Tried, Tested & True Prayer | James: Tried, Tested & True

Good morning. Good morning and welcome to all of you on this Memorial Day weekend Sunday.

That was one of my favorite hymns that Joellen was playing. How many people know the name

of the title of that song? In the back. Lord listen, is that right? Lord listen to your

children praying and that is what we're going to do today. So if you are a guest here at

Munster Church this morning, we are so thankful that you have come to worship with us. It's

going to be a little different of a service today. So today is going to be a service of

prayer. For all of those that are worried that there won't be a sermon, no there will

be. There will actually be three of them. But it's my opportunity to show all of you

I know what a sermonette is. And so we'll go from there. But this is going to be a time

where we're going to take intentional time out of our service to pray. So I'm going to

lead some of the prayer. Daniel's going to lead some of the prayer. We're going to leave

the Holy Spirit open to do some of the praying as well. But there's going to be a time in

one of the sermonettes where we're going to have a time of communal prayer. I'm going

to come down to the floor and I'm going to take prayer requests from, this is if you

guys remember a lot of evening services used to do this back in the day. And so we're going

to take time to offer up our prayers as a congregation. So I wanted to let you know

that sooner rather than later so it's not super spontaneous. But this is going to be

a time where we're not only going to pray for ourselves and confess but we're also going

to pray for the needs of others. We're going to pray for the direction of the church. We're

going to talk, we have one announcement slide we're going to get to in a little bit that

over the next month or so we have a lot of kind of governance things when it comes to

the church. And so we're going to lift all of that up in prayer because prayer is our

main communication with God. And James ends in this fifth chapter which James has flown

by. He's going to center on prayer. And so one of the things I'm just going to ask is

you all stand if you are able. That as we go into this time, I'm sure a lot of you have

other things that you're talking or thinking about, you know, plans for tomorrow. Some

of you are already looking out at whatever squall is coming our way. Don't worry. Our

roof is fixed. But understand that our time for prayer when we are called to be people

of prayer, it's to be honest. I remember growing up whenever I was a terrible liar and I'm

thankful that so are my boys. But my mom would always say now is the time to tell the truth.

Right? Now is the time. You're still going to get in trouble but it's not going to be

nearly as bad as if you lie. Though I don't want us to think about God as an angry parent

but I think that's sometimes we tend to do that even in our prayer life. That there are

times we pray to God and ask him for things that we really don't want or we try to like

throw a curve ball God's way and I want to call that out this morning. He is God and

creator of all. We can't throw him curve balls. So today as we enter into this space, as we

read God's word, as we worship, as we pray, let us search our heart. That sometimes the

best thing a believer can do is ask God to scrape the kind of metaphorical fish tank

of our lives. How many people have ever had a fish tank? What happens when you scrape

the bottom of it? Jess apparently throws up. But it gets all cloudy. Everything comes to

the surface. When we're not people of prayer, we tend to just push everything down and then

when something comes up in our life, it all comes up. Don't be afraid of that this morning.

Don't be afraid of being honest and vulnerable with a God that has made you honest and vulnerable.

And as we're going to all kind of feel at the end, his blessing goes with us as we do

it. That when we pray and we confess, he is there. When we praise and are joyful, he is

there. When we're confused or anxious, he is there. When life is going really well,

he is there. Why? Because he is the everlasting God. So that everlasting God this morning

invites you into this space and greets you with these really good words, grace, mercy

and peace to you from God our Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit now and

forever. Amen. Take a moment and greet one another. Welcome to Munster Church.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You may be seated. So as I said, we are in the last chapter of James where we've talked

about faith. We've talked about the testing of our faith, the trials that we go through

and James, I think it's been a strong book and a lot of you have been impacted by it.

I've said and I may put it out there in a couple of years, we may go at it into a whole

like 10 weeks of James because I think you can. But there's an encouragement, there's

an admonishment and then there's a challenge in the chapter 5 of James and he starts in

verses 7 and 8 where he says, 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 late rains. You also be patient. Establish your hearts for

the coming of the Lord is at hand. There's three major things in those two verses that

when we talk about prayer, when we talk about what it means to lay it all on the line for

the Lord when it comes to our prayer life and in life in general, the first is patience.

