Arbor Church

And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence… okay, James, but how do you really feel? Today, from chapter 3 of James’ epistle, the story of how much trouble our tongues can get us into, and why.

Today, Ryan teaches on one of the most hotly debated passages in the New Testament, James 2:14: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? Surely James cannot be saying that we are not saved by faith alone … so what is James saying? And what does it have to do with a certain cormorant on the Galapagos Islands?

My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. From James 2, some challenging words about favoritism and prejudice, and the Royal Law that shows us how to rise above them.

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Thanks much, James, but that’s a lot easier said than done. This week, Pastor Ryan unpacks this passage with some practical advice on how to live out this command, and explores the growing chasm between hearing and doing in the Christian life.

My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials… So begins the book of James, and this week Ryan opens our new A Faith that Works series with a message on why James opens his epistle with what appears to a major bummer.

Have you ever tried to follow Jesus’ example of prayerfulness, only to find that you’re secretly bored … or don’t know what to do … or even aren’t sure if your prayers are actually doing anything? If so, today’s message is for you.

Jesus was never too busy for the people he encountered as he went about His ministry. Scott Hetherington shares three stories about Jesus bringing hope and healing in during unplanned and unexpected encounters, and encourages us, too, to live in the now as we follow Him.

Little by little, we have squeezed more into our days until we’re overwhelmed. What is the better way forward when we feel so rushed and hurried – and so disappointed in the pace and intensity that has encroached upon our schedules – that we don’t have time to do what really matters? Sometimes, the greatest enemy to the life you want may be the life you’re living.

Ryan opens our new series A Better Way Forward with some tough, uncomfortable questions … that you probably wouldn’t expect to hear from the pulpit right after the new year. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve probably felt at times that Christianity isn’t actually working. How can we move forward in the way of Jesus in those times?

Ryan closes our The Way in a Manger series with a special Christmas Eve message about Jesus, the Light of the World.