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James 5:7-11 After indicting the wicked rich for their grave oppression of Christians, James turns his attention and heart back to the early Jewish Christians whom he endearingly calls ‘brothers.’ He makes an imperative to be patient; not just for a short while but until the coming of the Lord. He likens their waiting to a farmer who plows forward but submits his uncertainty to God for the harvest. The farmer recognizes he needs God for the early and late rains; we need God to bring us to the glorious end. He makes another imperative. This time to sterizo their hearts; to strengthen them by fixing them down and anchoring them firmly like staking down a young tree for the coming storm. And the biggest motivator for patience is the fact that the coming of the Lord is near. There is a two-fold reality here. First, that Christ said He would return to judge the covenant-breakers in the first century and He did that in 70 A.D. They were expectant of this coming day of the Lord and it was just around the corner. And the second aspect of this is that the genuine second coming or second Parousia is something believers need to hold onto in this life of suffering. There is actual hope in the waiting and not just passively waiting for nothing. We are not to complain against our brothers and sisters as we go through the trials of this life since they are in the same boat as us. James reminds us although the Judge is coming for vengeance, we also should examine ourselves and be ready in our words and deeds for His appearance. We are to look to the prophets and heroes of the faith in the Word of God for examples of patience. They suffered greatly and yet stayed steadfast in their faithfulness to God. Because the fact is, blessing is coming for those who endure in their trials and look forward to the coming of Christ. They will receive all the benefits of salvation and the kingdom of heaven. Finally, James reminds us of the example of Job, who was greatly oppressed and wrongfully accused by his friends. Job was not without sinful complaint from time to time but the point is he persevered patiently to the end knowing his God was faithful. And although we are not always without sin in our endurance verse 11 says the Lord is full of compassion and mercy towards us.

Deacon Andrew Soncrant, Mo, and Jarred Faucett of the Apologia Utah Evangelism team get into a loving, and uncompromising conversation with a Gay LDS Man. You do not want to miss this!

James 5:1-6 James begins his indictment on the wicked rich who oppress Christian laborers like an Old Testament prophet calling for them to howl for their miseries. He previously told these early Jewish Christians to mourn and weep in genuine repentance but howling is an expectation of the wrath to come. All that the rich have put their faith in: riches, clothing, gold, and silver are in a state of decay. These treasures will never be able to buy them access to the greatest treasure: heaven with our Savior. They have a future of fire that will eat their flesh the same way the rust eats at metals. James accuses these wealthy landowners of withholding pay from Christian day laborers. The wages they’ve withheld stand as a witness against them and they cry out to the Lord of Sabaoth like Abel’s blood. The Lord delivers those whose cries rise up to heaven on His throne from which He directs His armies. How will they escape? The stolen money fuels their lavish lifestyles of excess, drunkenness, gluttony, carousing, orgies, and parties. But the more they feed themselves with excess the more they are like a fattened steer ready for slaughter. Judgment is nigh. And finally, their greed has led them to false accusations and death sentences of the brethren. Just like the Lord Jesus Christ, these saints did not resist but a day has been appointed for such as these wicked rich and God will have the vengeance. May we, as Christians, seek to live lives with biblical stewardship and without greed.

High-Schooler Mo from the Apologia Utah LDS Evangelism team gets into a powerful conversation with a young woman in downtown Provo. Watch how the gospel brings clarity to this woman's life. You do not want to miss this!

James 4:13-17 James beckons this early Christian audience to hear out his scenario. He tells of Christian merchants who plan where they’re going, when they’re going, how long they will be there, and what they expect the result of this venture to be. They disregard some fundamental aspects to planning for the future as a believer: that is God’s will and sovereignty. We can plan all we want but life can change in an instant. Whether it be sickness, accident, murder, you name it; life is a passing shadow, a quickly risen vapor soon to dissipate. All things are passing away but Christians have a hope that goes beyond the grave. We mustn’t be so presumptuous that we forget there is the one-true God and Lord who has decreed all things that come to pass, who carries out His own will and fails not to bring about His plans regardless of what our plans are. The good news is for the believer, His plan and will are the very best thing for us. We ought not to fret when wrenches are thrown in the gears, whether big or small, because our Lord is actually building something better. So our attitude should be whatever the Lord wills, we will do and live in that reality. To do otherwise is a boasting in some fake self-confidence or faux independence. We should boast in the Lord. James caps his admonishment by saying we know the right thing to do in our planning, go before the Lord and desire His will above ours; but if we fail to do that it is sin by omission.