Now I could easily just have the Smedbergs come up and talk about what it means to be

farmers and the patience that it takes. I know I couldn't do it. But the farmer example

I think is something we all can grow in. That a farmer, I know I don't have to worry about

it in my job and I'm sure a lot of you don't, you have to work around the rain. Something

you have absolutely no control over. And then if it rains too much, you're like, whoa. But

it's this patience and knowing that God knows what he's doing. And that I think is the first

step of being a person of prayer is that you're praying to a God that knows what he's doing.

And I think for a lot of us we struggle with that. We struggle with the understanding that

God holds all the cards per se and he doesn't show us our hand all the time. I know for

me that drives me absolutely insane. God, just give me a little more. Just give me what

is tomorrow going to look like? Or I may get so bold like give me what the next week is

going to look like. And he doesn't. Sometimes he does. But what happens in our lives is

when it doesn't happen, all of a sudden God gets the blame. And I think as we as people

of prayer we need to come to the Lord with the understanding of patience. Because everything

the Lord has said he will do, he's done. And the stuff he will do, guess what? He will

do it. And we struggle with that. But as we come in this posture of prayer this morning,

our prayer needs to be, the posture of our prayer needs to be of letting it all go. Laying

it all down. Because God already knows. And I think we need to be confirmed in that and

encouraged in the fact that you are known completely. Let me say that again. You are

known completely. And for a lot of us we are hiders. We like to hide things, we like to

put things in little boxes and think nobody is ever going to know. No, God does. And it's

how you receive that understanding that really tells you a lot about where your faith is

in God. And for some of you faith is easy. For some of you faith is hard. For some of

you faith is just like a roller coaster. That's me. That I sometimes my faith can be more

like a roller coaster. But what we learn from James 5 in this beginning section is not only

to remain steadfast and patient, even when the results of our faith are not visible.

That we go to the Lord in prayer. That we still pray for it. That we have to trust that

God works in our lives and the lives of the world nurturing and preparing for whatever

is coming. And so in a little bit when we go to prayer that should be our posture always.

Lord, here it is. Here is my everything. I don't want to hold anything back. Think about

all of you that might be married in the sanctuary. What happens if you hold back? What happens

if you are not fully truthful with your fears, your vulnerabilities, your successes, the

things you love about your spouse, the things you can't stand about your spouse. What if

we held all of that back? What would the relationship look like? But unfortunately I may have just

described your marriage today or your relationships. So often we want to look at the other party.

We want to look at the offending person. We want to look at the offending group or whatever

and instead the Lord says no, no, no, no. Seek yourself in that first. Look at the planks

in your eyes before you take the log out of somebody else's. That is a posture of prayer.

That is a posture of preparing your heart and establishing it to receive from God. Because

it is in that reception that God does his work. So is our posture this morning that

of pride, of hurt? Or are we going to lay that down and allow the Lord to define who

we are in those moments? As we go further and further into this service it is going

to get more corporate when it comes to our prayers. But we need to start by establishing

our spots. Laying our stuff down. Because we are really good about praying about someone

else's issues. What about ours? What do we need to offer up today? As we look at a school

year that was to a summer that will be, what is it that we need to work on in ourselves?

And in the church, what is it that we need to really look inwards and try to figure out,

to try to make sense of, to lean and discern the spirit and the voice of God? I can guarantee

you he is asking each one of you, all of those online, and the church, have faith in me.

Have faith in me. That is not me Jim, that is him God. As we go to our first time of

prayer, how is that relationship with the Lord? How is that prayer time? Is it just

in the heat of the moment, that is when we go, or is it a life of prayer? Because we

are called to be patient. Because the fruits of our faith are coming, though we may not

always see it on earth, we will see it one day in glory. So be patient, establish your

heart this morning, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Let's go before the Lord in prayer this morning. Good morning God, we just are coming here

this morning to meet with you. Lord we come from a lot of different places in our hearts

and our emotions are all over the place Lord, and we just want to surrender all those things

to you this morning. Holy Spirit, thank you for being here, we just ask that you enter

into our hearts and that you are just molding us and preparing us for time spent with you

in prayer, for worship, for learning from your word in the book of James this morning.

