Welcome to Good Shepherd!
Whether you are new to the area, the United Methodist Church or new to being a Christian, there is something here for you.

We glad you have chosen to spend a few moments discovering our church family. As we describe Good Shepherd to people, we use words like...Belong...Believe...Become.

We are a group of people devoted to showing radical hospitality, having passionate worship, becoming fully devoted followers, serving together in mission, and giving extravagantly. That means we love people where they are no questions asked. Our hope is that all people will feel loved and belong at Good Shepherd.

And once here, we pray that you will meet God and as a result of meeting God, give your lives to Jesus Christ. We want that for you. Come as you are. Check us out. Come home.

In one sense after we give our lives to Christ, we are still the same – human, fallible, sinful. But in another sense, we are new creations, ready to embrace a new reality of living. Whether we’ve done this now for years or whether we are new followers of Jesus, we continually ask ourselves how is it with our souls and with our living out our faith.

And while anger might not be the center of these words of James, it is one of those distractions that often keeps us from being doers of the word. And James thought it was of paramount importance as we are reflecting on how well we are living in community together but also with those outside of our community as well. We need to look at our relationships within the body: How do we value one another no matter who they are?

Join us as we begin our journey in James as Doers of the Word 1:17-27 with Avoiding Anger.

James, tradition has it, was the brother of Jesus. There is some considerable doubt as to whether that James ever wrote this letter, but in the book of Acts, we see James stepping up to be a leader of the fledgling church. I like to imagine that this letter is the result of being the brother of Jesus and of listening to all that Jesus was saying his whole life.

James was writing to a Jewish people of modest means who were bring oppressed by the rich, who dragged them before the courts (2:6)––and blasphemed “the honorable name by which (the believers were) called” (2:7)––and kept back the wages of believers (5:4) we find out later. And it is because of all of this that James counsels patience.

First JAMES says God BROUGHT US FORTH

James is showing that God is good. so, the gifts sent to us by God are good rather than evil. In the conflict between light and darkness, light always wins. Darkness can never dispel light. Light always dispels darkness. God is unchangeable. God is accessible to us by day and night, through times both good and bad, even in life and in death.

The sense we get here is of a deliberate, resolute God carrying out God’s creative vision. Of his own will. God required the Israelites to bring their first fruits as an offering to God through the Old Testament (Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:9-10; Numbers 15:17-21; Deuteronomy 18:4). The idea behind the first fruits was that the first fruits of any harvest are especially valuable, because they represent something that we have had to do without for a period of time.

When James tells these believers in the early church that they are the “first fruits of (God’s) creatures,” he is letting them know that they are special––that God finds exceptional pleasure in them, in us.

Second JAMES tells us to be SWIFT TO HEAR, SLOW TO SPEAK, AND SLOW TO ANGER 1:19-20.

People hunger for someone who will listen to them. Everyone just wants to be heard even if we don’t agree. We prize listeners. The late Dr. Joyce Brothers, the psychologist and television personality, said: “Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery.

Frank Laubach, a Christian missionary, said: “The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he or she says “Amen” and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him your ideas.”

Quick-tempered people are also likely to be quick to speak––and to do it in a way that hurts others, damages relationships, and (ironically) hurts their chances of getting what they want. The humorist, Will Rogers, said, “People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.”

But James doesn’t absolutely prohibit anger. Anger is sometimes appropriate––we call it righteous indignation. We talked about that in our study of Ephesians. But “slow to speak” still applies. We will almost always accomplish more by measured words and actions than by flying off the cuff in anger. Why?

Third JAMES tells us to BE DOERS OF THE WORD 1:21-22.

“Therefore” connects this verse with verses 19-20, which might mean that James considers overly quick speech and anger to be evil.

The Greek word means to renounce or to lay aside or to put off. Believers are to play an active role in getting rid of avoiding our anger. We can (and should) pray for God’s help in this challenging endeavor, but must also do our best to live holy lives.

The “putting away” is just a first step. Once we have rid ourselves of filth and wickedness, we must fill the void by receiving with humility the implanted word.

We must go beyond hearing the word to doing it––living it.
Paul says in Romans 2:13, “For it isn’t the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified” Jesus’ said “Blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:28).

Those who hear God’s word but fail to live it delude themselves James says to us. They think that their relationship with God is solid, but it isn’t. In the final judgment, they will learn that they have failed the test. Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

Fourth JAMES shares the BLESSINGS FOR DOERS OF THE WORD 1:23-25

I like to think of this as not to the person’s natural face, but to his reborn face as a follower of Jesus (see John 3:3; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 1:3). When we start our day by looking at our face in the mirror and recognizing our identity as a child of God, but then we wade into the whirlpool of daily life, get caught up in worldly concerns, and forget our Godly identity. And we fail to live according to our new spiritual identity––fail to proceed beyond hearing the word to living the word. Doers of the Word.

Keep in mind that James wrote this book with Jewish readers in mind. When they saw “perfect law,” they would naturally think of the Law of Moses. But the phrase, “the perfect law of freedom,” moves the discussion into their Christian beliefs .

The Mosaic Law (613 commandments) prescribed in great detail exactly what a person could and could not do. The Talmud (thousands more rules) tried to specify the exact limits of commandments, such as limits on work on the Sabbath. Even Biblical scholars had problems remembering all the rules.

But Christ set us free by subjecting us to the rule of grace rather than the rule of law. He too gave commandments (“Love God…love your neighbor” Matthew 22:37-40), but was “full of grace” (John 1:14)––meaning that the transgressor who is also a believer can expect the blood of Christ to make him/her whole in God’s sight.

The word parameno is composed of two words, para (with) and meno (remain), so it literally means “remains with.” We say, “sticks with it.” In this context, it means perseveres––continues.

James spoke of “doers of the WORD,” but here he speaks of being “a doer of the WORK”. The person who does a good work––a good deed––is not satisfied simply to hear the word, but acts in accord with the word. The difference between the hearer and the doer is the difference between lip-service and service. It is the difference between empty discipleship and full commitment.

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

God will bless the person who allows the word to reshape their life so that they can do good works.

And last JAMES tell us there are BLESSINGS FOR DOERS OF THE WORK 1:26-27.

In these two verses, James takes his general principle––doing God’s word, doing good works––and gives three examples of what that would require:

The person who fails to restrain his tongue fools themselves (“deceives his heart”). Their “religion is worthless.” They worship in vain.

James doesn’t use the word hypocrite here, but that word comes to mind. A hypocrite is a pretender––a person who appears to be someone other than who he/she really is.

Jesus said in Matthew 23 that hypocrites “say, and don’t do.” They “bind heavy burdens (on others), but “will not lift a finger to help them.” They do their works “to be seen by men.” They love public acclaim. They “devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense …make long prayers”.

Second Visiting (helping) vulnerable people

Christ expects us to have compassion for those who are unable to provide for their own needs. Widows and orphans are good examples, but many others are also vulnerable.

And third Keeping ourselves “unstained by the world”

The Greek word aspilos combines (without) and (blemish or spot). Christ needs our moral conduct to be such that it honors his name. He was without spot or blemish, and calls us to walk in his moral footsteps.