Reflection Questions: 1 — Have you ever had VIP anything? What did you like about it and how did it make you feel? 2 —Do you believe you have true religion as James defines it? 3 —How can you share this true religion with others? Want to get in touch with someone at CRSWLK? Email podcast@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. (James 1:26-27) Reflection Questions: 1 — Have you ever experienced True Religion as James defines it? 2 —How does your faith community connect you with these three things mentioned? 3 — What kinds of structures...
Text of the Day: But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:25) Reflection Questions: 1 — What is the function of law, according to Paul? (See Romans 3:19-20) 2 —What can the law help you with today? 3 —What is the best thing the law has taught you? Want to get in touch with someone at CRSWLK? Email podcast@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. (James 1:22-25) Reflection Questions: 1 — What do you “know,” but you don’t “do”? 2 —How can you begin to integrate that knowledge into your practice? 3 —Is there an expert you know that you can consult to help you design th...
Text of the Day:Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. (James 1:19-21) Reflection Questions: 1 — Quick to listen. How many of us listen mostly to respond? We often find ourselves formulating responses to parts...
Here are a few questions for you to ponder this week: 1 — How can you tell when a temptation is coming your way? 2 — What processes and structures have you put into place in order to deal with them before they become a reality in your life? 3 — Where do you go for accountability in your decisions? 4 — Who is your support group you can go to in difficult times? 5 — What do you do to maintain accountable relationships with safe people in your life? 6 — What is the hardest thing you deal with right...
Reflection Questions: 1 — Have you ever experienced trouble in your life just when it felt you were becoming closer to Jesus? 2 —Did that upheaval derail your spiritual walk, or did it make it stronger? 3 —How can we be sure Jesus has our backs in this struggle with evil? What texts give you strength? Want to get in touch with someone at CRSWLK? Email podcast@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. (James 1:15) Reflection Questions: 1 — What are you looking for when you go to scripture? Is it a greater revelation of Jesus? 2 —How can you use that which you find about Jesus to help you in your everyday life? 3 —What is the most profound truth you have found about Jesus? Write it down! Want to get in touch with someone at CRSWLK? Email podcast@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. (James 1:16-17) Reflection Questions: 1 — What do you have in your life and in your character that is good? 2 —Where did those things come from? Who is the author of the good things in your life? 3 —What can you do to encourage someone else to recognize the goodness ...
Text of the Day: These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. (James 1:15) Reflection Questions: 1 — When was the last time you were tempted and you knew it was happening? What was the temptation? 2 —Why is it that James and Jesus are so concerned at getting to the source of the problem, rather than the behavior? 3 —How can you move your attention closer to the source, and how can you begin to shift some of your thinking upstream toward th...
Text of the Day: And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. (James 1:13) Reflection Questions: 1 — What is tempting to you? 2 — How can the enemy use that to his advantage in your life of faith? 3 —How can you begin to design a process from which to expunge that particular temptation? Want to get in touch with someone at CRSWLK? podcast@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. (James 1:13-14) Reflection Questions: 1 — What is it that you find yourself tempted by on an ongoing basis? 2 —How can you begin to design your life so you may be able to move away from this issue? 3 —Pray today for clarity and for courage. Clarity to see where God c...
Text of the Day: Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life...
Text of the Day: For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind....
Here are some questions to get you thinking: 1— Are you prepared to put your identity completely in Christ? 2— Are you willing to see the opportunity in the trials and troubles you will inevitably have to endure? 3— If you put your identity in Christ, what would that mean to you every day, every hour, every minute? 4— Is there someone you greatly admire in faith that you would like to echo in your life? 5— Can you reach out to them and ask for mentorship? 6— What is the design you would like you...