And Lord, some of us might be feeling like we are coming to church this morning from

a place of suffering God, where we don't see the end game that you have in mind, or we

disagree with the steps that you have led us through so far. God another word for patience

is long suffering, and some of us might be feeling that this morning, that we are just

feeling like we are going through it. And it's hard to have that patience, it's hard

to have that trust and that faith in your plan. God, when we don't know the outcome,

it's really hard for us Lord. So Holy Spirit, just calm us this morning, help us to surrender

those things to you, to lay them down before you, to admit our brokenness, to admit that

you have it in control. And Lord, as we continue in prayer the rest of this morning, Holy Spirit,

just lead us through that as we look ahead God, to when you do return, when you do redeem

and restore all things. God, we look forward to that day, and we just pray for the endurance,

the strength, and the patience Lord, to live life here, and to live and be people of faith

in the meantime. Lord, that we can trust your will for us, and Lord again, just thank you

for meeting us here, for just your grace, for our doubts, and as we continue in prayer,

lead us through that in our time with you this morning. Let it be sweet, let it be fruitful

as we just get to commune with you God, it's a beautiful thing. So we want to thank you

again for all that you do for us God, for the plans you have for us even when we don't

know or understand them yet. And Lord, we just want to lay all this at your feet this

morning in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Fruitfully, let's keep it up and deacons at this time come on up and take our offering

for the Christian Education Fund.

Let us not turn our eyes from evil things. Oh Lord, we cast out our idols. Give us clean

hands. Give us pure hearts. Let us not lift our souls to another. Give us clean hands.

Give us pure hearts. Let us not lift our souls to another. We bow our hearts. We bend our

knees. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us

whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us

whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make

us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come

make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit, come make us whole. Oh Spirit,

it is Memorial Day weekend and for a lot of us that is a time of getting together for

family and friends. It's a day off of school, a day off of work normally for a lot of us

and in the Holland owner house it's going to mean something a little differently this

year. Last week we said goodbye to, or a see you later, a farewell if you will, to our

niece Angelina Seda who is in the Army and is being sent to Jordan and Saudi Arabia for

the next year or so. And this is the first active military that we've had in our family

in a long time. And it got me thinking about Memorial Day weekend and I think James touches

on it in his fifth chapter where he says, as an example of suffering and patience, brothers,

take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed

who remain 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. And I think of that compassion

and mercy to all of those not only that have served, we will recognize you in a minute,

but those that gave the ultimate price. Now we do see in the scriptures and we understand

that Jesus says there is no greater love than this than one who lays his life down for a

brother or a sister or a friend. In our country we stand on the backs of people that have

given that price, that have paid that price. And so as a church we want to say thank you

to all of those that have served. So if you have served in the military and you are here

this morning, I'm going to ask that you please stand. And all of those that have lost someone

in any one of the conflicts that we have found ourselves as a country, I would ask that you

please stand. Hear these words again, there is no greater love than this than one who

lays down his life for a friend. So church I ask that we would recognize them this morning.

Thank you all very much. You may be seated. And as we hear the tolling of the bells and

we remember this weekend and we also give thanks to God for those that have stepped

in that space to fill that gap. And like we said, some paying that ultimate price. Let's

pray. Father I give you thanks for all those who stood, whether they stand because they

themselves have served or someone that they love gave that ultimate sacrifice. Father

we thank you for your sacrifice for us. That we would be an example of that in life. That

we would have sacrificial love in the depth of our hearts. So Father as we remember this

week, as we celebrate Memorial Day, maybe not only out of love that you have for us

but that we have for those, for the others, for those that have served and those that

have paid that price. We thank you for their sacrifice and our lives are changed because

of your sacrifice for us. And we pray this in the name of the Father, the Son and the

Holy Spirit. Amen.

Oh what peace we often forfeit Oh what needless pain we bear

Oh what peace we often forfeit Oh what needless pain we bear

Oh what peace we often forfeit Oh what needless pain we bear

Oh what needless pain we bear Oh because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer

Can we trials and temptations Is there trouble anywhere

We should never be discouraged Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful Who will all our sorrows share

Jesus who's our every weakness Take it to the Lord in prayer

Are we weak and heavy-legged Come good with the Lord of prayer

Precious Savior, still our refuge Take it to the Lord in prayer

Through Thy friends, these fires forsake Thee Take it to the Lord in prayer

In His arms, still take and shield Thee Thou wilt find us on this land

You may be seated. James 5, 13. Is anyone among you suffering, let him pray. Is anyone

cheerful, let him sing praise. Is anyone of you sick, let him call for the elders of the

church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And

the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. And

if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another

and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous person has great

power as it is working. James continues this conversation now specifically on prayer. He

highlights that prayer is appropriate for every situation. Let that hang for about five

seconds. That prayer is appropriate for every situation. How does that sit with some of

us today? That one wasn't rhetorical. Comfort. Awesome. Peace. Any others? I find that

terrifying. That prayer is appropriate for every situation in life and I'm a pastor.

