Church Alive Birmingham

31/05/2026

Getting practical with anger. How does the good news about Jesus impact on our strongest emotions?

Church Alive Birmingham 10.30 this morning!

21/05/2026

As followers of Jesus, what should our attitude be towards wealth and money? Before we look at what James has to say to those who hadn't got it right, lets consider the attitude of God throughout the Bible.

Wealth like every other good gift is a gift from God. James 1:17
It can become a god to us and Jesus was clear, You can’t serve God and money. So we need to be careful that it doesnt become our source of security, comfort and control. Matthew6:24
God calls us to use our money (however much or little we have of it) for his purpose (his Kingdom and his glory) This includes what we spend it on and the attitude we have towards it which should be generous. Jesus taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts20:35
In the Old Testament, God encouraged his people to Tithe their income (give 10% of income to the Temple to support the worship and to care for the poor. Jesus encouraged people to continue this practice, although the principles of giving generously in the New Testament seem to go above and beyond giving 10% to giving generously, cheerfully and sacrificially. 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 / 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 Today we give our tithes and offerings to the church which seeks to spend it to enable the work of God’s Kingdom.

Money can bring power and influence which can lead to blessing others or mistreating them. God is consistently clear that we should use our money to bless and to be careful to avoid injustice or corruption.

It is this final point that James seems to address because it seems that some members of the church who were wealthy were using their wealth to exploit their workers. This is a very strong message against selfishness, corruption and exploitation, calling the rich and powerful to repent if they have become like this.

James 5:1-6 NIVUK
[1] Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. [2] Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. [3] Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. [4] Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. [5] You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. [6] You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

https://bible.com/bible/113/jas.5.1-6.NIVUK

Pause and Reflect: What is your attitude to money? Do you control it, or does it control you? Spend some time thanking God for what he has given you and asking him to help you to be generous and committed to using all of what you have for his Kingdom and His glory.

19/05/2026

James 4:11-12 NIVUK
[11] Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. [12] There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbour?

https://bible.com/bible/113/jas.4.11-12.NIVUK

In keeping with this really practical letter, James moves on to address another issue that was going on in this church that he was writing to. They were speaking against each other, slandering each other. James says this should not be.

James reminds them that God’s law is that we should love one another. Slandering each other is not an act of love and James encourages the Christians to recognise that when we treat others unkindly with our words in the way we speak about them, then we set ourselves up as being above God’s law. We are in effect saying we get to decide who is worthy, who is acceptable, and how people should be treated.

It’s a simple challenge to us but one that probably we all need to face up to. How do we speak of others? Do we speak negatively or in critical ways of others? Do we ever say things which would leave people thinking badly of another person. This shouldnt be and we need to repent and ask God to help us stop doing this.

The opposite is that we speak well of people. Imagine how we would wish others spoke about us. Imagine that every time someone spoke of you, they spoke encouraging things to others. Imagine if every time spoke about you, their listeners were left really blessed, feeling you were a really precious and appreciated person. Imagine if people were praying for us often when we came to their minds.
This seems like love to me!

Lets love one another when we are in front of each other and when we are away from each other, in our actions and our speech. This fulfils Jesus command to love one another as he loved us.

17/05/2026

Church Alive Birmingham 10.30am Deaf cultural centre.
Soul hunger satisfied! Yes!

14/05/2026

God made promises to his people through several covenant commitments. The one known as the Old Covenant was the one he made with the people of Israel committing to be their God and calling on them to trust Him and to be faithfully obedient to Him. The history of the people of Israel in the Old Testament is of God’s faithfulness to all his promises but the people failing to be obedient or faithful. Because of the seriousness of the people of Israel breaking the covenant, the Old Testament prophets often equated their unfaithfulness to God with adultery in a marriage relationship. This might help you to understand James’s tough words to people when they allow themselves to have greater friendship with ‘the sinful world,’ than their friendship with the faithful God through Jesus Christ.

James 4:4-6 NIVUK
[4] You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? [6] But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’

https://bible.com/bible/113/jas.4.4-6.NIVUK

Remember that in the last few verses James had identified the cause of conflict and arguments in the selfish desires of people’s hearts. In these verses he challenges us to see that friendship with these sinful desires makes us enemies of God. These are deeply challenging words and they make me ask of myself, what is my attitude to my selfish desires. Do I embrace them and allow them to have expression in my actions? Or do i see them as the enemy and seek to fight against them until they are no longer desires within me?

Whilst it is quite hard to read that if I embrace friendship with the world (and it’s selfish desires,) I am like an adulterer to God, the verses which follow communicate something of the deep affection and love that God has for me. He longs that my affections be for him alone and that I have no relationship with my sinful desires. In that regard, God is like a husband who longs for his wife to be faithful. God longs for you and me to be faithful, uncompromisingly faithful to him. There’s a beautiful love expressed in these words... God’s love for us!