Text of the Day: For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing (James 1:3-4) Reflection Questions: 1 — How do your struggles make you stronger? 2 —Where do you find your strength to endure? 3 —Can you endure a bit more each time? Want to get in touch with someone at CRSWLK? podcast@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. (James 1:2) Reflection Questions: 1 — What trials are you going through right now? 2 —How are you going to get through them? 3 —How can purpose, the Holy Spirit, and a Savior help? Want to get in touch with someone at CRSWLK? podcast@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! (James 1:1) Reflection Questions: 1 — Have you ever been frustrated by your experience of faith? 2 —Have you ever tried to create consistency in your faith with a hoped-for outcome? 3 —What would your well-designed life of faith look like? Want to get in touch with someone at CRSWLK? podcast@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. (James 1:1-2) Reflection Questions: 1 — What Joy did you find in your troubles so far this year? 2 — How can you look at blessing differently than simply having things go well? 3 — If you could tell people about 2020 ...
Here are some questions to go along with this week’s sermon: 1 — What have you thought about judgment over the years? 2 — Has reading these texts changed your idea of judgment from God? 3 — How has God judged in your favor in the past? 4 — What have you thought about Hell and eternal torment? 5 — How can a God who loves you enough to come and die for you allow you to be tortured forever? 6 — What can you do to let someone know how much God loves them today? 7 — Has fear ever made you do somethin...
Text of the Day: so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess 1:12) Reflection Questions: 1 — What can you do today to build god’s reputation in the world? 2 —What is the greatest gift you can give someone? 3 —How can you share how great God is with someone today? Want to get in touch with a pastor? Crosswalk Redlands: mike@crosswalkvillage.com (Mike Rhynus) Crosswalk Chattanooga: cwchattanooga@c...
Text of the Day: They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thess 1:9-10) Reflection Questions: 1 — Have you ever found yourself happy when someone “gets what they deserve?” 2 —What can you do to move away from those feelings and move closer to love? 3 —How can ...
Text of the Day: and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (2 Thess 1:7-8) Reflection Questions: 1 — What “signs of the times” have you seen lately? 2 —What is it teaching you about trusting in Jesus? 3 —What can you do to help someone with “eschatological anxiety” today? Want to get i...
Text of the Day: This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, (2 Thess 1:5-6) Reflection Questions: 1 — When was a time when judgment went in your favor? 2 —Elaborate on how you felt when the judgment went your way! 3 —How can you make sure people know how much God is for them, so they won’t fear judgment? Want to get ...
Text of the Day: We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. (2 Thess 1:3-4) Reflection Questions: 1 — What would you want people to know about your faith in the midst of this crisis? 2 —Do you think Pa...
Here are some questions to go along with this week’s sermon: 1 — How can you lift up your spiritual leaders today? 2 — Who would you consider to be a spiritual mentor or leader in your life? 3 — How can you show them appreciation and support? 4 — What of the previous exhortations do you struggle with, and how do you hope to overcome those issues? 5 — What do you aspire to be? Are the words of Paul helpful or harmful on your journey 6 — How can you encourage the people around you? 7 — What inspir...
Text of the Day: Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thess 5:12-24) Reflection Questions: 1 — When you heard, “abstain from evil in all its forms,” were you nervous you might not be able to do that? 2 —What are different forms of evil that you struggle with? Refer to Romans 1:18ff for a ...
Text of the Day: Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. (1 Thess 5:20-21) Reflection Questions: 1 — What do you think prophecy is? 2 —What is your favorite prophet to read about in the Old Testament? 3 —What does this do to your idea of what a “Prophetic” voice should be? Want to get in touch with a pastor? Crosswalk Redlands: mike@crosswalkvillage.com (Mike Rhynus) Crosswalk Chattanooga: cwchattanooga@crosswalkvillage.com
Text of the Day: Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies,. (1 Thess 5:19-20) Reflection Questions: 1 — What are your first thoughts on this? Does the Holy Spirit still work? If so, how? 2 —What do you think about new prophetic words? Would or could God still send them? 3 — What makes us hesitant to believe that God is still doing some of these acts? Want to get in touch with a pastor? Crosswalk Redlands: mike@crosswalkvillage.com (Mike Rhynus) Crosswalk Chattanooga: cwchattanooga@cro...
