James: Faith that Works

Series Overview

We are living in a cultural moment where people are longing for wisdom, yet increasingly uncertain where to find it.

How did we get here?

For several decades, much of culture has taught us to question all sources of authority, to distrust claims of truth, and to treat certainty as a power play (this can be called a "postmodern epistemology"). But that framework is now faltering. In its place, we are witnessing the rise of a "meta-modern" moment—a cultural mood that swings between skepticism and sincerity, between irony and earnestness, between deconstruction and a longing for reconstruction. People are increasingly tired of the uncertainty. They want clarity. They’re hungry for wisdom. They want something solid enough to trust and something compelling to live for.

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This cultural shift is part of what fuels the intense tribalism we see around us. People are grasping for something firm to stand on—some worldview, system, or community that can tell them what is true, what is right, and who they are. In the absence of shared wisdom, people cling fiercely to whatever identity or ideology offers the closest thing to certainty.

For years, it was unpopular—even suspect—to claim access to real, grounded truth. We were encouraged instead to “live your own truth” and “you do you”—ideas framed as liberation from rigid traditions or oppressive communities. But the fruit of self-expressive individualism has not been a utopia of freedom. It has produced a generation that is anxious, fragmented, exhausted, and disoriented—a people who desperately want direction, meaning, and wisdom for how to live well in the world.

Even within the church, many followers of Jesus struggle to imagine what faithfulness looks like in the real, practical arenas of life—work and money, relationships and conflict, desire and trials, temptation and speech, community and everyday decisions. Faith can begin to feel abstract, detached from the pressures and complexities of daily life.

Faith that Works

James steps directly into this gap with refreshing pastoral clarity. He offers not vague spiritual sentiment but grounded, practical, embodied wisdom—wisdom sturdy enough to hold up under pressure and form a mature, resilient life of faith. He refuses to let faith remain theoretical. Genuine faith, he insists, must be lived—expressed in choices, habits, desires, relationships, and patterns of life.

This series invites our church to recover that kind of wisdom: a whole-life, lived-out faith that is integrated, rooted, and real. It calls us toward the kind of maturity James envisions—faith that works, faith that endures, faith that becomes a way of life. For James, faith must be grounded in Jesus—the embodiment of God’s wisdom—who not only instructs us but empowers us to follow His wisdom for life.

Series Resources

"Getting to the Heart of Conflict" Guide

Use the series of prompts in this guide to help identify what might be going on within your own heart in a particular area of conflict. Prayerfully reflecting on these insights can help you approach a challenging area of conflict in a way that reflects the love, truth, humility, and grace that Jesus has modeled and instructed for His disciples.

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"Walking in the Light" Guide

From Be With Jesus and Follow His Way of Life in Fall of 2024.

Use this card with others as a way to pursue holiness together. When we see sin in our lives, we often try to rearrange our behaviors and words so that we meet the right standard. While this may work to fool others for a while (and ourselves) this type of “holiness” is not real and is not sustainable. We need an approach that goes to the center and source of our lives—our hearts.

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About the Artwork

Artwork for the series is a photography and videography series by James Stukenberg. Watch the video on this page to learn about the meaning of the pieces and James' process in creating them.

Sermons