Every situation in life, when a family gets dismantled for whatever reason, it is appropriate

to pray. We're expected to pray. When we lose loved ones, I know my first turn maybe isn't

prayer. When we get a speeding ticket, we're supposed to pray. But I think James makes

it very clear that, and he's highlighting that even in suffering or joy or sickness,

that prayer, this coming to God with everything shows the power of God in you and the power

of God in me. That even in the muck of life, we can find our Father in prayer. I'll be

honest, I struggle with that. There are some wonderful things that happen in church. And

there are days I am blown away by just how awesome it is to work in the church. And just

like everybody, there are days that I go, man, something else sounds really appealing

today. I'm supposed to take that to the Lord in prayer? And I shouldn't be, it shouldn't

come over me like a new idea because this understanding of prayer and this understanding

of a life of faith go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot say,

I am a person of great faith, yet I never communicate with God. That's like saying,

man, I have the best marriage. When's the last time you talked to Carrie? I don't know.

Doesn't work. That when we have these intimate relationships in our lives, it comes with

communication. I'm excited. I think I'm at four weddings this year left, and I already

have three scheduled for next year. And doing the premarital for couples is always so much

fun because I just get to lob these conflictual grenades in the what could happen in your

life and then just sit back and eat my popcorn as they talk about it. Joel and Jess, that's

not how it went. Not too much, but it is because we talk about it and guess what?

Communication comes back to communication all the time. Why do you have conflict in this

area? Well, you're not communicating. Why do you have conflict in this area? When's the

last time we talked about it? We don't. Well, there you go. Understand that communication

and a faithful life go hand in hand. Because you could easily read this section of James

and talk about physical sickness. And it's easy to pray when you're physically sick.

But is it easy to pray when all of a sudden that sickness lingers or that sickness gets

worse or the diagnosis is actually something way bigger than what you went in for? The

prayers change. I know a lot of you were not members of the church yet, but my first full

year into the church, Labor Day is always the anniversary of when I came in 2018, and

so it's easy to remember. But that following year is when we laid my sister to rest. And

I come back to this because one thing that I will always remember about Lynn is she never

wavered in her prayer even when she knew the cancer wasn't going to go away. Even that

day when she told me that not only did it not go away, it doubled and it spread. That

she found comfort in prayer because that was her acknowledging that God knows what he's

doing. And I know that some of you here have had cancer battles and had sicknesses, whether

for a long time or a very short part of your life. And prayer plays a part in that always.

That prayer should not only be consistent when things are going wrong, but prayer should

also be when things go right. How many of you, when the family goes on a trip, you always

pray for traveling mercies when you go, right? You two better raise your hand. We always

do, especially when your mother's driving. And understand that I can say that, she's

not here. But I always check myself that when we make it wherever we're going, we rarely

say thank you. And I had one of my sons call that out the last time we went up to Michigan.

Dad, we pray, we've been to Kalamazoo countless times, that's where my grandma lives, right?

I could do it with my eyes closed, I won't, but I could. That we always say, Lord, give

us traveling mercies. Then when we get there and he gave that mercy because we're all

still alive, we don't say thank you. And it punked me out so bad that how often is our

prayer life just us flinging quote unquote hail Marys and never following up with God

and saying, I'm going to pray for you. That we ask God for these things, we ask God for

the desire of our heart, whatever that is, because the Bible tells us to do it. And then

when we get it, we don't even go, we don't even acknowledge it. Because I think sometimes

we have the mindset, well, we prayed for it so it's going to happen. But then what happens

when it doesn't? That we are to be consistent in prayer. Why? Because as James said, prayer,

the faithful is powerful and effective, capable of bringing about healing and forgiveness.

If you've ever been at war with somebody and you finally get to a place of forgiveness

and it seems like a bunch of stress has fallen off, I guarantee you in a couple weeks when

we cast lots and the three names that don't get picked, I guarantee you some of them are

going to go, and that's okay. It takes faith just to put your name up. But understand that

there should be that follow up when it comes to prayer or else we're crying out and not

seeing it through. Yet we pray God see us through this situation. See me through my

chemo treatments. See me through this downtime in my marriage. See me through as I hate my

job and all of these things. And then guess what? When he sees you through it, you're

like, that's exactly what God should do. That's such a bad understanding when it comes to

prayer. We are called to pray with confidence and faith, knowing that God hears and responds

to the prayers of the righteous, but then we are to acknowledge God and give testimony

to what God has done in our life. Because so often I see it in the church all the time,

you know, we got this terrible news, we work through it, we're on the other side of it,

and we're stronger people because of it. What about God in that? Are you closer to the Lord

in that? Have you stayed communicating with God in those things? Are we sharing the testimony

of what God is doing in our life or are we too busy sharing the testimony of all that

we are doing in our life? Because the Bible talks about the power of testimony is a powerful

thing. The only way you get to that power is through a life of faith and a life of prayer.