Pastor Wade Orsini of Apologia Utah, Deacon Andrew Soncrant, and Eric Collins of the LDS Evangelism team get into a spirited conversation with a False Prophet. This is not how typical LDS Evangelism occurs, this man said that he receives direct revelation from God that could be called Scripture, therefore Pastor Wade was rebuking the man.

James 4:11-12 James has just called these early Jewish Christians to take their sin and repentance seriously. To bring yourself low before the Lord and He will elevate you. But he exhorts them lovingly, as brothers again, to not katalaleo, speak down or speak against another believer in the church. He makes an imperative to not act superior and higher than others then slander them. The one who slanders his brother slanders and judges God’s law. And God’s law is a representation of His very character and divine nature. Judging the law makes one a transgressor of it: not observing the royal law to love one’s neighbor as themselves. And it doesn’t bring one low before God in humility but tries to elevate oneself above God and His law, just like the diabolos (literally “slanderer”). However, there is only one supreme Lawgiver and Judge over this creation and He alone proclaims the eternal damnation and salvation of the men and women of this world. As Christians, we must remember the eternal damnation we deserve so as to humble us and abstain from slandering our brothers and sisters. Any evil we could proclaim about them, could be proclaimed about us. So we don’t become judges but use God’s law and His love to graciously correct our brother face to face and not defame his name to the world.

Pastor Wade Orsini and Deacon Andrew Soncrant of Apologia Church Utah make a loving plea to the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month in Utah. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sound Effects provided by SFX - Sound Effects For Content Creators https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzxm... Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B-Roll Footage of Pride Parade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8gKE7WV81I&t=2s - D.C. Pride Gets Degenerate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFOk31yuvQE&t=1s - Pride Parade Toronto --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Drag Queen Bar Footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edN6jW_twM0&t=226s - CONFRONTED: Drag Queens Hosting Children's Event Explain Themselves --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Drag Queen Children's Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xprabkl1LD4 - The Meaning of Pride ft. Drag Queen Nina West --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Drag Queens Reading to Kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy7Oj4fSzuI&t=217s - The Drag Queens Reading To Kids in Libraries | them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trans Footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9qaHOkj8EE - trans tiktoks compilation

Deacon Dusty Marshall of Apologia Utah has an intense conversation with a young lady in Provo who states, "I Don't Agree With Your God." Please pray for her salvation.

James 4:7-10 Because of the greater grace that God gives to the humble and not proud, James says to submit to God. This is the first of ten other imperatives in this brief section of Scripture. This all-encompassing command means that everything from our salvation, walk with Christ, our lives, finances, families, our health, and relationships are to be directed by the orders of the One with all-authority: Jesus Christ. In complete contrast, we are called to resist or actively oppose the works and schemes of the devil. You cannot oppose Satan without submitting to God. And just like with Jesus in the temptation of the wilderness, the devil will flee. The question is: what are we not submitting to God? Where does the devil find opportunity? The promise is that when we draw near to God, He will not wait for us to get to some level but He will actively come near to us. James then switches as a preacher before a variety of people and as if to jolt them out of their stupor or sin, He commands them to clean their hands (or deeds) and purify their hearts (the inner man). Christ has saved us and washed us with the waters of regeneration but we often still try to blend with the filth of sin. A call to repentance is given. The Christian life is filled with joy, especially salvific joy, but he wants them to think back to the Old Testament sackcloth and ashes. We are to grieve over our sin, humble ourselves before the only One who can aid us, and He will lift us high from our low state.

