Скачать или смотреть Advent Week 3: Shaken & Awakened: Overcoming Discouragement in James 5:7–11 Pastor Ben, Dec 14, 2025

How do we overcome discouragement during one of the busiest and most emotionally complex seasons of the year? In this week’s message from James 5:7–11, Pastor Ben teaches that victory over discouragement isn’t about forcing joy or pretending everything is fine. It comes through watchfulness, patience, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

Many of us face stress, grief, anxiety, or the pressure to “hold it all together” during Christmas. But Scripture reminds us that we don’t have to slip into “humbuggery.” Instead, we can stand firm with steely resolve, stay rooted in community, and allow the Holy Spirit to shape our responses with love, kindness, and genuine joy.

This sermon explores:
• Why discouragement feels heavier during Christmas
• How to practice spiritual watchfulness
• What James means by “be patient and stand firm”
• Why Christian community is essential for transformation
• How small groups “watch over each other in love”
• The role of the Holy Spirit in producing real joy
• How to “smell like Jesus” to those around us
• Why our labor in the Lord is never in vain

Whether you’re navigating loss, busyness, family stress, or spiritual fatigue, this message offers hope rooted in Scripture and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Key Scriptures:
James 5:7–11
Luke 21:34–36
2 Timothy 2:22
Acts 2:42
1 Thessalonians 5:11

If this message encouraged you, consider sharing it with someone who may be feeling the weight of the season.

Prairie Creek Church • Grimes, Iowa
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Prairie Creek Church is part of the Global Methodist Church.