James 4:13-17 - Control Problem

Introduction: Can you think of how much time you have spent during the past few years trying to control the things in your life? Maybe you have spent countless hours planning your retirement, your vacation, your career, your schooling, and more. You have sought to consider what might happen tomorrow,…

Introduction: Imagine that you are sitting in a courtroom. The attorneys are presenting the facts and making their arguments. Toward the end of the proceedings, you realize that the judge is not on his bench, and it appears that the jury has been deliberating for an extended period of time. Taking matters…

Introduction: Have you ever walked into a house and immediately smelled something cooking? You haven't even seen what is in the oven, but that smell captures your attention and starts drawing you toward the kitchen. There's something about a good smell that draws us in. The smell of turkey, stuffing,…

Introduction: What makes you angry? What gets your feathers ruffled? What is it that makes you ready to pounce? I'm sure that if we take some time and examine our hearts, we will think of a couple of things that really seem to set us off. Most of us are pretty good at identifying what makes us upset…

Introduction: There are two places in which wisdom can originate. There is the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below. Specifically, there is wisdom that is heavenly wisdom that comes from God, or there is earthly wisdom which comes from man. The wisdom of the world tells us to put ourselves first.…

Introduction: What comes to your mind when you hear the following statements? Did you hear that she… Did you know that he said… Can you believe that they… I probably shouldn't tell you this, but… Obviously, these are often the beginning sentences that will end with gossip. There is something within most…

Introduction: The verses we are going to hit today are among some of the most debated Scripture in the Bible. It was so difficult for Martin Luther to reconcile this section of James with Paul’s letters that he fought to make it a secondary epistle! He called it a ‘gospel of straw’ because it lacked…

Introduction: It is Sunday morning and the attenders of the city’s largest church begin to fill the seats of the sanctuary. The greeters are at the door saying hello to many of the familiar faces that they see week after week. The service is a few minutes away when a man pulls into the parking lot driving…

Introduction: The late Adlai Stevenson, a politician and Princeton graduate, spoke to a group of students at Princeton and once said: “I understand I am here to speak and you are here to listen. Let’s hope we both finish at the same time.” Adlai Stevenson I love this tongue-in-cheek remark about the…

Introduction: If you have been with us for the past three weeks, we have seen James really expound upon what a true and mature believer looks like. In fact, that will be the theme of his book. He is going to compare and contrast the mature believer with the immature believer. He will continue to call…