Free Methodist Church Of Santa Barbara

Sunday, we continue the study of James as we begin chapter 3. Our pastor gives more counsel about the tongue in this part of his letter and it makes us wonder: what kind of people need to be told to watch what they say? James uses multiple illustrations in this section to help his listeners understand the reality of how our words impact the world in which we live. We have already talked about sins of the tongue and now he goes to the next level as he talks about teachers, blessing and cursing, and the need for self-control. As we study these words, we are also going to look at a teaching of Jesus, which mirrors this passage in illuminating ways. What a gift to seek the Lord. We have the freedom to be able to do so, as well as a beautiful place to worship Him. As the men gather in the mountains, we will congregate in the sanctuary this weekend. We believe our Lord Jesus will meet all those who meet in His name, wherever they are.

James' exhortation to the church has been incredibly foundational. Imagine not having his words to challenge and assure us. . .so glad his letter ended up in the Bible for all of us to learn from. For a second week, we will be in the same passage. Last week, we meditated on what it means to have a dead faith. Praise be to God that all things can be made new in Christ Jesus! Whatever is dead can come back to life again. What a gift His resurrection is to the world. We continue to proclaim that astounding truth. Now, we want to look at this passage to study what these words mean. This teaching has been controversial in the church because people have understood them to mean that James doesn't think faith matters. This, of course, is in direct contradiction to Paul, who says in Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace alone, THROUGH FAITH. This week we want to think through what James is saying. What problem is he trying to address in his context? How has the church, through the years, lived out this dual understa

At the last supper, Jesus began a sacred tradition which His people have practiced daily since that evening. The Eucharist. Communion. The Lord's Supper. The Table. The Blessed Sacrament. Some of the names connote the different emphasis that is put on the act. Whatever it is called, it is meant to be a remembrance of His death on the cross for our sins. Although churches celebrate it in different ways, it is meant to be done with Christ as the center, as He meets supernaturally with His people. For the next two weeks, we will be talking about words from James and two concepts Christians have grappled with for years: faith and works. While we understand we need both, this has been an important point of discussion, especially since various writers in the New Testament have written about them both. We are going to dive into the conversation in earnest next week. For this week, we will meditate on these words as we ready ourselves to take the elements representing the body and blood of Christ. Please take time

We continue talking about the consequences for favoritism in our lives. The verses we study Sunday are connected to the thoughts we began, but now James goes a bit further, talking about the consequences for breaking the law Jesus set out when He was here. We will be talking about what it means to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We will talk about why James is discussing the law. And, we will examine the role of mercy and judgment in our lives. In worship on Sunday, we will also be taking the opportunity to pray for all those going back to school, an important tradition to begin our school year. Also, Sunday school starts again for our children and youth. We will also be praying specifically for our brothers and sisters in the Democratic Republic of Congo. God instructs us to set aside a day of worship once a week as His people. We hope to see you in this time of honoring and seeking our living Lord. - Pastor Colleen

For our sermon text this week, James is highlighting a situation which must have been happening in the church under his watch. Reading through it caused me to wince, thinking of similar experiences I have had and know about from others. James is emphatic that those who follow Christ should refrain from treating only some people well, especially when it heightens the divide between rich and poor. We are going to talk about what this scripture means, how this kind of behavior has hurt the church historically, and talk about why we engage in favoritism at all. James brings it home by reminding us how God treats us. I encourage you to read this scripture before Sunday as a way of allowing the Holy Spirit to affirm His truth in you. May we come into the sanctuary this week, seeing one another with His eyes. We will be singing a special song with the kids, since they will be joining us again for the last week before Sunday school begins.

James continue to calls things like he sees it. On Sunday, we are going to be looking at just two verses. In a wisdom literature kind of move, he gives us these last thoughts before transitioning to talk about partiality. While the text is short, he packs in a lot of ideas about being religious, the use of the tongue, caring for those who have had loss, and being holy. As we read them, we want to consider their importance for us today. We want to examine our beliefs and whether or not they are in alignment with our actions. When asked about your faith, how do you describe it? We also want to think about who we are as a church body living this out. It is a gift to be pastored by a strong leader from the early church. What a joy to have the children and youth with us in these three weeks before Sunday school begins again. This week, there will be a short teaching from the sermon scripture for the kids during the 9:30am worship service. You won't want to miss that! We come into the sanctuary of the Lord on

