Some of my favorite resources as I study and prepare messages are Chuck Swindoll’s New Testament Insights. For over 60 years, Dr. Swindoll has been a highly respected author, theologian, and local church pastor. In fact, he just recently (at the age of 90) announced his retirement, not from ministry but from a faith family he founded, Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas. He preached his last sermon there just last month.
In his Insight on James, Dr. Swindoll closes his introduction with the following:
For the believer, this journey – the Christian life, begins with faith in Christ and continues until we reach our final destination: heaven. As John Bunyan portrays so vividly in his work, The Pilgrim’s Progress, it’s a path laden with hardship, struggle, and suffering; but the path is also traveled with a company of joyous, confident, and victorious saints. The path swarms with persecutors, tempters, and discouragers; but the Lord Jesus accompanies its travelers, bearing our burdens and providing the Holy Spirit to re invigorate our weak steps. In Jewish Christian thought, the path of life, though narrow and difficult, led to a destination that would make any hazards, pitfalls, or setbacks along the journey well worth it.
This morning, I’m excited to introduce you to my friends, Jeremy and Jodi Powell. They have traveled the above path and are here today as living testimonies of God’s power, provision, goodness, and grace.
As Jeremy shares a portion of his journey with us this morning, I know you will hear our God’s faithfulness in his story. I pray you will not only hear that truth, but also be able to either apply it to your own journey or find yourself better equipped as you walk alongside someone else in theirs.
James opens his letter by saying, “Consider it a great joy… whenever you experience various trials.”
So, whatever your “various” looks like today, be reminded, there is a joy well worth it.