Then you get to that testimony and you can share that testimony with a world that desperately

needs it. I love all of you, but the world is not in desperate need of the testimony

of Max Mahjong. It's the testimony of God at work in Max's life. The world doesn't need

the testimony of Jim Holland Donor. They need the testimony of God at work in Jim Holland

Donor's life. Because then the world can say, wow, he loves a Jim, he can love a me. That

is the power of prayer, the power of faith. And acknowledging that, acknowledging Lord,

I need you, Lord, every hour I need you means that we become this big. And that's exactly

where we ought to be. That God, creator, redeemer, sustainer of all, loves and works even in

our lives. So what is it that you need prayer for? The third Sunday of the month during

the kind of the school year, I go down and preach at Crown Point CRC. I love that church

for you through the summer. I'm not going to check in with you on them. I will keep

them in my personal prayer time. And I would ask that we would just pray, that we would

just pray for people that actually pray one for another. So I open this time now for a

time of communal prayer. It always takes one and then usually people get more comfortable.

And what's his first name? Son Derek. Darren. Others? Cindy.

Matthew. Valerie.

We've been praying a lot for our Advent we Doug. Absolutely. Chrissy?

Nuria? Talk about a huge praise God in her. Absolutely Nuria. In her new life in Christ.

Awesome. Others? Band I don't want to forget you guys either. Emily. Deb. Jack or Jackie?

Jack. Balcony. Up there. We see you too. It's important that we do this. That we pray one

for another because as a church that we are called to love the world, right? And work

in the world we are also called to love and work in each other's lives as well. It has

oh yep. Amen. Slow down, slow down, slow down, slow down. Absolutely. And we give thanks

for you guys and the testimony that I know God is going to use in all of your lives as

you've worked through all of that. Any others? Yep. In the back. Lynn? Linda?

Shirley? Jack? And Grace? They have all departed but they're families. Others?

Wife? Monica? Bro? In loving God? Loving people? John? Others? Yep. Rob?

Mary? Max? Hang on one second. Neighbors in the food pantry.

Nancy? Rich and Nancy. We walk with you guys in all of this. Absolutely. Balcony. Hey!

Good morning! John? Oh, that's the Lee Stanowski family. Saw other hands. Yep. Lincoln? Marilyn?

Let me find where I put that. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Definitely. That's the Lee Stanowski.

Thank you. Nick? Charlie? Oh, yep. Todd? Yeah. Yep.

Brian? Yep. Joanne and Ken? Kenny?

I have an observation to make. Oh, up in the front. Or up in the top. Yeah. For friendship. Love it.

I'll put pastors. So I have an observation to make. Oh, another one. Richard? This is a beautiful list.

And I'm going to challenge us that if we're going to be people of prayer, then I want our prayer section of our News and Notes to look more like this.

Because I know it's hard to ask for prayer and I know that it's hard and maybe we think thoughts about, oh, I don't know if we want to put it on there.

We always do less is more when it comes to the details of prayer. Why? Because God knows.

But I want us to unlock that part of our church. That we would be a church actively praying for, I think you guys came up with almost 50 names or situations.

This is the stuff we want to be praying for. That when we are active in prayer and active in a life of prayer, it is for these things.

No prayer is too small. No prayer is too big. Prayer is an opportunity for us to see you, to come alongside you, for your elders and your deacons,

then myself to help serve you and love on you and all of these things. Because the greatest thing, one of the greatest things I find about God and my understanding of him

is that he is in each and every one of these situations, even though I know that there are some of these names that do not believe that he exists.

That is a very powerful thing about the Lord. A very powerful thing about where our response should be in prayer.

So let us go to the Lord in prayer. Let's pray.

Father, as we come to you, as we come to you with openness and honesty in our hearts, Father, we pray for Darren and Cindy, Marilyn and Kevin,

Matthew and Valerie, Twyla and Chrissy, Nuria and Emily, Deb and Jack.

