Carolina Family Church (audio)

Though we want peace, we are often surrounded by conflict, particularly in our relationships. Where does this come from and what can we do about it? In this message, we will see what James identifies and understand how to experience the peace of God in our lives.

How can you tell if someone is walking out the wisdom of God or following the wisdom of the world? At the end of Chapter 3, James shows us what it looks like to embody the wisdom of God. He gives us a filter to use so we can discern between what comes from God and what does not.

Words are powerful. They can build and they can destroy. If we are maturing as a follower of Jesus, our words should be consistent with our faith and works. In this message, we will talk about how important this is and what our speech should look like as a Christian.

Judging a person’s value based on what we see on the outside may be completely natural, but it is a mistake. If we want to grow in spiritual maturity, we need to learn how to look at people the way God does. In this week’s passage, James will explain to use what our mindset and actions should be.

When the pressure is on, it can be very easy to act out of character. But our ability to maintain endurance in a trial is dependent on our ability to listen to and act on God’s wisdom. In this message, we will hear from James about the benefits of the actionable guidance that comes from God.

Ever feel like your constantly in a battle? Like no matter what you do you are drowning and the waves will not stop crashing down on you? Today James will tell us what to do in those trials and how suffering well can change your life!

Do you want to grow? Do you want to mature? Do you want to know God more deeply? Do you want to follow Jesus more closely? We are going to do all of that as we study the letter written by Jesus’ brother, James, over the next few months. In this message, we introduce you to James, the purpose of his letter, and what we expect to learn together.

Drawing close to God is not an idea, it’s real. It’s a choice. A choice to talk with Him, to read His word, to sing about His goodness (and remember), to serve the people of your church, to be honest about your struggles, to build a core of other believers around you, to rely on them when you’re struggling, to be alive!

The biggest thing for me is that I know, know, know that I’m saved and God is with me. I know that I am going to spend eternity with him, so guess what… I’m not scared anymore! I’m not afraid of what the future holds because, in the words of my Uncle, “God’s got this.”

Trusting God’s plan and timing and letting go of your own. That’s hard. He is molding and shaping us through this and He wants to use it to minister to others. We are trusting that He is going to work it out in His time, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy.

We realized that we actually were called to serve our church. People make a big deal out of calling, but God calls everyone to serve.Often we want a big sign or event, but God is looking for willingness. Think of the disciples again, Jesus said “follow me” and they said yes. Their willingness mattered more than their training or experience. “Just Do Something” by Kevin DeYoung. Raise your hand and jump in there.

And then beyond even what God taught you, you can see how God wants you to use what you went through to encourage others as well. Last week Dennis Welch reminded me of a verse that perfectly describes what we are trying to do with this series and what you guys are trying to do with your lives…

John introduces Jesus at the beginning of his gospel by saying Jesus was full of grace and truth. Grace-full and truth-full. Not a balance of each, but a full measure of both. We want to be like that too. And the love and fellowship side of it is often driven by our recognition of how we have received it ourselves.

Forgiveness is an issue we all struggle with. In this edition of the Summer Stories series Jeremy and Monica walk us through some of the struggles they have had with forgiveness in the past, how they dealt with them and how it has effected their relationships.

"I think what makes that so beautiful is that it’s the example that God sets for us. We are chosen by God to be His sons and daughters. We are all adopted into His beautifully diverse family. So when we make the choice to do that for others, we are acting in His character. It’s really amazing."

It’s one thing to believe in Christ for salvation, but another thing to publicly identify as a child of God. As we celebrate people choosing to be baptized this weekend, we take some time to talk about what baptism is and why it is so vitally important to the life of a believer.

Father’s Day is the perfect time to cap off our love series as we think about the leadership and commitment our Heavenly Father demonstrates for us. In this message, we will talk about how we can learn from His interest in us personally as we think about our relational responsibilities.

It’s inevitable in a relationship that someone is going to make a mistake, probably sooner rather than later. This is why every relationship requires an ongoing process of grace and forgiveness. In this message, we will talk about what our mentality needs to be and why this is so important.

On a weekend where parents will stand in front of our church and commit to raising their children in a way that will lead them toward faith in Christ, it makes sense that we look to God and ask the question, “How?” In this message, we will look at the model God gives us, what that should look like specifically for parents, and how anyone can use this if they are looking to help correct or teach someone they love.

On Memorial Day weekend, we are reminded of the sacrifice people have made to secure our safety and freedom through the generations. This is a deep and meaningful observance that reminds us of the ultimate expression of love. In this message, we will talk about how important this idea is and how we can learn from Love Himself.