Pride keeps you stuck. Humility sets you free.

So many of us feel spiritually distant not because God has moved, but because we’ve refused to. Pride builds walls, but humility builds bridges. The way forward in your healing isn’t pretending to be okay—it’s getting honest about where you’re not. Repentance doesn’t just bring forgiveness; it brings connection. The moment you drop the act and fall to your knees is the moment heaven leans in close. Freedom begins where pride ends.

In James 3, we’re confronted with the truth that our words aren’t neutral—they’re powerful. This passage walks through how the tongue, though small, can set the direction of our lives or burn everything down around us. It reminds us that no one can tame their speech without the help of the Holy Spirit. And it closes by showing us that wise, Spirit-led words always bring peace, not chaos. In recovery and in life, the way we speak can either push people further into shame or call them out into freedom. If God has your heart, then your words should reflect His character. Tonight, we’re getting real about the fire that lives between our teeth—and what it looks like when that fire is finally surrendered to God.

Words don’t disappear when they’re spoken. They either plant something life-giving or light something on fire. The tongue may be small, but it can destroy relationships, wreck reputations, and derail recovery. But in God’s hands, your words can also bring healing, hope, and life. What you say reveals who’s in control—your flesh or the Spirit. If your faith is real, your mouth should reflect it.

James doesn’t sugarcoat anything in this passage. He goes straight to the heart of the matter: faith without works is dead. It’s not enough to claim belief in God if your life never reflects it. In recovery—and in discipleship—true faith shows up in obedience, sacrifice, and tangible action. Abraham offered his son. Rahab risked everything. And James says that if your faith doesn’t lead you to move, serve, surrender, or obey, then it’s not real faith—it’s just talk. This week, we’re digging into what active, alive, working faith looks like—and how to take one bold step that proves your faith is more than just words.

Talk is cheap. Real faith shows up in real life.

Faith that works is faith that walks—it doesn’t sit still, it doesn’t stay quiet, and it doesn’t just show up on Sundays.

If your faith never moves you to action, it may not be faith at all.

This week we’re asking: What does your faith do?

In James 2:1–13, we’re reminded that grace doesn’t play favorites—and neither should we. This message confronts the sin of favoritism and its impact on how we treat others in recovery, in church, and in life. When we judge based on appearance, status, or reputation, we distort the very gospel we claim to believe. James calls us back to the heart of Jesus—a Savior who welcomed the broken, the overlooked, and the outcast. God chooses the unexpected, and His mercy levels the playing field. If we’ve received grace, we’re called to extend it. In a culture that divides and cancels, the church is called to create a place of belonging where mercy overrules judgment.

Pride and prejudice have no place in recovery.

Grace doesn’t play favorites—and neither should we.

At the foot of the cross, we’re all the same.

✝️ James 2:1–13

#FaithInAction #CedarPointRecovery #GraceLevelsTheGround

In Week 2 of Faith in Action, we unpacked James 1:19–27 and confronted a hard truth: it’s not what we hear that changes us—it’s what we do with what we hear. James challenges us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, reminding us that real growth begins when we slow our reactions and humble our hearts. We were called to clear out the junk—pride, sin, distractions—so God’s Word can take root in our lives. And most importantly, we were reminded that faith isn’t proven by words or knowledge, but by obedience. It’s time to stop nodding in agreement and start living what we say we believe.

God isn’t after your knowledge—He’s after your obedience.

Truth transforms when it’s applied.

In Week 1 of our Faith in Action series, we opened the book of James with a bold challenge—to stop running from trials and start growing through them. James doesn’t sugarcoat the journey of faith. He calls it a battle—and he makes it clear that trials aren’t signs of God’s absence but tools for our transformation. We learned that trials are training grounds designed to build endurance, that temptation isn’t the same as sin—we have a choice in how we respond—and that God’s goodness doesn’t shift when life gets hard. This message pushes us to quit escaping and start enduring, knowing that God is doing His deepest work when the pressure is on. Recovery isn’t about ease—it’s about faith forged in the fire.

Faith isn’t built in the easy—it’s forged in the fire.

Trials don’t mean God is absent. They mean He’s working.

🔥 This week’s message: Built Through the Battle

🎧 Catch up now and let God turn your pressure into perseverance.

#FaithInAction #RecoveryChurch #BuiltThroughTheBattle

Recovery isn’t just hard—it’s warfare. And too often, we’re exhausted not because we’re weak, but because we’re fighting the wrong battle with the wrong weapons. In Ephesians 6, Paul reminds us that our struggle isn’t against people, pasts, or emotions—it’s against a spiritual enemy with real strategies. But God hasn’t left us unarmed. He’s given us the armor of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and His Word. This message calls us to stop shadowboxing, suit up daily, and start fighting from our position in Christ. The battle is real, but so is the victory—and it’s time we fought like we believe it.

In Ephesians 5, Paul calls us to live like we’ve actually been made new—to walk in love, not in the dark. This message challenges us to stop stumbling through life hiding in shame, secrecy, and self-medication, and instead step boldly into the light of God’s love. We’re reminded that real freedom doesn’t come through performance, perfection, or numbing behaviors—it comes through surrender, honesty, and a Spirit-filled life. God's love doesn’t expose us to embarrass us—it exposes what’s been hurting us so He can heal it. Tonight’s call is simple but bold: let the light in, walk in love, and live like the new creation you are.

You weren’t made for the dark. Shame hides. Love heals.

God’s not exposing you to embarrass you—He’s exposing what’s been hurting

you so He can heal it.

Step into the light and let God’s love transform what fear has kept hidden.

#WalkInLove #MadeNew #CedarPointRecovery #FromDarknessToLight