For the Ohms family, we join with them in thanksgiving for the clear scans that were given this week.

For Lynn, for Shirley, Jack and Grace, knowing that you have called them home, but we pray for their families.

For Joanne and Kenny, for Denise, for Richard and Lisa, Ryan and Charlie, for Linda and the family.

For the Lee and Stanowski family, for Lincoln and John, Rich and Nancy, for Brian and his family, for Max and Rob, for John and Monica.

For the neighbors that we have in our food pantry, that we continue to walk alongside them and give us threefold more, God,

that we can meet that Matthew 25 commission of feeding those that need food.

Father, may we as a church continue to center on you, on your word, that we would focus on you solely and not get confused

or not get sidetracked by other things, that we would continue to grow in our love for people as we grow in our love for you.

Father, open our eyes to that growth, to what you are calling for in our life, to bring the good news of the gospel to dark places.

Father, we love you, we need you, and we thank you that you love us.

And we pray this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I come, I confess, now we hear. I find my rest, and without you I fall apart.

You're the one that guides my heart. Lord, I need you, oh, I need you.

Every hour I need you, my one defense, my righteousness, oh God, how I need you.

Sin runs deep, your grace is more, grace is found, is where you are, where you are.

Lord, I am free, holiness is Christ in me, where you are.

Lord, I am free, holiness is Christ in me.

Lord, I need you, oh, I need you. Every hour I need you, my one defense, my righteousness, oh God, how I need you.

To teach my song to rise to you, when temptation comes my way.

When I cannot stand, I'll fall on you. Jesus, you're my hope and state.

When I cannot stand, I'll fall on you. Jesus, you're my hope and state.

Lord, I need you, oh, I need you. Every hour I need you, my one defense, my righteousness, oh God, how I need you.

Lord, I need you, oh, I need you. Every hour I need you, my one defense, my righteousness, oh God, how I need you.

Lord, you're my one defense, my righteousness, oh God, how I need you.

You may be seated.

James 5-12.

But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath.

But let your yes be yes, your no be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

This is the final thought that we get from James this morning.

What it means to not only live in faith, live in prayer, but to live in integrity.

Integrity is a tricky thing.

Integrity, there's many different definitions, a lot of quippy ones, a lot of hallmarky sayings.

One that has always stuck with me is who you are when nobody's looking.

There's a definition of integrity I had early on spoken over my life by my father, Dan.

Not for the best reasons, but we won't go into it.

But it's always stuck with me, especially if we know that God sees all, is in all, and above all things.

Then really the definition is who you are when it's just God looking.

And that's hard.

Because for a lot of us, we want to put God in a villain place then.

Because we really like our sin.

We really like to sin.

Because sin can be fun.

That is the temptation of sin.

But what James is calling out to the church today is the importance of living in truth.

He emphasizes that our words should be simple and honest.

Without needing to swear by anything or prove our sincerity.

This reflects a life of integrity.

Where our yes means yes and our no means no.

So what does it look like, church, to practice honesty in all of our dealings?

What does it look like to be a church that is trustworthy and reliable both in the small matters

and in large commitments as it is a reflection of Christ-like character?

Well, there's two ways to go with that.

Is not putting yourself in situations where your integrity is going to be tested.

Good luck, Jim.

Because our integrity is tested every day.

Every word we speak, every thought we think, every move you make, God will be watching us.

Sting.

But understand that that's true.

That how we live our life is a reflection of the God that we worship, the God we have faith in,

the God that we pray to.

Let me say that again.

That the way we live our life is a reflection of that.

So if you're known as a gossip, then you're showing people that you worship a God that gossips.

If you live in hatred, lacking forgiveness, then you have no idea what the forgiveness of the Lord is in your life.

You don't get it.

If you're living in a life of lust and impurity, then you're telling the world that your God is okay with that.

And friends, I know it's hard, and I am preaching to the choir.

But what James is calling all of us, above all else, live in integrity.

By living truthfully and avoiding the need to swear by anything, to protect ourselves from falling into condemnation.

Being labeled a hypocrite.

Being, as we already talked about, having our tongue used for praising and cursing.

May we be people that praise and not curse.

Though we should use our voice to correct, to rebuke, to hold accountable, we can do that in loving ways.

So the final thought for today is that I'm going to encourage all of us this summer to pray some very powerful prayers.

