One of my good friends was born with hearing loss and a speech impediment. As a child, his family attended a church which taught them that if they simply had enough faith then God would heal them of any sickness or disease. Every week they brought my friend up to pray for his hearing and speech to be healed – but the healing never came. Each week my friend was told God hadn’t healed him because he did not yet possess enough faith. Can you imagine the kind of pain this must have caused him? It would have been hard enough being the only kid on the playground with a hearing disability – but to be told week in and week out from his church that it was his fault? Sadly, he still carries the ache of these experiences with him to this day.

We’re going into our ninth week in this sermon series on the most misused and misunderstood verses in the Bible. We’ve talked a lot about errors which are commonly made in biblical interpretation, and good rules to help us interpret the Bible correctly. As we continue in that endeavor, this week we will also be touching on the kind of pain and heartache misused and abused Scripture can cause. I look forward to studying James 5:13-18 together with you this Sunday! – Ben Hein, Pastoral Intern