Sermons on Yaakov 4:13:

Stop Playing God Series

Contributed by Jefferson Williams on Nov 25, 2024

James is clear - stop playing God with others and with your own life.

James: Practical Faith  James 4:11-17 Pastor Jefferson M. Williams Chenoa Baptist Church  11-24–2024 Richard Jewell On July 27, 1996, Richard Jewell was working as a security guard at the Olympics in Atlanta. It was just after midnight when he spotted the suspicious backpack and began ...read more

Scripture: James 4:11-17

Denomination: Baptist

Does Your Faith Show In Your Priorities?

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Jul 30, 2024

Let's talk about our faith and the part it plays as we make plans, set our goals, and prioritize things in our life.

Today let's talk about our faith and the part it plays as we make plans, set our goals, and prioritize things in our life. We all make plans and there's nothing wrong with planning. In fact, the Bible has several proverbs that encourage us to make plans. But does your faith have a part in ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17, James 5:7-11

Denomination: Baptist

Hubris Or Humility Series

Contributed by Joel Gilbert on Sep 16, 2024

There are so many factors that come into play when we make plans, but how often does the Sovereign will of God affect our plan making? In this passage, James challenges us to avoid hubris and embrace humility by submitting to God’s sovereignty in making plans.

Mistakes along the way? In February of 1995, nearly 30 years ago, the Holy Spirit spoke to me in a clear way that has impacted the course of my life - and yet it has not been without mistakes and missteps. He urged me to go to the church the Danielle grew up at and help out with the youth ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17, Acts 16:6-10, Isaiah 55:8-9, Luke 22:42-44, Luke 12:16-21, Proverbs 16:3  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Inshallah… And Wait

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 10, 2025

To say Inshallah is not to delay life but to dedicate it — to live surrendered to the will of God, waiting in faith and walking in obedience until His “Mashallah” comes.

Introduction – The Word That Waits I once heard a story about a missionary who had served for twenty years in Lahore, Pakistan. He had learned many things in those two decades — how to drink tea politely, how to haggle in the market, how to stay calm when the electricity cut out for the fifth time ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-15, Proverbs 19:21, Psalm 27:14, Romans 8:28, Luke 22:42  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Sermon On A Bridge Too Far

Contributed by William Meakin on Nov 2, 2025

"A bridge too far" is an idiom for an ambitious plan that is considered too demanding to succeed.

George Herbert, a British poet and orator once remarked: “He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven.” Luke 14:28-30 reminds us: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 19:2, James 4:13-15, Ecclesiastes 5:2-3, Mark 11:25

Go! And Trust In God's Plan - Proverbs 19:21 Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Feb 15, 2025

We map out our lives, set goals, and pursue dreams. Yet, there is a greater plan at work—the divine plan of God.

Go! And Trust in God's Plan - Proverbs 19:21 Introduction: Have you ever made plans only to see them fall apart? Have you ever set out on a course of action, believing it was right, only to find yourself facing obstacles and detours? As humans, we love to plan. We map out our lives, set goals, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 19:21, Proverbs 16:9, James 4:13-15, Isaiah 46:9-10, Romans 8:28, Luke 22:42, Isaiah 55:8-9, Philippians 4:6-7, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 12:2, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 10:9  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Balance Between Planning And Trust

Contributed by Dasol Kang on Mar 9, 2025

We are called to plan for our lives with the Lord

I am a planner – I thrive on making plans and love setting short-term and long-term goals. I always map out plans for tomorrow the night before. It usually looks something like this: Tomorrow, I will do my morning devotions, have breakfast, go to church for office hours, and then go to my lunch ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Planning Wisely, Living Humbly

Contributed by Brian Williams on Jan 1, 2026

We plan responsibly, but we submit these plans to God willingly. When they change—when doors close, when timelines shift, instead of living in despair we can trust that God causes all things to work together for good.

How can we prepare our lives for the future when we don’t know what the future holds? Well we know that God has created life with rhythms we can normally count on. The world keeps spinning on its axis. The sun rises and sets. Gravity holds us to the earth. We breathe without thinking. Seasons come ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If I Could Put Time In A Bottle

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 5, 2026

Time is not random or meaningless; it unfolds under God’s sovereign care. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that life is lived in seasons, eternity is placed in the human heart, and meaning is found not in controlling time but in reverently offering it to God. What is given to Him is never wasted.

There are moments in life when time feels generous. Days seem long. Weeks stretch out ahead of us. The future feels wide and open, almost indulgent. And then there are other moments when time suddenly feels thin — compressed, hurried, and slippery. One season we are wondering how to fill the hours, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 90:12, Psalm 139:16, Matthew 6:34, James 4:13-15

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

"who Knows?"

Contributed by David Nolte on Jul 25, 2021

When it comes to the future, who knows?

Some people think it would be wonderful to see what will happen tomorrow and beyond. “Just show me what the stock market will do, and I’ll be rich.” “Show me what is coming for me so I can be prepared.” Think again. If we were to see all the blessings and benefits waiting for us in God’s ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Rate Of Exchange

Contributed by Donald Whitchard on Aug 10, 2021

Jesus made it clear that you can gain everything the world has to offer, but it rusts, wears out, turns to dust, and you cannot take it with you after you die. If you lose your soul, however, you lose your life for eternity.

Humanity in its natural state really does not place much value on life, preferring to love death (Proverbs 8:36) in the form of abortions, murders, manslaughter, varied stages and types of physical, emotional, and mental abuse, and a placing on some individuals and groups a stigma of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-28, Mark 8:34-38, Luke 9:23-26, Luke 12:13-21, James 4:13-15, Hebrews 9:27, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:11-15  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

09 - James 4:11-17 Series

Contributed by Michael Collins on Aug 30, 2021

This is the 9th of 11 Studies on the Book of James, where James tells us why we should not slander one another, and why we should not boast about tomorrow.

James 4:11-12 11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are ...read more

Scripture: James 4:11-17

Denomination: Independent/Bible

What Is Your Life Series

Contributed by David Owens on Sep 6, 2021

James applies the need for humility to our mindset about our lives and our plans. As he discusses the fact that our life is just a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes, we learn some sins to avoid and some things to do.

Introduction: A. One day a doctor called one of his patients into his office to deliver some very important news. 1. “I have received the results of your tests and I have some bad news and some good news.” 2. The patient was quiet for a moment, sensing the gravity of the announcement, “Let me have ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17, Psalm 90:10-12

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Unexpected Events (Part 1) Series

Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 7, 2021

Pivotal events can happen unexpectedly in our lives. If we are able to accept that fact and (at the same time) trust God with the changes that accompany those events, we will manage life better. This message explores unexpected events in Moses's life.

Today I want to talk about two unexpected events in Moses’s life. One was a glorious encounter with God that set him on the course for the last 40 years of his life. The other was a painful experience that equipped him to fulfill the mission given to him in the first encounter. In both cases the ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 4:1-20, Psalm 23:1-6, John 15:1-5, Luke 12:15-21, 2 Peter 3:11, Hebrews 9:27, Isaiah 43:1-2, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 37:1-23, Proverbs 19:21, James 4:7-17, Romans 8:29, Exodus 3:1-22  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Lesson 26. A Rebuke Of The Condition (James 4:13-14) Series

Contributed by John Lowe on Apr 3, 2021

This section is sometimes taken to refer to unbelieving Jews, but nothing is appliable to professing Christians. The Jews bent on trade are warned not to forget God, for they are of such a nature that they do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

Text. James 4:13-14 (NIV) 13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-14

Denomination: Baptist