You Weren't Made to Survive (James 3:13-18) | Point Blank — Week 7

You Weren't Made to Survive (James 3:13-18) | Point Blank — Week 7

You're not failing. You're not in some obvious spiral. You're showing up, taking care of your family, staying out of trouble — and somehow a whole week goes by and your faith didn't come up once. James 3 calls that earthly wisdom. And he says it has a source. In this message from James 3:13-18, we look at two kinds of wisdom — one that contracts your life down to surviving, and one that produces a harvest in the people around you. The difference isn't how hard you're working. It's what's actually fueling you. This is Week 7 of Point Blank — a study through the book of James at Northview Church in Kodak, Tennessee. 📖 James 3:13-18 | NLT 🎙 Pastor Greg Rains | Northview Church

Sticks and Stones Was a Lie (James 3:1-12) | Point Blank — Week 6

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” James says otherwise. In this message from James 3:1–12, we confront the power of the tongue — how words can destroy relationships, wound people made in God’s image, and reveal what’s really happening in the heart. But the gospel doesn’t just diagnose the problem. It offers transformation. This sermon explores: The hidden damage careless words cause Why the tongue is so difficult to control The spiritual weight behind gossip, sarcasm, and anger Jesus as the perfect image of God who took our curse on Himself How the Spirit transforms mouths that once burned into mouths that heal Bottom Line: You can’t bless the Maker and break what He made.

Demons Believe. Disciples Surrender. (James 2:14-26) | Point Blank — Week 5

What is the difference between believing in Jesus and surrendering to Jesus? In this message from James 2:14–26, we look at the kind of faith James says is dead, useless, and unable to save. The demons believe the truth about God — but they are not disciples. Judas had proximity to Jesus, ministry experience, and religious knowledge — but he never truly surrendered. Real faith is not perfection. Abraham’s life proves that. Real faith is a surrendered direction: acting as if God is who He says He is, even when it costs us. This message is a direct, pastoral call to examine whether our faith is merely something we claim or something that has truly changed us. The sermon’s central line — “Demons believe. Disciples surrender.” — is repeated throughout the manuscript as the defining contrast between dead faith and surrendered discipleship.

Who Belongs in Your Church? | James 2:1–13

In James 2:1–13, we’re confronted with a difficult question: who really belongs in your church? This message exposes the subtle ways favoritism shows up in the church—not always through policies, but through reflexes. We move toward people who impress us, overlook people who make us uncomfortable, and sometimes forget that the Lord of glory made room for us when we had nothing to offer. James calls believers back to the royal law: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And the gospel reminds us why mercy must keep moving—because mercy first moved toward us in Jesus. Key themes: favoritism in the church, mercy triumphs over judgment, loving your neighbor, James 2, Christian hospitality, making room for the overlooked.

You're Fooling Yourself (James 1:19-27) | Point Blank — Week 3

What if the problem isn't that you haven't heard enough?  What if you've heard plenty — and just keep walking away? James 1:19-27 is one of the most confrontational passages in  the New Testament. James doesn't call out pagans or skeptics.  He calls out church people — people who show up, hear the Word, nod along, and go home unchanged. He has one word for that: self-deception. In this message from our series Point Blank: Faith That  Doesn't Flinch, we dig into what it actually takes to let  the Word of God do what it came to do — and why most of us  keep walking away from the one mirror that tells us the truth. The Word that exposes you is the same Word that can save you.  But only if you don't walk away from what it shows.