First and foremost for ourselves. That we would examine inward, examine our lives where the places we may lack integrity.

We may dabble in the darkness.

Because if you want to jump to another apostle, right, John, he says, if you have a foot in the light and a foot in the dark, the light does not know you.

So let us live examined lives. Not just this summer, but always.

But may we pray. Lord, put us in the game.

Whether that's here at Munster Church, in your life at home, in your job, in your hobbies, in whatever.

Get in the game for the gospel.

If you have a heart for the community and you want to engage that community, get involved.

If you have a heart to bring in discipleship, to take people deeper, whether kids or adults, get involved.

That as we talk through the family meeting next week, we talk through the congregational meeting in a couple weeks.

Munster Church is sitting at a place. Its trajectory is being pointed, we believe, by the Holy Spirit to do some pretty cool things.

But it's not going to be led by just me. It's not going to be led by just the elders or the deacons or the worship team.

It will be led by the congregation.

And in hope for years and years and generations to come.

But it starts here first.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

We confess our sin. God is faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

You don't have to do that alone.

We do it in community.

We do it in the power of prayer.

Please pray with me.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit, we come before you again this morning, Lord.

God, we are excited for the direction that Munster Church is heading, Lord, for all the potential plans that you have already made and laid out for us.

Lord, we, as Pastor Jim is encouraging us, we all want to get in the game in whatever areas of life that you're calling us to.

When you just ask Holy Spirit, you give us the confidence to step out in faith in those ways.

And Lord, as we want to be that church, want to be that community out in your world, we know that it has to start inside each of us first.

So Holy Spirit, we pray that you convict us of the ways that we fall short of being people of integrity, the ways that we fall short of modeling after Jesus.

And Lord, it looks different for each of us.

We all have our own areas where we fail and where we fall short, where we miss the mark.

But Lord, we're grateful for your grace that we can pick ourselves back up again only with your strength and keep going.

Lord, we ask for the courage to confess our sins to you and to each other.

And Father, for just the, yeah, that courage to do so, for the bravery to move forward, Lord,

and that we can continue to try to be people of integrity, Lord,

and that as each of us is being sanctified by you, Holy Spirit, that we can become a church of people of integrity

and become a church that wants to get in the game, that just wants to be your love to the people that we interact with in the world, Lord,

that we can be loving to you by our love of others.

So convict us of our personal ways we fall short.

Allow us to confess those to others, God, that we as a church can be more of the church that you are calling us to be.

So Lord, as we start to close out the service, Father, we just ask that this isn't something that just ends this morning.

That, Holy Spirit, that you continue to move in our hearts.

Lord, that prayer requests and praises that were lifted up to you today can continue.

That we're not afraid, Lord, but that we have confidence knowing that you do answer prayers

and that other people here do care and do want to lift those requests up on our behalf

when sometimes we don't feel we have the strength to do so on our own.

So Lord, just continue the work that you're doing, Holy Spirit, continue the work that you're doing,

that you're stirring things up in this church, and we just want to follow us, follow you in the direction that you are taking us.

Father, we pray all this in the name of your Son Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Please stand and sing this last song with us.

Lord, turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Amen, Amen, Amen.

Amen, Amen, Amen.

Amen, Amen, Amen.

Please may He be upon you and a thousand generations in your family, your children, their children, their children may His presence go before you and behind you and beside you, all around you and within you.

He is with you, He is with you in the morning, in the evening, in the coming and the going, in your weeping and rejoicing.

He's for you, he's for you, he's for you, He's for you, he's for you, He's for you, He's for you.

Amen, Amen, Amen

James reminds us in the beginning to have joy in trials, to have joy in the highs of life and the depths of life

knowing that we all can have those even in a day

So as we go forth this week, understand you go forth not the same

you go forth blessed, you go forth blessed by the one who gives the blessing

blessed to go forth and be a blessing and maybe that blessing this week is saying I'm sorry

maybe that blessing this week is bringing about restoration and reconciliation

maybe that blessing is just to sit and be with someone that's hurting

and you don't go alone

you go with the God that says

I am with you always to the very end of the age, friend take that to heart, know that he means it

and he goes before you, he is with you and he will be here long after we're with him

and may he bless you and keep you

make his face shine on you, be gracious unto you, lift up his countenance upon you

give you his peace which always passes our understanding in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Amen

The Lord bless you and keep you

make his face shine upon you, be gracious to you

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace

Go in peace

Amen