It’s been my pleasure these past few weeks to bring you the Word of God as expressed through the Book of James. Today’s message is Part V: “Faith and Deeds: Working Together Works.” James is simply reminding us that you really do not believe something until it shapes and forms what you do and how you live. Our passage begins by asking two pointed- questions: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? He then answers his own question by asking us to consider a certain scenario. Then finally, he draws a conclusion: faith and deeds – working together works. Active faith releases God’s power. Even so, faith, if it hath not deeds, is dead, being alone. Amen

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As your pastor, I want you to be the kind of person who reads the Word of God, understands it, applies it, and reap the rewards of doing it. I want you to be blessed in your life. I want you to experience God’s blessings that come from obedience in your home, in your marriage, in your finances, at work, at school and where life takes you. What God wants is that when He looks at us, we look like the WORD! James talks about this connection between God’s Word and our obedience to it that results in blessings. The question of today’s text is: what are you going to do with what you hear. Thus, our text gives us three things to consider. Four things that if you take these seriously will be transformational to your life. First, God Wants You to Investigate His Word. Second, God Wants You to Apply His Word. Third, God Wants You to Remember His Word. Fourth, God Wants You to be Rewarded by His Word. Are you a hearer only or a doer of God’s Word? If you do what it says and do not forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. AMEN

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The reception of God’s Word is an absolute necessity for Christian growth. In other words, you will never be a growing Chrisitan without a knowledge of the Word of God. In today’s message, Pastor Wallace teaches from James 1:21 about how to receive the implanted Word of God with meekness. Thus, we are to “open ourselves up to ‘this word,” maintain a continual openness toward it, so that its’ power might be continually at work within us. The same word by which we were brought to a new birth is the same word by which we grow and by which we finally will be delivered. We are to welcome the implanted Word with: A Repentant Heart; and 2) A Receptive Heart. Amen

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Today, we continue our sermon series in the Book of James with Part II – “Asking God for Wisdom.” After James talks to us about the trials, the temptations, the falsities of life, then he talks to us about wisdom: what it is and how to get it and how to ask for wisdom in prayer. Pastor Wallace wants you to know that it is God’s will for you to become a mature Christian that is wanting no good thing. But we need to grow up! Our faith is still incomplete. One of things we lack is wisdom. God uses trials to expose our need for wisdom. Our text teaches that God freely provides wisdom to face life’s trials to those who come to Him in believing prayer. Vance Havner said it well: “if you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees.” When was the last time you asked for God’s wisdom? Are you navigating your life with God’s wisdom? Amen

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Today, we begin a new sermon series on the subject: “Life Lessons from James, Part I – “Passing the Tests in Life.” We know that trials, even the most profound ones are a gift from God. But in this message, Pastor Wallace teaches us that spiritual maturity is not attained by merely experiencing trials – it is attained by embracing them. Putting faith too work in your life has more to do with how you respond to trouble (trials and tests) than perhaps anything else in your life. So, is it any wonder that James begins to challenge the believer to bring his/her faith down to earth – making our faith real – that he immediately launches into giving us the truth about testing and temptations. In this message, Pastor Wallace gives us three things we can learn about the tests of life: 1) The Fact of Temptation; 2) The Forms of Temptation; 3) The Force of Temptation; and 4) The Facing of Temptation.

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Glorifying God in Worship

As Christians, we need to be absolutely sure why we go to church. In today’s message, Pastor Wallace teaches us that true believers go to church because they desire to do so, and out of this desire, they obey God’s commands. They do not obey God’s commands and then are furnished with the desire. No, their desire, flowing out of a changed heart, pushes them to crave covenanted worship. It’s like when David said” I was glad when they said let us go to the house of God.” Our desire as Christians should be to attend church because that is where we are able to glorify God; that is what we were created to do. Glorifying God is a matter of how we respond to His miracle of mercy and grace. So, why do YOU come to church? Amen.

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Sunday, July 20, 2025 – Covenant Community Church

Scripture Text: Philippians 3:12-14 NIV

The importance of goals in life can never be underestimated. They set direction, define action and hopefully bring about a satisfied fulfillment in your life. However, true success is to lay hold of that for which God has laid hold on you. In today’s text, Paul pursued his goal with absolute determination. He gave humanity a Formula: forgetting what is behind; then focusing on the life goal avoiding side-tracking. God therefore calls us all to reach out to higher ground. Pastor Wallace gives us four great words regarding this passage that could help us understand the text fully: Dissatisfaction; Devotion; Direction; and Determination. Summarily, we are all in a race – we are moving somewhere – where are you going? What direction are you running in? Are you running towards God or away from God? My prayer is that as Jesus gets a hold of you, that you would hold onto Him. Amen. If you have been blessed from hearing this message, please consider sowing into this ministry via our webpage: www.indycovenant.org. Thanks

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Sunday, July 13, 2025 – Covenant Community Church

Scripture Text: Genesis 39:19-23 NRSV

What do you do when everything is coming at you or you are getting hit from every side? Sooner or later we all wonder about God’s seeming inactivity. Where is God when we need Him? In the book of Genesis, Joseph faced some of the worst difficulties anyone ever encountered. In today’s message, Drawing, from insights from Joseph’s story, Pastor Wallace gives five principles you can take to heart and apply in times like these. They are: 1) Don’t demand to Understand; 2) Don’t fail to be faithful; 3) Don’t Bow to Bitterness; 4) Be willing to wait; and 5) Don’t let dreams dissolve. Thus, don’t lose faith when something does not make sense. Just because it does not make sense now does not mean that it will not make sense one day. If you have been blessed from hearing this message, please consider sowing a seed into our ministry by visiting our webpage at www.indycovenant.org

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