Pastor Jeff Durbin of Apologia Church in Arizona took the pulpit at the Utah church plant. He laid out the reminder of the hope of the Gospel in Romans 1-5 on how we justified by faith; that all we have to offer God is empty hands ready to receive. He then finishes in Romans 6 and 12 on what a new church should look like. How we are to care for one another's needs, practice hospitality, and give joyfully to the needs of the church.

Deacon Andrew Soncrant of Apologia Utah met these interesting young men on the streets of Provo. Sometimes Giving the Gospel to Gen Z can get a little sus, but the Gospel always prevails.

Pastor Luke Pierson and Pastor Zack Morgan of Apologia church give a lesson on Biblical Manhood at the Utah church. Zack mentions the three 'P's that men are to be: Provider, Protector, and Priest for the family.

Deacon Andrew Soncrant and Mo of the Apologia Utah LDS Evangelism team get into a conversation with an energetic young LDS woman. Listen to this epic and thought-provoking discussion on why Mormonism Cannot Save You. You do not want to miss this!

James 4:1-6 It is obvious that these early Jewish Christians were not always practicing the wisdom from above and enjoying the peace God gives but James says warring with one another because the pleasures of the flesh we’re being sought higher than pleasing God. They enter into a series of frustrations. They desire and do not have, are envious of each other and do not have, they don’t pray to God and so they do not have, and they ask God with sinful motives so they do not have. So they murder with the heart, fight because they want what others have, they neglect petitioning God, and even ask Him for these contrary to His will with the wrong heart. They are not getting what they want because of their sinful inclinations and desire to repeat a cycle of pleasure. All it takes is submitting to God in one chains of the pleasure cycle and it can be broken. He calls them a harsh name, something we have never seen used to rebuke Christians in the New Testament. But it should bring their minds back to the infidelity of the harlot Israel. Christ is our Bridegroom and he will share his Church Bride with no one, including the world. God wants all of us and the world wants all of us; we must stop acting like both can be our masters. A friend to both or a friend to the world, are both enemies of God. The spirit that God breathed into us, after the fall, had become corrupted and prone to envy. But He gives grace through the Lord Jesus Christ so that spirit and flesh will both be redeemed. For now, the spirit is able to please God but the flesh must humble itself before the Lord. Grace then, is what we must ask for. Grace is what we must seek.

Why do the LDS people obfuscate their differences on Jesus? Watch as Andrew Soncrant Deacon of Apologia Utah challenges this young couple with the question, "Do You Know Jesus." This conversation is a powerful and moving example of how to challenge your LDS neighbors to think more critically about Jesus.

James 3:13-18 James begins his discourse on wisdom with an invitation to anyone in the church who thinks they have great insight on spiritual matters and biblical knowledge. As if to say, “Come let us examine your claims!” James demonstrates as he did with true faith that true wisdom results in obedience to God through works and humility. The opposite of having humble wisdom is a kind of wisdom that is bitterly jealous and selfishly ambition; one considers themself being the source of wisdom despite James saying in 1:5 it comes from God. They must create lies to believe rather than the truth. Such false wisdom is earthly in nature, fleshly not spiritual in essence, and demonic in origin. Where this faux wisdom of man persists so does disorder and evil; like the kind Miriam used when she was jealous of Moses then punished by God. James then defines the wisdom from above which are characteristics that Christ Himself possessed. To be truly wise to is emulate our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The righteous life isn’t sown by earthly and demonic wisdom but from the heavenly wisdom that God’s peacemakers possess thereby bringing a harvest of peace.

Deacon Dusty Marshall of Apologia Utah had a powerful conversation with a young LDS Woman Wants to Know Jesus. Please do not hesitate to watch and share this video!

Pastor Wade Orsini and members of Apologia Church Utah go out to the city center in Provo by the temple to share the Gospel. Isaac reveals he went on mission as a Mormon missionary but never truly believed and doesn't to this day. He hears the truth, for what appears to be the first time, and takes our contact information. Please pray the Lord works in this young man!

