James - Faith Without Works
On November 13, 2024, our Beach Church team held our first Annual Planning Meeting. It was a day of celebration, reflection, and looking ahead. Each ministry department shared its “wins” for 2024 and strategic goals for 2025. Reflecting on this past year, it is obvious that God is doing great work. Since the first Sunday of this year, we have seen over 180 baptisms and 83 salvations, and on many Sundays, we have more than doubled in worship attendance since 2022!
We have experienced incredible life-change across our worship, Life Groups, family ministries, and beyond. We have so much to be thankful for because God is moving among us, and He is changing our lives and the lives of others. I recognize that the first part of this message may sound a bit self-serving. If you hang with me through the end, I think you will realize it is not. I may sound like I am patting myself on the back…I assure you I am not.
Every year, churches in America hang a “Permanently Closed” sign on their doors. Researchers estimate anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 churches shut down every year. The difficult truth is that the churches just didn’t suddenly die; they had been on life-support for years. And, Beach Church could have been one of those statistics. So, on this first Sunday in December, I want to take a few moments to highlight some of the measurable ways God has been moving among us this year:
SINCE JANUARY 2024…
With our Monthly food distribution, we have provided food for 12,360 people, doubling the amount of people from 2023.
We gave away over 900 Bibles during weekend worship services
Since January 2024, we have welcomed 988 first-time guests, 385 second-time guests, and 314 third-time guests. 1,686 guests have visited Beach Church!
We celebrated 180 baptisms (so far!) in 2024
We provided wood-burning stoves to the Mayan people, hosted a Back Yard Bible club, and engaged the community by providing help with construction projects.
Launched an “Adoption and Foster Care Ministry” with 28 adults and 12 children. We matched three sets of families with support. Widows Ministry helped launch a “Foster Care Closet” to help meet the needs of foster children and foster families.
In response to Hurricane Helene, we collaborated with other churches and our community and delivered over 100 pallets of supplies. 3 teams provided disaster relief work, with scheduled trips for 2025.
Chili Fest: Earned First Place and $2,500 for Grand Strand Miracle Leagues.
LifeGroups: Expanded from a pilot of 5 groups to 34 groups in 2024. Leadership grew from 5 to 34 LifeGroup leaders, connecting over 350 people in life groups.
Children's Ministry has grown 50% since 2022, we now average 150 and growing.
Student Ministry: Averaged 75 students in the latter half of 2024. The first-ever Student Bash led to 7 salvations, 18 rededications, and 26 students interested in baptism. (By the way, Baptism Sunday is December 15th…)
Operation Christmas Child: Provide 941 Christmas boxes in partnership with Samaritan’s Purse.
We wrapped up our Sermon Series on Marriage with 350-400 couples renewing their vows.
We have been recognized by Outreach Magazine as the 58th fastest-growing church in America.
I believe the reason God has been moving in and through Beach Church is because so many people have invited God to continue to CHANGE them into the people He wants them to become. They are being the hands and feet of Jesus in our church, and in our community. They are practicing good works and living out their faith in very real, practical ways.
Today in James 2, we will read about the life-changing faith that so many in our church have been practicing – faith characterized by a servant lifestyle. And, we will be reminded that many people do not serve because they have not yet been changed by Jesus.
Let’s read.
James 2:14-26 (NLT2)
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” 19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? 21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. 25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
James describes two different types of faith in this passage: He describes a dead faith, and a living faith. And, it is important that you understand the difference between the two. A living faith resides in the heart of those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus and serves others gladly when given the opportunity.
But a…
DEAD FAITH KNOWS ABOUT JESUS, BUT DOESN’T FOLLOW HIM
James 2:17 (NLT2)
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Let’s imagine the same scenario James describes at the beginning of this passage. Imagine this evening as you are driving home from dinner, and the person who held the door open for you as you came into church today, is holding up a cardboard sign at an intersection that reads,
“Cold and hungry. Please help.”
You say to yourself, “I know them from church.” So you lower your window and say, “Hey! Don’t I know you from Beach Church?” They affirm that they attend, you chit chat back and forth, the light turns green, and you drive off and tell them,
“Stay warm – it’s going to get cold tonight!”