That beauty continues because in verse 6 we read, “But God gives us more grace.” Even though we may sin, even though it is like adultery to God, God pours out more and more of his underserved favour to those who recognise their sin, admit it, confess it and respond to God in humility. He opposes the proud, but pours out grace to the humble. We’ll look in more detail at that humble response in our next reflection.

13/05/2026

The Holy Spirit has been using James’ letter to challenge us again and again, from several different angles to live the life of faith in Jesus without compromise. Faith in Jesus leads to a transformation in every area of life. It shouldn’t just be a matter of believing certain things about Jesus, it should involve active following Jesus and obedience to his words. So far James has challenged us in the way we respond to those less fortunate than ourselves, how we use our words, and the kinds of wisdom we rely on.

In this passage he doesn’t hold back from diagnosing what is going wrong if we are allowing sin to have the driving seat rather than Jesus.

James 4:1-3 NIVUK
[1] What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? [2] You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. [3] When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

https://bible.com/bible/113/jas.4.1-3.NIVUK

James uses fights and quarrels as an example to diagnose the problem of sinful desires in us. I suspect most people reading this wont have had a fight which has led to murder. But I suspect all of us will have fought or quarelled to some degree even if it is within our homes with those we love the most. Why does it happen?

God knows that this happens because of the desires within us. If our desires are self orientated, it is likely that we will end up in conflict. This isn’t only true for the desire for material things, its also true for us when we want our own way, when we feel our pride or honour hasn’t been respected or when our feelings havent been taken into account. I certainly recognise the desire to have things, to be recognised, to have my own way. Whenever I end up causing conflict, it’s because of something selfish in me.

James then points out that when we try to acquire these things for ourselves, it is as if we have forgotten that we have a good heavenly Father who knows exactly what we need and will provide it when we need it.

Two things can go wrong.
1. We pray but with wrong (selfish) motives. We treat God like a genie to get what we desire rather than trusting him to be a good Father to us.

2. We forget God and take things into our own hands to try to satisfy our desires. So instead of taking things into our hands to try to acquire what we think we need, (whether material things, our own way, the need to recognised, honoured etc,) we ought to be trusting God with those requests. In his own time and out of his goodness, he will provide everything we need.

He will go on to speak more deeply into us in the next section of his letter, but for now, lets respond by asking God to transform our desires. Lets pray about our needs trusting God to meet them according to his goodness and perfect timing.

13/05/2026

10/05/2026

Church Alive Birmingham
10.30am Sunday morning
Deaf Community Centre Ladywood.

10/05/2026

Church Alive Birmingham

07/05/2026

What is the most powerful part of the human body?

In terms of the impact it can have on others, maybe it is the tongue. Think about all the things you have said even in just this last week. What impact has what you said had on others? You can make someone feel amazing but you can also crush someone with the words you speak. Let’s look at what James has to say about bringing the tongue under control...

James 3:1-12 NIVUK
[1] Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. [2] We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. [3] When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. [4] Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. [5] Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. [6] The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. [7] All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, [8] but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. [9] With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. [10] Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. [11] Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? [12] My brothers and sisters, can a fig-tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

https://bible.com/bible/113/jas.3.1-12.NIVUK

These are powerful and challenging words. In verse 2-5, James is suggesting that the person who is able to keep their words under control is quite likely to have brought their whole body under control. Our words are an indicator of what is going on in our heart. Jesus said that out of the overflow of our heart, the mouth speaks. I suspect James has that in mind as he writes these words.

So lets allow ourselves to reflect on our words and ask ourselves what they reflect of our heart? Are my words filled with kindness, love, patience and encouragement? How do others feel after I have been speaking to them? Do they feel blessed and appreciated and loved? Or are my words characterised by anger, disapproval, criticism, bitterness, frustration and unkindness?

Such words aren’t going to be a blessing to people on the receiving end of them. And in verse 10 James points out that we sin when in one moment we bless and praise God with our tongue and then in the next moment we treat someone unkindly. This is wrong!

So how do we bring our words under control so that they pour out love rather than unkindness? The answer lies in the last few statements where James identifies the source as the key to a spring producing good water or a tree bearing good fruit. The source of our words is our heart. Transformed words, come from a transformed heart. It is Christ who transforms our hearts.

So we must repent of using words badly and ask God to fill our hearts with his Holy Spirit and with his love. This is what we did when we turned to Christ and put our faith in Him and God made us a new creation.

But this process of being made more like Jesus continues daily. As we spend time with Jesus and seek to be obedient to his word, by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, our inner being will be transformed into the likeness of Jesus and what flows out of our mouth will reflect Christ and his love.