"Echoes of Comfort and Joy" Continues Sunday, January 16

The January sermon series, "Echoes of Comfort and Joy," continues this week during Sunday worship. "Is Anyone Cheerful? Let Them Sing Praise" will consider the lessons offered at the end of the epistle of James, 5:13-20, which begins: "Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise." (5:13 NRSV)

Last week, we admitted that tough times will come, and they will challenge the Christmas spirit we hope to carry throughout the new year. The comfort, in the words of Paul, was that, in the hard times, we could "persevere with prayer." This, however, tends to be a mostly individual response to challenges and catastrophes. The words of James offer a fuller community response, in which we are lifted up by one another in hard times and in which we find forgiveness and healing alongside each other.

By the way, this week's sermon is the result of last October's Furnace Dinner. The silent auction featured a future sermon whose title and Biblical text would be selected by the highest bidder. After some high stakes bidding and negotiation, Larry Wakefield earned the right, and he has selected these verses from James 5. Hopefully the sermon based on his suggestions will meet his expectations.