Through our relationship with Lifeline Christian Missions, we have the opportunity to create meal 22.000 meal packs to help feed survivors of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. We will need to raise $10,000 to pay for the food and transportation of the meals, and then we create and pack the meals on April […]
We have another season of Worship academy kicking off on February 15th. This session consists of Voice Training with John Murray or Photography with Chris Thompson. Both classes are on Wednesday evenings at 7pm at Highland Park. If you would like to sign up please click on the this link: Worship Academy Signup
Our weekly drop-in indoor playground has started back up. It runs on Wednesdays from 10-12 for people with kids ages 0-5. There are bouncy castles, toys and games for the kiddos and coffee, tea and tables for the grown ups. Bring the kids by every Wednesday from now until the end of May.
This Sunday’s service is a very important one in the life of our church. We will be getting an update on our current state of the church, staffing changes as well as plans for the future. Here is a video that gives you an idea of what to expect on Sunday:
Here is a link to our premade Christmas Day service with a few carols and thoughts from Alan, Scott, Dave and Chris.
Our Christmas services this year will consist of: Christmas Eve Services 7pm Highland Park, Mission Heights, and Online (YouTube Link) Christmas Day Online (YouTube Link) Jan 1 Regular services at all sites at 10am
Some of you may have seen the Questions program that Duff, Mike and Chris have been putting out over the past couple of years. Some of you may not have noticed or not checked it out yet. Our goal with Questions is to engage the church and non-churched people in thoughtful discussion around faith and […]
Worship Academy is a group of courses aimed to help you develop your artistic abilities while finding ways to use them to enhance and encourage worship. Check out more here: gpchurchofchrist.com/worship-academy
Here are some of the areas we are still needing people to help in: Sunday School These roles require a background check and completion of our Vulnerable Persons Training Teachers Needed Class # Needed Preschool 1 Needed Grade 1-2 1 Needed Grade 3-4 1 Needed Grade 4-6 1 Needed Contact janeya@gpchurchofchrist.com for more info Youth […]
“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
– James 2:18
I have always liked the book of James, mostly because it speaks to our need to have our faith expressed in real ways. Some have had issue with it because it seems to lean towards earning our faith by what we do. This however, is not the reality. The reality is that if we have faith, it must express itself in what we do and how we live. We cannot have (or rather do not have) faith when it exists only in our minds and hearts, it must spill over into our hands and feet. What we do (our deeds) are evidence of what we believe. If we profess the love and grace of Jesus, how then are we living it?
There is so much evidence of this in the bible. One of the main judgements God had against Israel was their exploitation and abuse of the weak and powerless. They were not reflecting the character of God in how they lived. They identified themselves as the chosen people of God, but then neglected the fact that they were called to represent God to the world. We too are called to be God’s representatives and reflect his character. How we interact with people in our workplaces, our schools, at the mall and online all must reflect our relationship with Jesus. That our relationship with Jesus that is so flooded with the knowledge and understanding of his grace that it overflows in us and oozes out of every aspect of who we are.
So the focus again needs to come off of us. It has to be on him. We cannot hope to live this out unless we are oriented and centered on Jesus. Our desire to make a difference in this world cannot be rooted in our effort, but rather in our desire to reveal who Jesus is as he fills us and his spirit moves in us. Our deeds are not about doing better or trying harder. The evidence of our faith is the deeds that pour out of us as we dwell in and live out who Jesus is.
If you have a minute read the entirety of James 2 here: James 2 Text