He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
3 sermons cite this verse
… You are God's creation. James chapter one, verse 18. This is what God says about you. God decided to give us life. That's a big deal. Through the word of truth, the word is Christ, so that we might be, circle this, the most important of everything God has created. Do you realize you're more important than the moon? Do you realize you're more important than the Milky Way? Do you realize that in God's eyes you're more important than all of the extinct animals combined? Did you know that in God's book you're more important than all of the rare flowers and all of the trees and all of the beauty of all the other creation? Look at that verse again. God decided to give us life through the word of truth so that we might be the most important of everything God created. you matter more than the rest of creation. So what does it matter what somebody else says about you? If God likes you, they got a problem. …
… temptation. For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Verse 18, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Look at verse 18 again. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Let me stop here for this verse just a moment. We'll read a couple more and then we'll go back to the beginning and talk. the one who spoke the worlds into being spoke you into life and literally spoke his truth to you and caused you to be born again by the spirit of the resurrected Christ that took up residence in you. But it was the declared word of God. He declared his will over you. He declared his nature over you. His word is actually the seed of his own nature. And he declared the seed of his own nature, and he planted it into your soul, into mine. And it helps to bring about continuous transformation of our lives according to his design, his purpose, his will. And he says that this word causes us to be the first fruits of his new creation. …
and be our guest. Open our hearts, our minds, our wills to the God who enlivens us through you. Amen. Please be seated. While it's always exciting for me to be back at Duke Chapel, it's especially exciting today on Dean Powery's first Sunday as chaplain to Duke University. If there's anything better than preaching on your first Sunday, it's listening to a guest preacher who was already on the schedule. so that you can catch your breath. As for those of you who might have hoped you would be hearing him today, take heart, for lo, I am with you but this little while, and he shall be with you always. Plus, James is the real preacher today, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. All I really have to do is stay out of his way. I wonder all the time about how Christianity would have shaped up if James had been half the letter writer Paul had been. If you put all the letters of James and Peter and John together, those who knew Jesus in the flesh, their combined witness is shorter than Paul's two letters to the Corinthians. …