Sermons by Gordon Dabbs
Faith IRL: Wisdom Made Visible (James 3:13-18)
We live in a world that puts enormous energy into appearances—the right image, the right angle, the right filter. But according to James, real wisdom isn’t about looking impressive. It’s about the kind of life we produce. In “Wisdom Made Visible, Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D., explores James 3:13–18 and the difference between wisdom that merely sounds good and the wisdom that comes from above. Godly wisdom is humble, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, and visible in…
Faith IRL: Tongue Tied (James 3:1-12)
“Watch your mouth.” Turns out, our moms were onto something. James reminds us that something as small as the tongue can steer a life, start a fire, heal a wound—or create one. Our words carry enormous power, whether they’re spoken face-to-face, sent in a text, or posted online. But James takes us deeper than simply learning to have a better filter. What comes out of our mouths reveals what’s happening in our hearts. Jesus didn’t come merely to make rude…
Faith IRL: Faith That Works (James 2:14-26)
What does real faith actually look like? James 2 gives us a challenging answer: living faith doesn’t just believe—it moves. It serves. It obeys. It gets its hands dirty. In this message by Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D., from our IRL: In Real Life series, we explore one of the most debated passages in the New Testament: “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Are we saved by faith or by works? And how do James…
Faith IRL: No Favorites (James 2:1-13)
We live in a world that is constantly ranking people—by success, appearance, wealth, influence, background, and even how easy they are to like. But James says the church should be different. In James 2:1–13, we’re confronted with a challenging truth: favoritism isn’t just a manners problem—it’s a gospel problem. Grace changes the way we see people. When we remember how much mercy we’ve received from Jesus, we become people who are eager to extend that same mercy to others. In…
Faith IRL: Do the Word (James 1:19-27)
It’s possible to know a lot of Bible and still resist what God is asking us to do. James gives us a challenge that is simple, direct, and more than a little uncomfortable: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” God’s Word hasn’t completed its work when we hear it, study it, underline it, or even agree with it. The Word completes its work when we live it. In this message from James 1:19–27, Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs,…
Faith IRL: The Temptation Trap (James 1:12 – 18)
Temptation always shows you the bait. It never shows you the trap. James reminds us that temptation is something every one of us faces—but it doesn’t have to control us. In this message by Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D. from James 1:12–18, we look at how temptation works, why our vulnerable moments matter, and how making the right decisions before temptation arrives can change everything. We’ll also look at Jesus’ own experience with temptation and discover a powerful truth for…
Faith IRL: When Life Gets Real
Faith is easy to talk about when life is going according to plan. But what happens when the pressure hits? In the opening verses of James, we discover a faith built for real life—for unexpected trials, unanswered questions, financial pressure, strained relationships, and seasons when we simply don’t know what to do next. James reminds us that God can use the pressure we didn’t choose to produce a maturity we couldn’t gain any other way. In this message from James…
The Cost of Unity
We live in an age of fragmentation. Politics, culture, preferences, and opinions constantly sort us into opposing camps. But the church is called to be different—a place where people who might never have chosen one another learn to love one another because of Jesus. In Psalm 133, David describes unity with two surprising images: holy oil and refreshing dew. Unity is sacred. Unity gives life. And unity offers a divided and exhausted world a glimpse of something better—the Kingdom of…
A Community Set Apart
Unity sounds wonderful—until actual people are involved. In a world that constantly sorts, labels, and divides us, Psalm 133 offers a beautiful vision: God’s people living together in harmony. But Christian unity does not mean uniformity. It means different people, with different backgrounds, preferences, personalities, and convictions, learning to belong to one another because Jesus has made us one. In this message, P:reaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D., explores what it means for the church to become “A Community Set Apart”—a…
When it Gets Personal
When It Gets Personal | Psalm 73 Why do dishonest people seem to prosper while those who try to honor God struggle? Psalm 73 gives voice to one of the most personal battles of the human heart: envy. In this message from Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D., we discover that the deepest problem isn’t just the brokenness around us—it’s the disorder within us. Asaph’s honest confession leads us from comparison and resentment to worship and renewed perspective. If you’ve ever…
What Holds When the World Shakes
What holds when the world shakes? We live in a world of constant outrage, uncertainty, and anxiety. News cycles never stop. Social media fuels fear. Politics divide. Financial markets fluctuate. Relationships disappoint. When everything around us feels unstable, where can we find something that truly holds? In this message from Psalm 2, Preaching Minister Gordon Dabbs, Ph.D., explores one of the most important questions of our time: What holds when the world shakes? Rather than calling us to panic or…
Why the World Is Angry
Why does the world seem so angry—and why is it so easy for that anger to get inside us? In this opening message from our new series, Psalms for a Fractured World: Following God in an Age of Rage, Gordon Dabbs explores Psalm 2 and its surprising diagnosis of human anger. Beneath much of our outrage are deeper struggles with control, fear, and resistance to God’s rule. The good news is that God is not anxious, threatened, or overwhelmed. He…