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We know that faith and works both play an integral part in walking with Jesus, but often these two principles are seen as two separate things that need to join together somehow. What if, instead, they are part of the same thing, brought together by a heart that treasures Jesus?

As followers of Jesus, we are not to show partiality towards others. How, then, do we navigate through life, growing in discernment and avoiding discrimination?

Our relationship with God is based primarily on faith, but what does this faith look like? Far from simply a mental assent to a collection of belief, we begin to see in the book of James that pure faith, which pleases God and blesses us and others, works itself out into every moment in all of our life.

If we are going to follow God's way when we face hard times, we are going to have to trust his character? Is he trustworthy? Is he good?

If we are going to follow the way of Jesus with all of who we are, his way needs to work in the high times of life and in the low times. Can we trust his way to work when life is hard?

In our last sermon of the series, come face to face with the final deadly sin: wrath. Anger has a unique way of making itself at home in our innermost being. Anger, in the moment might be reasonable, but while it might be ok to be mad, it's never ok to stay there. Wisdom shows us what anger does to us and the way out.

Fighting lust is not simply about fighting disordered desires, it is about recapturing who we were truly made to be.

Gluttony is the silent sin. It's entirely acceptable to talk about how lust or greed are sinful, but it is not often that we talk about how we are affected by our relationship to food and drink and how that might be a sign post to a deeper need: satisfaction. Comfort. The wisdom of God gives us a better path.

Sloth is not simply overindulgent laziness - the problem is much deeper. Instead, sloth is a disruption of our calling as image-bearers of God as we love ourselves and our comfort more than our neighbors, family, and even God. How do we navigate out of spiritual apathy into fortitude and a life of sacrificial love?

Scripture speaks loudly about our love of possessions. Many of us have believed a lie: life is a zero-sum game and if I don't look out for myself, then I'm missing out. So we take because we do not trust. Wisdom corrects this lie and preaches to us that God is generous and that generosity is the path to life.