Beyond the Weekend: Make It Real
The Book of James encourages readers to live consistently with what they have learned from Christ.
This New Testament book is only five chapters long, yet full of wisdom surrounding faith. Pastor Aaron memorized it first while still a well-driller before entering ministry.
James gets real about faith amidst a lot of tough topics like trials, religion, values, works, words, heart, wealth, and endurance. We work through one subject a week in MAKE IT REAL. Don’t miss this chance to get real about your faith too.
Week 1: James 1:1-18
Week 2: James 1:19-27
Week 3: James 2:1-13
Week 4: James 2:14-26
Week 5: James 3:1-12
Week 6: James 4:1-10
Week 7: James 4:13-5:6
Week 8: James 5:7-20
Faith & Desires
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? James 4:1
Read: James 4:1-10 Listen: James 4
TODAY'S MESSAGE
Fighting and quarreling. Apparently, Christians struggled with them in the first century too. In fact, it’s a serious enough issue that James brings it up in his letter. As is his way, James gets right to the point about these fights and quarrels. He helps his readers see that their fights and quarrels come from the desires that battle inside of them. He talks about both good and bad desires, the pull of the world and the need to rely upon God’s grace and power to overcome.
This week, we will come face-to-face with the desires in our hearts. Desires battle in us and sometimes the battle pours out of our hearts and affects those around us. We have much to learn from James and his advice to these quarreling first-century believers. James offers us a life-changing truth that has the potential to lead us to a better way to live. So may God give us the humility and wisdom to listen and respond this week.
TODAY: Go to your heavenly Father today in prayer. With your hands outstretched and your palms up, invite God to work on your heart this week. Ask him to reveal in you the desires that need to be reformed by him and pray for the courage to listen and respond.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Read Genesis 26-27. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Note the promise given to Isaac.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
