When we become Christians we begin the great work of our lives. Becoming a Christian is the beginning of a life long adventure of discovery. It is transformational journey into faith. Faith is a small word that encompasses a large concept with many aspects. Exploring and growing in faith impacts our entire life.
Faith includes
- Beliefs. The content of our faith is outlined in our Catechism. You can buy a copy of To Be A Christian from Amazon, but we suggest waiting until it's reprinted as the cost has skyrocketed! You can also download the entire book as a PDF or Word Doc. Or you can use the convenient online version that Fr. Ed our Rector built. This last version is slowly being developed as a resource. Our Faith grows as we grow in knowledge about Jesus. But faith is much more than belief. A person can fully believe and have no real faith. Even the devil believes Jesus is the Son of God. Faith includes belief and more.
- Trust. Learning to trust God with our lives, our hopes and dreams is a challenge that is made easier by being part of a team of people trying to do the same. We call this team the church. Participating in the life of the church helps us grow to trust God more with every passing month. Trust in any relationship requires the investment of time and commitment.
- Hope. Hope is a lot like trust but focused forward. Do we place our hope in God or in our 401k? Do we live as a people who are part of the kingdom of God who hope to live forever?
- Obedience. Jesus said "If you love me, you will obey my commandments" (John 14:15 ESV). Obedience is often where the rubber hits the road and the true extent of our faith is revealed. Most people desire to love God but to do so in our own way rather than the way He asks.
- Perseverance. This all sounds hard doesn't it? Actually its pretty impossible to do without God's gift of Grace. Even then we fail. When we fail we try to fail forward. We get up, confess our brokenness to God and keep pressing on. This is how God works on our character. Persevering shapes us and grows us in faith.
To grow in faith is to grow more Christlike. This means having a deepening relationship with God in Jesus Christ. Everything we do at St. James in one way or another supports a person's growth in faith.
At St. James we know that faith is not simple and that it is much more than the content of our belief. We take faith very seriously but we don't take ourselves very seriously at all. We are simply people trying to grow in faith and we hope you will come and join us in this amazing journey. Our God is patient with us and encourages us to grow in faith. We hope you will come and grow with us.