Reference

James 4:17

The War Within

THE DANGER OF DOING NOTHING

James 4:17 “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

Big Idea: It’s not just the bad we do that trips us up — it’s the good we keep putting off.

Intro: We usually think of sin as the obvious stuff. Lying. Cheating. Losing our temper. James flips that idea on its head. Sometimes the greatest sin is the good we never got around to doing. Jesus told a story about a man who buried his master’s money instead of investing it (Luke 19:11–27). He didn’t steal it. He didn’t gamble it away. He just buried it. He did nothing. And in the end, that was enough to condemn him. James puts it straight: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (v.17).

 

What good thing have you been putting off?

 

  1. When You Know Better, You’re on the Hook

 

“Therefore, to him who knows to do good…”

 

Knowledge carries weight.

 

James ties this back to verse 14: “What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

 

Life is short. Life is fragile. Too short to hide behind, “I didn’t mean to” or “I didn’t know.”

 

Prov 3:27–28 “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,’ when you have it with you.”

 

Don’t withhold. Don’t delay. Don’t push obedience into tomorrow. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

 

The Israelites at Kadesh knew exactly what God wanted them to do.

 

They weren’t guessing about God’s will. They had seen the Red Sea split open. They had watched manna fall from heaven. They had drunk water from a rock. And then God brought them right up to the edge of the Promised Land.

 

In Numbers 13, Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan. When they came back, they carried a cluster of grapes so large it had to be carried on a pole between two men. The land was everything God had promised. But ten spies spread fear.

 

Num 13:31–32 “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we… the land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants.”

 

Suddenly the entire nation panicked. Instead of trusting God, they started talking about going back to Egypt.

 

Num 14:2–4 “And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron… ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!’ … So they said to one another, ‘Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.’”

 

Think about that. God had brought them out of slavery. He had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey.

And now they were standing at the doorway of that promise. And they froze. Caleb tried to rally them.

 

Num 13:30 “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

 

Joshua pleaded with them:

 

Num 14:8–9 “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land… Only do not rebel against the Lord.”

 

But the people refused. They knew what God said. They just didn’t act on it. And because of that, God pronounced judgment:

 

Num 14:34 “According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year—namely forty years.”

They wandered in the wilderness for four decades. Not because they lacked information. Because they refused to obey.

 

They knew better. And once you know better, you’re on the hook.

 

The Bible says God is patient with ignorance—but not forever. Paul said in Athens:

 

Acts 17:30 “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”

 

There are seasons when God gives light. And once that light comes, the responsibility comes with it.

 

That’s the warning James is pressing here.

 

It’s not just the sins you commit that matter. It’s the obedience you delay.

 

The Israelites didn’t attack Canaan. They just hesitated. And hesitation cost them forty years.

 

Do you think a mom gets this? Yes. She knows her kids need a spiritual foundation. She knows her marriage can’t run on autopilot. She knows her own heart is running on fumes.

 

Knowledge is not the problem. Acting on it is.

 

  1. Putting It Off Is Still a Choice

 

“…and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

 

James doesn’t soften this. Delayed obedience is disobedience. Not making a choice is still making a choice.

 

Jesus told about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31–46, and the striking thing about that passage is what the goats didn’t do.

 

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, He separates people like a shepherd separates sheep from goats. Then He says to the righteous:

 

Matt 25:35-36 “I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me.”

 

The sheep are surprised. They ask when they ever saw Jesus in those conditions. And Jesus answers:

 

Matt 25:40 “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

 

But then He turns to the goats. And notice what condemns them.

 

He does not say they robbed the hungry. He does not say they abused the poor. He does not say they persecuted the weak. He says:

 

Matt 25:42-43 “I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; naked and you did not clothe Me.”

 

Their sin was omission. They simply walked past the need. They postponed compassion. They delayed generosity. They assumed someone else would step in. But every time they walked past someone in need, they were making a choice.

 

And Jesus makes the sobering point: ignoring the need of others was the same as ignoring Him.

 

Putting it off wasn’t neutral. Putting it off was a decision.

 

Their sin wasn’t active cruelty. Their sin was passive neglect.

 

 

In Luke, it’s even sharper.