One of the best aspects of the book we are studying is how plainly the truth is told. Truth that the church needed to hear then and still needs to hear today. To grasp James' points, we don't need to unpack complicated doctrine or understand twisty arguments. Instead, he simply tells us what we need to know, expecting us to act on that knowledge. This is the heart of the lesson this week. What do we know and what do we do with what we know? They are not the same. We can have all the knowledge in the world but if we don't practice what we understand to be true, it is useless. Humanity has a strange capacity for collecting wisdom and then doing exactly the opposite with it. How often have you heard someone say, "Well, I knew the best thing to do, but for some reason, that's not what I did." James is giving us a good idea to think about here. On a Sunday where we take communion, it is an important truth to bring before the Lord. The Holy Spirit will be actively in our midst as we gather to worship t

The second verse of this week's text (James 1:18-21) are wise words in and of themselves: "...let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger" (v.19). If you've been around Christian circles, you have probably heard these verses used to rationalize why all anger is bad, or to embrace meekness at all costs. Images of a monastery with folks who have taken vows of silence and peace come to mind. But is that all there is to these verses? We've spent the last few weeks in James, and so far chapter 1 has been all about dependence on God. We learned to depend on God for faith and wisdom to endure trials, then to do the same regardless of our financial situation, and last week we learned how our dependence calls us to wait on God, not to shift blame to or take credit for God's blessings. So how can James 1:19-21 be used to support this general theme of dependence? In these verses, God is giving us both an encouragement and a warning. Our response to God's implanted Word says a lot about our reliance

James has always been a controversial book. It is very directive and this emphasis on action made Martin Luther think it ought not even be included in the Bible! So it's a little ironic that in the six verses we will examine this week, James urges us to wait! As we have already seen in the earlier verses of the first chapter, and as we will see throughout the remainder of the letter, he wants to help us learn how to deal with the inevitable difficulties and hardships we face in life. In this week's section he suggests that we often fall into two opposing responses. When times are bad, we often shift the blame to God. And when times are good, we often shift the credit to ourselves. Instead, James says we must do neither, but instead, wait. This may be one of the hardest things for us to do as modern people. But he promises that if we can, there is an amazing reward in store. Come with an open heart, and listen for places in your own life where Christ is saying to wait.

The book of James looks a bit like the Old Testament book of Proverbs dressed up in New Testament clothes. Its consistent focus on practical action in the life of faith is reminiscent of the Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament, encouraging God's people to act like God's people. The pages of James are filled with direct commands to pursue a life of holiness, and to remain consistent in the face of great trials and tribulations. It is here we resume our study of James, diving deeper this Sunday into James 1:9-11. In three simple verses, the Church is invited to examine the trial of poverty and wealth in the life of a believer. James speaks dignity over those who have little, while simultaneously encouraging humility in those who have much. It is a wonderfully rich text, bringing both conviction and perspective on how faith should inform material wealth. It breaks barriers between poor and rich; uniting believers in Christ and grounding the church in the gift of contentment. It properly situates hope to be

This Sunday, we delve into James' first idea. With a brief salutation, he launches in by telling the church to be glad for hardships because of what they produce in our lives. There is no explanation given nor is there any context for what he is talking about. What I appreciate about this is that all of us have pain. We could all stop and think of a difficult situation or season in our lives when what we faced tested us beyond what we thought we could endure. James doesn't need to spell out a certain or real scenario because we all know what he is talking about. What Sunday will focus on is how he frames those times as joy. That is the difficulty. How do we decide, in all honesty, to look at the pain in our life as a good thing?

A Servant's Letter | Overview of James/James 1:1 This week, we begin the book of James. This is a practical book for believers in Christ, and one that acts as a reminder through the generations of what conduct as Christians looks like. This is not a narrative, nor is it meant to give us new information. It is meant to wake up its readers to what they have forgotten or failed to live into. This is a general letter to the church, so it has no specific audience, which we will talk about. We want to get a grasp of this book, who wrote it, the language James uses as well as the images he draws on, and what we can understand as his purpose as an author. We will talk a bit about who we know James to be and tie this book to the Gospel.

