How to Know if My Faith is Real | Pastor Joshua Hurlburt

Surviving Seasons of Sorrow | Pastor Roderick Rogers

Life has a way of shaking us when we least expect it, and Psalm 137 gives us an honest look at what it means to survive those seasons of deep sorrow. The Israelites, stripped of everything in Babylonian captivity, did not pretend to be okay. They sat down, they wept, and they grieved honestly before God. One of the most powerful images in the passage is that of the Israelites hanging their harps on willow trees rather than throwing them away, a sign that their silence was temporary, not permanent. Your sorrow is real and painful, but it is not forever. Even in the hardest seasons, holding onto your identity in God is what keeps you from being reshaped by your circumstances. Faith does not wait for things to improve before trusting God. Your season has an expiration date, and you have not lost your song.

How to Handle Suffering | Bishop Steven Arnold

Suffering is not a matter of if, but when. When it arrives, we tend to respond in one of three ways: we become bitter, we become broken, or we become better. God's intention is always the third option. Drawing from the book of James and the life of Job, we are called to be prayerful in our pain, patient in the process, and to praise God through the pressure. Prayer connects us to a God who is not standing outside of our trouble looking in but is present within it. Like a farmer who trusts the harvest even when nothing is visible above the soil, we are invited to trust that God is working beneath the surface. Suffering is real, but so is the God who walks through it with us.

The Faith That a Father Needs | Bishop Steven Arnold

Fatherhood is one of the greatest honors and hardest responsibilities a person can carry, and no parenting book can fully prepare you for it. What every father truly needs is real, active, undying faith in God. Faith sees beyond the problem to the Source, trusts the process even when it is painful, and holds on to the truth that all things work together for good. But faith also requires an honest look at the war happening on the inside, where wrong desires can lead to wrong decisions and ultimately to destruction. God gives grace to the humble, and that grace covers the past, sustains the present, and secures the future. Moving forward means submitting to God, resisting the enemy, and staying close to Him through prayer and His Word. Faith is not just something you say. It is something you do.

How to Know if My Faith is Real | Pastor Joshua Hurlburt

James provides two powerful tests to examine the authenticity of our faith. The Word Test reveals that our speech directly reflects our heart condition - we cannot have an unhealthy mouth and a healthy heart. The Wisdom Test shows that our choices and their outcomes reveal whether we follow worldly wisdom (characterized by envy and selfish ambition) or godly wisdom (marked by purity, peace, and mercy). Both tests expose our spiritual condition, revealing our need for Jesus as the Great Physician who can heal what we cannot heal ourselves.

Can My Faith Save Me? | Pastor Joshua Hurlburt

Not all faith has the power to save. James 2:14 asks whether faith without deeds can truly save us. Dead faith produces no life change, while demonic faith believes correct doctrine but refuses to follow Jesus. Only living faith transforms us, evidenced through actions like loving enemies, serving others, and showing practical compassion. Abraham and Rahab demonstrated living faith through their deeds, proving that genuine faith and works operate together. You cannot manufacture saving faith through religious activities or moral behavior - it is a gift from Jesus. The crucial question is not how much faith you have, but whether your faith is real and transformative.