My neighbor used to go for a walk with his old dog every day, and when he stopped showing up one day, it turned out he hadn’t fallen ill: there was just an empty leash hanging on the hook, and he was home alone. This scene opens a sermon on loneliness, which has many shades—and all of them are gray (James 5:13–20). James leads us through the home of a rich man, the shack of a cheated laborer, a hospital bed, and the ordinary home of a man weighed down by a hidden sin—and each time he says the same thing: you don’t have to be alone in this; you can pray, ask others to pray for you, and confess your sins, because God lifts you up and forgives you. Listen, if you’re looking for someone to whom you can open up about what’s really going on in your heart.
Loneliness in Trials
Together
We live on a very crowded planet, connected by a network of social media. In our world, it’s sometimes hard to get away from people, yet we still feel increasingly lonely. We avoid crowds, yet we long for close relationships. And when we do spend time with others, we aren’t quite sure how to build those relationships. That’s why we need to discover what it means to be TOGETHER, because that’s exactly the kind of church we want to be.
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