This is our last week in Ruth! It has been a joy for me to go through this adventurous book with all of you. While a unique story in the Old Testament and difficult to completely understand the cultural and religious context happening, there are truths which come through in vibrant ways to enliven God's people today. When we read chapter 4, we see a transaction between two family members happening. On Sunday, these words will challenge and inspire us, I think. Who are we in business? How do we put ourselves on the line for those in our lives who need help? Do we honor and uphold the dignity of others when negotiate something? This is a passage about redemption, so we will also be thinking about what that word means and why it may be the key theme in all of Ruth. In summer, let us continue to find ways to honor the Lord. My high school pastor used to always say, "You never take a vacation from God! Even if you are away, find ways to worship Him." These words have been on my mind as we are all going in so m

This Sunday we will once again pick up our series on the book of Ruth. We have been traveling with Ruth and her mother-in-law. Their lives took a series of different turns. In the process, we have learned about God's kindness through his people and what it means to follow Him. We will catch up with Ruth in chapter 3, and experience her encounter with Boaz, who is a relative of Naomi. God's kindness once again shows up through Boaz, but the door was really opened as Ruth listened to and obeyed the wisdom of Naomi, not only as her mother-in-law but her mentor as well. Join us as we listen to God's kind words and re-discover the value of how he calls us to be mentored by and mentor the people he has placed in our lives. - Pastor Doug

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, one of the most important days of the Christian year. In Acts 2, Luke records how the Holy Spirit came on the believers who were gathered together in one place. Just as Jesus promised, the sound of a violent, wind-filled the house where they were praying. Tongues of fire came to rest on each one there, and they were filled with God's very presence to do the ministry prepared for them to do. This is the beginning of the church. We are going to sit with scripture from the gospel of John, where Jesus is talking about how it is beneficial for Him to go away so that the Advocate can come and live among us. Who better to hear from than the Lord Himself, telling the disciples who the Spirit is and why He is being sent. Pentecost is an important remembrance of the giving of the Holy Spirit, because we realize God has given His very life for each person. And, each one who believes in Jesus as Lord has the Holy Spirit living in them. We want to not only remember, but also celebrate al

For our communion meditation on Sunday we are going to reflect on a theme we have seen in Ruth thus far. As a reminder, I encourage you to read through the first two chapters of the book and notice how much of the book is about a necessary component of life: bread. In fact, the need for it is an organizing force around which the whole book is written. Without the need, there is not the same movement and we would have a very different story of this family. We want to reflect on how vital bread is to us and how God gives generously to us, as we partake of His blessed body.

This Sunday, we continue in the book of Ruth. In chapter 2, the story progresses significantly with Ruth going to find provision and God acting on her behalf. We want to explore how God operates to help humankind and if we really believe that in our lives. We will talk about those who are vulnerable and how the Lord uses His people to bring relief to them and to protect them. We want to think about the nature of kindness where it would be just as easy to take advantage of someone. I encourage you to read Ruth 2, beginning with Ruth 1, if you have not been with us thus far. It is a beautiful story, full of God's goodness. The bitterness we have been talking about is fading as He is bringing new life. As we honor the Lord, may we be mindful of what He is teaching us in this time of our lives.

This Sunday, we will take a break from our study of Ruth to share in the power of a testimony. This weekend I will have the honor of being ordained as a reverend for the Free Methodist Church. I am beyond grateful for our church community, and humbled by the call to serve the church as an elder. On Sunday, I will share my testimony in the hopes of offering an encouragement to the church and a reminder of how God's love radiates through people of faith. The church has been my home my entire life, a sanctuary where I grew in my faith and received the call to ministry. The church offered healing, provision of my needs, and hope. I look forward to sharing my story with you this Sunday, and serving our church as an ordained minister. Thank you for your love, prayers, and encouragement. I look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday. - Shannon Balram, Associate Pastor

Ruth 1:6-22 This Sunday, we delve into the first chapter of Ruth in earnest. In these verses, we find the most famous words from this book, "Where you go, I will go." Although many people have used them to indicate their commitment when getting married, these words speak to a strong bond found in a different kind of family relationship. This is not about romance; it is a decision Ruth makes to stay with a woman who clearly means the world to her. What a beautiful set of verses! There is a faithfulness here we want to think about. How does one just change one's life and follow someone else? We also see here how Naomi is headed home to Bethlehem. We will talk about what going back to a familiar means and looks like. Naomi is very much still in process of her grief, which comes out as bitterness and is something else we will talk about on Sunday. In the season of Easter, I pray you are reveling in Christ's love for you! He is Risen!