idolatry

on

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-b5sgg-c68b07

James 5:1-6

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

“Throughout his letter, James has been drawing this distinction between rich and poor Christians, and in these verses we see his strongest indictment yet, of the rich. A few weeks ago, we saw how he pitted the kingdom of the world (ruled by money and power) against the Kingdom of God, ruled by Jesus and introduced by Jesus’ people. By this point in his letter, James has completely taken the gloves off. Money and power cannot be an influence in the Kingdom of God, he’s showing us here. If we try to combine the rulers of the world with the Kingdom of God, someone’s gonna get hurt—and it’s going to be the people who don’t deserve it—the people Jesus especially came to raise up and heal and help and change the world through.”

Rev Jennifer A G Layte

on

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ixp3w-c3286d

James 2:1-13

The Kingdom of God looks upside-down to the kingdom outside it. In the Kingdom of God, it’s the poor who are the ones cherished by God, who are courted by Him, who are to be the leaders, who are to receive special honor, because when we don’t have money, we don’t have this other wannabe king getting in our way, trying to distract us from the real one. When we find ourselves lacking in material possessions, we become rich in faith because we can’t rely on anything or anyone but God to help us do what we need to do. And when we learn to live like that, then when money comes our way, it’s easier to resist its lordship and just treat it as the tool or resource from God that it is, not something that gives us our meaning and purpose, not something that dictates how we communicate or who we honor, not something that drives us or a goal that we run to.”

Rev Jennifer A G Layte