#30SecondBible: James

A Letter, A Warning, A Plea

What’s the book of James? It’s a letter to those who feel scattered, two-faced, pushed-down, or taken in by empty promises…It’s a warning to succumb to these forces, that divide and entice, at your own peril… It’s a plea to live out your faith. Be generous and compassionate to the poor. Tear down every wall of division, every hierarchy. Listen to others first (second, third) and then speak. Good begets good begets good…And it’s a promise that this faith-filled endurance is not meaningless. It is a chrysalis, where something beautiful is gestating, even now—in you, and in the world.

When was a time you felt scattered, two-faced, pushed-down, or taken in by empty promises?
How have you found meaning in your faith-filled endurance?

Agents Of A New Age

By Josh Lunde-Whitler

Sorry Reformers, but the distinction between faith and works is a false one. Faith is an active participation in the Reign of God, a tree firmly planted in the vitalizing ground of grace, that then grows out into the world through grace-imbued words and actions. Words and actions do not merely reflect the heart; they shape it. We participate in the ongoing creation of our reality and our world. The pull of our social, political, economic, and family narratives can feel inexorable… But we can still listen and speak and act in truth. James reminds us that we’re not simply slaves to forces greater than us. We are agents of a new age, the age of hope-filled love. That ain’t no straw gospel, friends.

In your own words, what is the relationship between faith and works?
What does it mean to be "agents of a new age?"

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