A Faith that Works in Hope

REFLECTION QUOTES

“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”

~Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), lawyer and 16th President of the United States

“In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.”

~Anne Frank (1929-1945), German-Dutch diarist and Holocaust victim

“Students are hungry for truth, for beauty, for goodness….”

“Where are the love warriors? …that teach our young people (no matter what color!): Put love and justice in your struggle; and get that revenge out! But we acknowledge the pain.”

~Cornel West, Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth (visiting) professor

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

~Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

“The word hope I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.”

~John Calvin (1509-1564), Swiss theologian, pastor and reformer

“Hope can see through the thickest clouds.”

~Thomas Brooks (1608-1680), English pastor and author

“Hope is the only tie which keeps the heart from breaking.”

~Thomas Fuller (1608-1661), English pastor and historian

“Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called “the rejoicing of hope” (Hebrews 3:6).”

~William Gurnall (1616-1679), English pastor and author

“There is a difference between tears of hope and tears of hopelessness.”

~Erwin Lutzer, Canadian-American pastor and author

“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

~Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), pastor and slain civil rights leader

“We’re not defined by…history, but we have to acknowledge it, and…people of faith have a leadership role in causing the rest of the nation to believe that we can get to someplace better. Redemption is still available, but we have to repent, we have to give voice to our failings. Repentance breeds redemption. Collectively, as a Church, we need to do that.”

~Bryan Stevenson, lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative

SERMON PASSAGE

James 5:7-12 (ESV)

James 4

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 5

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.