EM Worship Service (7/29/18)

[Summary]
James is talking about godliness but he used a different word which usually refers the religious actions. And by using this word, he was trying to make his point clear that our religious life is not separated from our daily life. In this sense, he describes godliness in three categories-how to speak, how to treat others, and how to act in the world. 
Our godliness is not only our warm feelings about God when we are in the church. Rather, it  should determine how we live in our daily life. If our word, comes from our hearts, is not tamed, our religious actions-no matter how much we are devoted- are worthless (v.26). And if we are religious, it will be shown through how we treat our neighbors, especially the weak-who cannot survive without others' help. And this requires us to sacrifice what we have-time, money, and emotions. Moreover, we are to keep ourselves from the stained world because this world we are living in is ungodly. According to Jesus' prayer in John 17, we are sent to the world so we are in the world, yet we are not of the world. 
Then how can we live a godly life? The answer is the word. James 1:22, we need to receive the word with meekness. It means that we should put down everything we have in front of the word of God and to examine ourselves through the words. We tend to examine the words and modulate them in order not to change ourselves. However, we are the one who needs change. If we listen to the words, but not to receive the words with meekness, we are the Pharisees, who only used the words. Then, we can be religious, but we cannot be godly. Jesus prayed for his disciples who were sent to the world. "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17) Let's be honest and humble before the words of God, so that the words of God can changes ourselves!

[Announcements]
1. Welcome the high school seniors!
2. We will have EM summer Retreat on Aug. 11th-12th.