If you profess faith in Jesus but can imagine yourself doing something like that, you have a dead and useless faith.
James 2:26 (NLT2)
26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Faith is dead without good works.
That means you know and understand what Jesus did for you on the cross – but you have never surrendered your life to him. You don’t follow Jesus to do good works, because you haven’t given him your hands and feet yet. You believe in Jesus, but you have never received Jesus. You have a dead faith. In fact, you have a demonic faith.
Look again at verse 19…
James 2:19 (NLT2)
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
A dead faith, is the same faith demons have. The demons believe in God, but their belief is only intellectual, it is not transformational. A transformational faith that is alive that God uses to change the lives of others only comes when your belief leads to, surrender.
If…
you believe God created the human race,
you believe humans disobeyed and sinned against God
you believe the punishment for sin is death.
But you also believe Jesus was fully God and fully man,
And you believe he satisfied the punishment for your sin by dying on the cross, rising from the dead, ascending into heaven, and will one day return…
If you BELIEVE these things – then let your belief lead you to surrender.
Surrender your life to Jesus. Commit to follow him. From this moment forward, invite Jesus to be your Savior, and give Him your hands and feet. Tell him from this moment forward, you will live for Him. Now, because you have repented and turned away from your sin, you want to meet the needs of others. You have experienced the life-changing, resurrection power of Jesus in your life. He gives you the power and the desire to do what pleases him…
And…
LIVING FAITH SERVES OTHERS AND MEETS NEEDS
James insists people prove they have faith by the good works they produce. They demonstrate that Jesus is Lord of their lives by serving others and meeting their needs. The hypothetical situation that James introduces in chapter two could never happen because a true follower of Jesus would never chit-chat with a brother or sister in Christ, a believer in need, and tell them to stay warm in such a callous way. A follower of Jesus would read the sign, have compassion, pull the car over, and offer warm clothes and a meal.
And whether you are serving with Meals on Wheels, distributing food once a month, building houses with Habitat for Humanity, serving at New Directions ministry to help those at the end of their rope, regroup and get their lives back on track, a life group leader, or working with our children’s ministry, you understand that living faith serves others and seeks to meet the needs of those around them, whatever they may be.
And finally,
LOVE FOR JESUS COMPELS US TO GOOD WORKS.
As followers of Jesus, we must remain close to the heart of Jesus and do those things he whispers into our hearts. Those ARE the GOOD Works he has prepared for YOU to do. I have mine. You have yours.
Mine is to equip followers of Jesus to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NLT2)
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
Your responsibility is to stay close to the heart of Jesus and be obedient to God. Do the work God has called you to do. And one of the ways I am convinced God has called me to equip us as a church is to lead our church to get out of debt. This year, for our Christmas Offering, I am inviting you to give sacrificially to help our church retire the mortgage we have carried for the last twenty years or so.
I often pray, “God, keep me out of your way to let you work.” Truthfully, this year, I almost got in God’s way regarding the Christmas Offering. I almost let doubt and fear dictate the plan instead of obeying the Spirit’s prompting. But I refuse to limit what God wants to do through us!
If we have learned anything from our recent journey, it is this: GOD IS NOT FINISHED CHANGING LIVES THROUGH BEACH CHURCH. As your Pastor, I am convinced that the Lord desires us to be debt-free. So, I’m asking—let's dig deep, give sacrificially, and see what the Lord will do!
Our mortgage balance is $571,169, with a monthly payment of $16,400.
Imagine standing together as a church family at a Note Burning Ceremony in 2025! Imagine knowing that we are completely free to serve, give, grow, and lead people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus—unencumbered. Reflect on those wins from 2024 – and imagine what we can do if we were able to move forward into 2025 with no mortgage.
Imagine the impact Beach Church can make on our community when we are free from that mortgage payment! God has led me to this, and I know He’s leading us as a church. Together, we can eliminate this debt and increase God’s Kingdom locally and globally. If our faith is alive, it means we take steps that may seem impossible, trusting God to move mountains. Paying off our debt is one such step. Imagine how God can multiply our good works when we are completely unencumbered, ready to say yes to anything He puts before us.
We will receive the Christmas Offering at our 9:30 and 11:15 services on Sunday, December 22, 2024.