple disobedience.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

‭‭James‬ ‭2:17‬‬
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:24-26‬‬
You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

-James points us to Abraham (verses 20-23), who everyone revered, but now he points us to Rahab – and he makes certain to remind us that she was a prostitute – the most famous prostitute in the history of God’s people.
-It may make some of us uncomfortable that God would use someone like that.

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭2:1-7‬‬
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭2:11‬‬
When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

-There is a lot about Rahab we don’t know, but James points us here because of one very important thing we do know: this faith, no matter how small it was, resulted in action.
-Rahab was considered righteous “for what she did” (verse 25)
-Rahab didn’t just privately believe in the God of Israel in her heart; she risked her life to support the Israelite spies who followed this only true God.

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭6:25‬‬
But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

The impact of Rahab’s life and her obedience reached far beyond her life:
-The woman who was once called a harlot became a godly wife and mother in Israel.
-She and her husband became parents of a boy named Boaz, who would one day marry a widow named Ruth, who would be the great-grandmother of David.
-From the faithfulness and lineage of this former prostitute, God brings not just the future king of Israel, but from her lineage also comes the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the World.
-It’s impossible to read the lineage of Jesus in Matthew 1 without talking about Rahab.

The courage to believe means the courage to act.

Other verses for further study/reflection:
Matthew 5:16
Matthew 1:5
Hebrews 11:31
2 Corinthians 13:5

James in 8 Minutes
This overview video on the book of James breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY

James and Rahab: Faith That Stands
“Faith that’s alive is faith that ACTS.”

James and Rahab: The Faith That Stands

When we say we love Jesus- we must also show that we love Jesus by our actions.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:24-26‬‬
You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

In one sweeping move from the father of the faith to a gentile prostitute, James makes it clear that regardless of how your journey of faith began, it is going to be proven through action.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:24‬‬
You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

You may be wondering “Doesn’t this verse directly go against what the Apostle Paul taught?” At first glance, we might think that was true.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:8-9‬‬
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

If we stopped there- we could find ourselves in the middle of a 1st century theological argument. But let’s go one more verse in Paul

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬‬
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Paul is making the emphasis throughout his letters that it is only by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus that we are saved- that we are declared righteous.

Paul is talking about being declared “NOT GUILTY” before God. That happens by Faith in Christ alone

For James, he says genuine faith we place in Christ for our justification, is proven by how our lives are changed. By how the Love that has been poured into us, flows through us into our actions.

These two men are not at odds with one another in theology. They were addressing very different people groups facing different challenges in their faith.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:25‬‬
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

Rahab’s faith is not a side-note in the history of the Israelite people.

You can find her story of Faith in Joshua Chapter 2

In bringing together the father of the faith, and perhaps one of the most dramatic converts to God, James has shown that the call of living faith is universal.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:26‬‬
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

As we finish up today, it doesn’t matter if your story looks more like Rahab or Abraham. Our faith is called to follow through in action. Our lives should reflect Jesus as our priority. Yes, in extraordinary ways, but just as importantly, the everyday ordinary deeds of life.

Will we be a people committed to putting faith in action?

James in 8 Minutes
This overview video on the book of James breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY

James and Abraham: Faith that works
Faith without works is dead

‭‭James‬ ‭2:14-23‬‬
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their 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 my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

At the onset, it seems like there is a lot happening in this text, and indeed it is. However, the truth of the passage is clear and simple.
Faith without works is dead.

As we embark on this study, we should note two things that will help guide us through our study.
1. James is not comparing faith to works, rather he is contrasting living and dead faith.
2. Secondly, there is such a thing as “dead” faith, and it is essentially useless.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:14‬‬
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

“Faith is not seen by James to be deficient as though it needed something extra, but he contends that true faith must find some expression other than verbalization or pious sentiment” – Ralph Martin (Word Biblical Commentary)

James is therefore not opposing the Apostle Paul or the reality that it is only by faith that we are saved, however, James does insist that faith must change our lives, our very conduct, if in fact it is genuine.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:15-17‬‬
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

The condemnation of James here is not against well wishes or encouragement, rather the failure to actually meet the needs right before them.

In verse 17 he connects this failure to act in meeting the needs of the poor, to the failure of dead faith to produce action in our lives.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:18-19‬‬
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

In these verses James brings in another voice as an objector to his position. This “objection”, if you will, allows James to ramp up and clarify his position even further.

The reality for us today is that faith without works is on par with the faith of the demons.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:20‬‬
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

“You foolish person” is directed to the objector of verse 18.

In verse 14 faith without works has been described as no good, in verse 17 it’s dead, and here it is described as useless or un-effective- yet the objector fails or refuses to see it.

‭‭James‬ ‭2:21-23‬‬
Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

James emphasizes three aspects of living Faith in the life of Abraham from this story.

First, that Abrahams faith was not confined to a re-ordering of his thoughts, or merely a verbal profession. Throughout his life Abrahams faith literally guided his life and was shown in its fullest extent in his wiliness to sacrifice his own son.

Secondly, James sees that Abrahams faith found its fulfillment through his actions.

And finally the genuine nature of Abrahams active faith was shown to be accepted by God.

In conclusion today, let’s look again at the question James ask’s us in Verse 20.

Imagine for a moment an emotional James pleading: “Are you insane? How do you not understand this? Do you really want to know that your faith without works is worthless?”

“Do you want to know?”

This question can be quite un-comfortable to face in our walk of faith. I think James’ passionate pleading today is for our own good. Is our faith alive and thriving, or in need of resurrection and new life?

James in 8 Minutes
This overview video on the book of James breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY