May 9, 2022
The Trust Fall. A simple, yet profound exercise in testing
a person's faith in another. This test requires one person to
face a certain direction, looking straight ahead, not looking
behind them. A second person then stands directly behind the
first person and tells that person to blindly fall backwards.
There is always a moment of uncertainty for the first person as
they slowly fall, wondering if this second person will catch
them.
To up the ante, have a person stand on a chair or table, and then
have a group of four or five people stand underneath them,
promising to catch them. Then ask the person on the table to
fall backwards! It doesn't take long to see who is trusting
and who is not (or who is a bit crazy!).
Every day as we go about our lives, we are playing a form of
"Trust Fall". As followers of Jesus, we know that Jesus has
some very specific things to say about how to live life; he
instructs on money, possessions, sexual ethics, anger, how we treat
people, serving other, forgiving enemies...and many other
things. The problem is that what Jesus teaches is often
counter intuitive to how culture teaches us to live. So there
is this moment of tension. This moment of trust. Will I
do what Jesus instructs or will I do what everyone else is
doing?
In this sermon we will continue with part three of our study of
James. In chapter one, verse twenty-two says this:
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it says." ~ James 1:22
Just like The Trust Fall exercise reveals our level of faith, so do
these simple yet powerful words from James. If you want to
deepen your faith in Jesus, you do what he says. Do you want
to learn more? Make sure and join us for another step in our
series, All Day, Every Day.