Four Oaks East Podcast

Speaker: Pastor Joshua HughesText: James 4:1-12
Big idea: The teleios principle: whole people are peaceable people, but passions at war produce people at war. 
We are a people at war with others
We are a people at war with God
Case Studies of Passions at War: 1 - Disordered Desire- Desire is mismanaged- Desire is misdirected
Case Studies of Passions at War: #2 - Worldliness
Case Studies of Passions at War #3 - Pride
Case Studies of Passions at War #4 - Judgmentalism
To move toward wholeness, get low before God
To move toward wholeness, get close to God
To move toward wholeness, get honest with God

Speaker: Pastor Funmi Ojetayo
Text: James 3:13-18Big Idea: wisdom is not measured by what you know, but revealed by what you grow – either disorder from below or righteousness from above.
I. The Test of Wisdom: Show, Not Tell (v. 13)+ good conduct+ meekness (power under control)
II. Hellish Wisdom: From Below (vv. 14–16)+ Motive: bitter jealousy & selfish ambition (v. 14)+ Origin: earthly, unspiritual, demonic (v. 15)+ Outcome: disorder & every vile practice (v. 16)
III. Heavenly Wisdom: From Above (vv. 17–18)+ Priority: first pure (v. 17)+ Posture: peaceable, gentle, open to reason (v. 17)+ Practice/Fruit: mercy, good fruits, impartial, sincere → harvest of righteousness sown in peace (vv. 17–18)

Speaker: Pastor Joshua Hughes
Text: James 3:1-12
Big Idea: The power of the tongue must be bridled because it can do violence to our hearers as it gives vent to our hearts. 
1. The tongue is influential
2 Cor. 5:9-10
Proverbs 15:4
Proverbs 6:16-19
2. The tongue is inflammatory
3. The tongue is indomitable
4. The tongue is inconsistent
5. The tongue is informative
Luke 6:45Matthew 7:16-17
Where is the hope? 
 

Speaker: Kyle Kraeft Text: James 2:14-26 
Big Idea: The only true and saving faith is a living and working faith, so don’t settle for anything less. 
I. The Counterfeits of True Faith (v. 14-19) - “Can that faith save?” 1. True faith is more than words“Faith grows hands and feet. Faith climbs stairs, ties ropes, bends knees. Faith sweats, sends emails, cooks meals, plants churches, builds hospitals, flies to the other side of the world, and spends itself in servant form. That’s what saving faith in the Lord Jesus means.” - David Gibson
2. True faith is more than knowledge
II. The Character of True Faith (v. 20-26) “You see now…”- Abraham: "Do you really trust me?"- Rahab: "We have heard about the God of Israel..."- Grace is entirely FREE, and yet immensely COSTLY.
What about justification? - Do James and Paul contradict? (NO!)- James 2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.- Rom. 3:28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.- For Paul, justification is about our status and standing  before God.- For James, it is a proof of the validity and vitality of our faith. 
III. The Contours of True Faith (Therefore...)
- What true faith is: Not just what you say or know but WHO you TRUST.- Where it's from: True faith is a Spirit-wrought gift of life (James 1:17-19).- How it works: True faith always works - through love.- Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 
So how do I know if I have true faith? (Is it breathing?...)1. Are you trusting in Christ as the basis of your standing with God?2. Do you have a love and desire for God’s word, people, and his presence?3. Are you moved by love, toward people, in action?- (This is about direction, not perfection)4. Where do you run when you fall short?

Speaker: Pastor Joshua Hughes
Text: James 2:1-13
Big idea: A worked-out faith is a welcoming faith marked by an impartial warmth that produces a diverse unity. 
# 1. A Critical Admonition 
- Affluence- Appearance- Accent- Age- Ancestry- Affinity- Achievement
# 2. A Concrete Illustration
# 3. A Compelling Rationale
- reality has been re-storied for us- whole-hearted obedience is whole-law observance- we’ve been liberated through mercy’s triumph

Speaker: Pastor Joshua Hughes Text: James 1:18-27
1. Spirit-filled self-mastery and people’s foolishness
Proverbs 10:19Proverbs 13:3Proverbs 15:28Proverbs 18:13Proverbs 29:20Matthew 12:36-37Ephesians 4:29Colossians 4:6
2. Spirit-filled self-mastery and sin’s corrosiveness
Psalm 4:3-4
3. Spirit-filled self-mastery and the Word’s offensiveness
4. Spirit-filled self-mastery and need’s relentlessness
3 ways to get involved:1) Provide resources2) Join a care community3) Consider your own home

Speaker: Pastor Joshua HughesText: James 1:1-18
BIG IDEA: A worked-out faith is realized in trials and resolute in temptation, so we must look to Jesus as the source and supply of the faith we need.
1. A worked out faith is realized in trials
...as we count it all joy with expectant hearts
...as we remain prayerful and steadfast
2. A worked out faith is resolute in temptation
... because it knows temptation’s source
... because it recognizes temptation’s method
... because it knows how to fight

Speaker: Pastor Joshua Hughes
Text: James 1:1-18
Big idea of James - A worked out faith will transform our ways - including our words, our wealth, and even our woes.
1. James’ bio
2 James’ burden
Reasons we should not be reluctant to affirm James as a Christian book:
a) Arguments from silence are generally unpersuasive.
b) James’ ethics are rooted in a backward look to the finished work of Christ.
c) James ethics are rooted in a forward look to the return of Christ.
d) Christ is present in James, even when not named.
e) James and Paul don’t actually disagree.
f) James and Jesus are in lock step.
3. James’ bailiwick
- on wealth
- on words
- on woes

Speaker: Pastor Funmi Ojetayo Text: Matthew 2:1–12
Big Idea: In Epiphany, Christ is revealed to the world, resisted by many, and received in worship that bears witness. 
1. Revelation Given (vv. 1–2)God reveals His Son not in ideal conditions, but in the shadow of Herod’s throne.+ A true King enters a world ruled by fragile and threatened power.+ The first worshipers are far-off Gentiles, showing from the outset that God’s revelation has a missionary horizon.
2. Revelation Resisted (vv. 3–8)Not everyone who hears the news welcomes the King. Revelation often meets resistance:+ Political resistance – Herod is troubled and responds with rage.+ Popular resistance – Jerusalem is disturbed but remains unmoved.+ Religious resistance – the scribes are informed but indifferent, proving that proximity to Scripture is not the same as proximity to Christ.
3. Revelation Received (vv. 9–12)Rightly received, revelation leads to joyful worship and a reoriented life that bears witness to the King.+ The wise men’s worship is:    * Christocentric – centered on Jesus, not the setting.    * Corporeal – expressed with their whole selves.    * Costly – marked by sacrificial generosity.    * Consequential – resulting in a changed direction and obedient witness.

Text: Psalm 63 Speaker: Kyle Kraeft
BIG IDEA: You can bring the wilderness of your heart to your Lord, remembering and rejoicing that His steadfast love is better than life. 
I. The Way of Remembrance- We need to remember who, what, and whose we are.- We need to remember where we are and why we're here. - But even more so, we need the anchor point of knowing who God is.  
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty” (Ex. 34:6-7)  
II. The Way of Rejoicing- Rejoicing results from Reappraisal- Rejoicing is resolute before there is resolution
Ps. 42:11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.