 

Jesus tells a story about servants waiting for their master to return. Some servants stay alert and ready. Others assume they have time and begin to relax their obedience.

 

The point of the parable is simple: when the master comes back, the servants will be evaluated based on whether they did what they knew they were supposed to do.

 

Then Jesus delivers a piercing principle.

 

Luke 12:47 “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.”

 

Notice the emphasis. The servant knew his master’s will. The problem wasn’t ignorance. The problem was neglect. He understood the assignment. He simply chose not to act on it.

 

Jesus is saying that knowledge increases responsibility.

 

When you know what the master wants, delay becomes disobedience.

 

Knowledge without action is negligence.

 

illus: 18th-century British statesman Edmund Burke famously said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Burke wasn’t talking about criminals. He was talking about good people who stay quiet.

 

History shows this again and again: injustice often spreads not because everyone agrees with it, but because people who know better hesitate to act. That is the sin of omission. Not doing the good we know.

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer – “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

 

Bonhoeffer saw firsthand in Nazi Germany how the church’s inaction became its shame.

 

Evil thrived not only because of the loud voices of tyrants but because of the quiet inaction of people who knew better.

 

Omitting can be just as dangerous as committing.

 

illus: In NYC, 1964, Kitty Genovese was attacked outside her apartment building in Queens. The assault lasted more than half an hour. Investigations revealed that multiple neighbors heard or saw parts of the attack but assumed someone else would intervene or call police. Some looked out their windows. Some hesitated. Some thought it was a domestic dispute. The problem wasn’t hatred toward Kitty Genovese. It was hesitation. Psychologists later called it “the bystander effect.” When many people witness a problem, each assumes someone else will step in. But no one did.

 

And that’s exactly what James 4:17 exposes. Sometimes the tragedy isn’t cruelty. It’s silence. It’s delay. It’s the moment we think, “Someone else will handle it.”

 

And this shows up in everyday life.

 

illus: Picture a mom who means to read Bible stories with her kids. She has the children’s Bible on the shelf, bookmarked with good intentions. But bedtime is always rushed: homework to finish, dishes to clean, soccer uniforms to prep. She keeps thinking, “Tomorrow night we’ll start.” Tomorrow never comes. Years later, those kids know every Disney plot and every Marvel superhero, but they don’t know who David or Esther or Paul are. The omission didn’t come from malice — it came from delay. And the delay cost something eternal.

 

I wonder if you feel it if every time you think: “We’ll pray together when life slows down.” “We’ll look for a church when things settle.” “I’ll rest when the calendar clears.” But the calendar never clears. Life never slows. Putting it off is still, in essence, a “no.”

 

  1. Grace Is the Push You Need to Act

 

James 4 isn’t just about guilt — it’s about grace.

 

Verse 6 says, “But He gives more grace.”

 

God doesn’t just call you out for the good you’re neglecting. He offers power to take the next step.

 

Think of the prodigal son in Luke 15 — when he finally stood up and went home, the father ran to meet him.

 

Grace sprinted faster than sin delayed.

 

And this is the heartbeat of spiritual maturity. James’ whole letter is about moving from hearing to doing.

 

“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

 

One commentator calls this verse the hammer blow.

 

Not doing the good we know is as serious as doing the wrong we know.

 

Why? Because maturity isn’t measured by how much you know. Maturity is measured by how much you obey.

 

Maturity doesn’t mean joining every Bible study in town. It means acting on what you already know.

 

Pray with your kids tonight. Text your husband to encourage him at lunch. Call your wife just to tell her you love her and you’re thankful for the marriage God has given to you. Join a small group and risk being known.

 

Grace turns knowing into doing.

 

Conclusion:

 

James closes chapter 4 by blowing up our favorite excuse: “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

James says, “Exactly. And that’s the problem; Neither did you do the good you knew.”

 

Life is short. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. The time to act is today. Don’t bury the good God has put in your hands. Don’t waste another moment of vapor.

 

For Prayer Ministry:

 

Pray for courage to stop saying “someday” and start saying “today.”

 

Ask God to turn your good intentions into good actions before the day is done.