Pastor Wade and deacon Andrew were outside Planned Parenthood trying to save babies and get the Gospel out. They encounter this mother who acts apathetic towards the ab0rtion she has had as well as boasts she would do it again. These women know what they're doing. Please pray this woman will turn to Christ.

James 3:3-12 James moves on from the heavy responsibility of teaching and the temptations of the tongue that may come with it to a general admonishment on taming the tongue. Like the tiny bit of a large horse, a small rudder of a great ship, or the seemingly insignificant first spark of a spreading wildfire so is the tongue in respect to the rest of the body. But the introduction of the fire demonstrates how destructive the tongue can be. In fact, James comes out of light similes and gives a firm statement that the tongue is fire. Like the carnal world can stain and infiltrate the church so can the tongue pollute the whole body in its sin. The damage of the tongue can be far and wide: wrecking the trajectory of someone’s life and even bring them to hell. One lie can ruin a person’s entire life. Man has been able to subdue and tame every sort of beast as God ordained them to do in creation and yet man has never been able to tame the tongue. It remains wild, unstable, uncontrollable, restless like the tongue of serpent always hissing and expelling venom with each successive victim. But the true victim is the Lord. Many bless Him in song or ritual but when we curse our neighbor, we indirectly curse God Almighty. James the Jerusalem Pastor tell them, as Christians, it shouldn’t be this way anymore. As new creatures in Christ, by His Spirit, we can learn to control the tongue and seek maturity in our pure speech. And if we don’t, we are like the double-minded man; now also double-tongued. But no one spring has sweet and bitter water. No tree produces a fruit other than its kind. So let us also, produce sweet water as those who have been given living waters by our Lord.

Dr. James White speaks on the rich history of Scriptural manuscripts. The New Testament text has the highest attestation of any ancient document in history. Despite the history of the canon and circulation of Scripture to reveal it has not been altered as a controlled text, it is important for one to know canon as supernatural item. Dr. White calls the canon an artifact of revelation. You see there are two types of canon. There is the ontological canon. The Canon that is known to God because all that is theopneustos has been determined from all eternity. And, the canon as we have seen it in the 66 books of the Bible. So there is canon as God knows it, the process of canon in the OT and NT times as writers penned God’s Word for a millennium even when they didn’t know it, and then there is canon as officially recognized and church unity was reached regarding it. God has not only given but preserved His Word to this very day.

James 3:1-2 James moves on from his discourse on the harmony of faith and works to the tongue. He first speaks on how not many of them should become teachers. Christ was the ultimate teacher. A teacher ought to be objective, teach truth and fact and that is what Jesus did. In addition to His formal teachings, He modeled His doctrine through His life and death. A true teacher lives out what they teach. Having influence over others is significant and should not be considered a light thing. The morality and faithfulness of a teacher are paramount to them having the authority to teach. That is, teachers cannot be hypocrites. There are temptations that arise with being a teacher such as catering to the carnal man, tickling the ears, pontificating a novel idea that is absent from God’s Word, and using your position for self-exaltation and sordid gain. For those reasons, teacher will receive greater scrutiny on the final day. They will give an account for every careless word and error taught because it didn’t just affect them but others. James makes it clear that the tongue is most substantial way a teacher can stumble. Controlling the tongue is the way to be a teacher above reproach and found complete for final day.

Deacon Dusty Marshall of Apologia Church Utah challenges this Mormon Man with Scripture. Watch how this Young LDS Man is left Speechless by Scripture. This is why the LDS community desperately needs the gospel, they have been deceived by a false prophet and have been fed a gospel that cannot save them.

Dr. James White speaks on History of the Christian Church has been filled with glory and moments of great error. But through it all, fallible men and women have recognized the infallible truths of Scripture like the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and Sola Scriptura. With each passing century we gain a fuller picture of the magnificence of Christ's Church. Truly the gates of hell have never prevailed against it.