The Book of James: "Living Like the Church: Do What It Says!"

March 17, 2024

Lead Pastor Dr. Dan Acker

 

 

I CAN’T ANGER MY WAY TO RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS! 

 

James 1:19-21

 

“Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.” -Aristotle

 

Proverbs 17:28

 

“There is a kind of listening with half an ear that presumes already to know what the other person has to say. It is an impatient, inattentive listening, that despises the brother and is only waiting for a chance to speak and thus get rid of the other person…But Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by Him who is Himself the great listener and whose work they should share. We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

I CAN’T FAKE MY WAY TO RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS

 

James 1:22-26

 

To serve one another by following the example of Jesus Christ ensuring others are seen, heard, valued, and cared for as deeply valued members of God’s family and this church. 

 

1 Peter 4:8-11

 

I CAN OBEY MY WAY TO RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS

 

James 1:27

 

“The real act of, say, building a friendship or creating a community involves performing a series of small, concrete social actions well: disagreeing without poisoning the relationship; revealing vulnerability at the appropriate pace; being a good listener; knowing how to end a conversation gracefully; knowing how to ask for and offer forgiveness; knowing how to let someone down without breaking their heart; knowing how to sit with someone who is suffering; knowing how to host a gathering where everyone feels embraced; knowing how to see things from another’s point of view.” -David Brooks

 

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