 

 

------- Transcript -----------------

Find James Chapter four in your Bibles. One more Sunday of James Chapter four. If you've been keeping up, there's only one verse left. I'm doing a sermon on one verse today. And as we get into the message, I want to first say we're emphasizing church membership today.
Get you to think about it and I'm going to tell you I want to give you a question that's asked of me often. It may apply to your life and I just want to kind of counsel you from the stage today. Pastor, what if I'm ready to unite with Great Commission Church but my spouse is not ready? That's an important question. In the Bible, there are household baptisms, with one exception.
I think they're all led by God saving the husband and the dad and the wives and the children and those that live in his house follow suit. But Pastor, what if I'm a believer and I come Here, really, without my spouse. And I know the Lord wants me to be officially a part of a local church body, but my spouse isn't ready to do that. What should I do? My counsel to you is obey Jesus today and don't wait for someone who's maybe lagging behind you to go because church membership and baptism, they're not family photo opportunities.
That's not primarily what they are. They are a means of grace from the Lord that belongs to the church body that you need to have. And so I think some of you have been delaying because you thought, well, I'm just going to wait on my spouse. You can wait too long to obey God. And so I just want to counsel you today.
Do it today. And the Lord will bless your spouse as he sees the change in your life and how much joy church membership will bring to you. All right, final message in the war within, verse by verse, through James, chapter four. And today I want to talk to you about the danger of doing nothing. And the verse is James 4:17.
It reads this way. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him, it is sin. And I want to give you just the big idea of this one verse message today. It's not just the bad we do that trips us up. It's the good we keep putting off.
It's not just the bad we do that trips us up. It's the good that we keep putting off. This is what James 4:17 is about. Now, we usually think of sin as the obvious stuff, lying and adultery and cheating and losing our temper and stealing. But James flips that idea on its head in this verse.
Because sometimes the greatest sin is the good that we never got around to doing. Jesus told a story about a man who buried his master's money instead of investing it. That's in Luke 19. He didn't steal it. He didn't gamble it away.
He just buried it. He did nothing. And in the end, nothing was enough to condemn him. James tells it straight. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him, it is sin.
So as we get into the outline today, let me ask you a question. What good thing have you been putting off? What good thing have you been putting off? Now, my sermon is divided into three parts, three truths. Here's truth number one.
When you know better, you're on the hook. James says, therefore, to him who knows to do good. Did you know that knowledge carries weight, like it matters what you know and how much you know? James ties this idea back to verse 14 of chapter 4, where he says, what is your life? It's even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
True or false, life is short.
It's fragile. Life's too short to hide behind. I didn't mean to or I didn't know.
Do you know Proverbs 3:27 and 28? Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due. When it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, go and come back and tomorrow I will give it when you have it with you. That is the perfect parallel verse.
Proverbs to James 4:17. Don't withhold, don't delay. Don't push obedience into tomorrow. And the reason why is tomorrow is not guaranteed. In the Old Testament.
When the Israelites arrived at a place called Kadesh, they knew exactly what God wanted them to do in the moment. They weren't guessing about his will. They. They had with their own eyes and their own bodies, seen and experienced. The Red Sea split open.
They had watched manna fall from heaven to feed millions. Every morning they had drunk water from a rock, not the wettest thing you've ever seen. And then God brought them right up to the edge of the promised land at Kadesh. And in numbers 13, Moses sent 12 spies into Canaan. And when they came back, they carried a cluster of grapes so large it had to be carried on a pole between two men.
The land was everything that God had promised. But 10 of those 12 spies didn't believe. They spread fear. Do you remember this story? Numbers 13, 31 and 32.
We are not able to go up against the people. The 10 spies said. They're stronger than we. The land which we've gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants. You don't want to go there.
It's going to eat us all up. Suddenly, the entire nation panicked. Instead of trusting God, they started talking about going back to Egypt. Numbers 14, 2, 4. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron.
If only we died in the land of Egypt, or if only we died in the wilderness. So they said to one another, let us select a leader and return to Egypt. I want you to think about that. God had brought them out of slavery. 430 years of it.
He had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey. That's breakfast. Amen. And now they're standing at the doorway of the promise that God had made. And they froze.
Well, I told you. Moses sent 12 spies in 10 of them were overcome with fear. But there were two. Listen to what the two spies said, the ones with faith. Caleb tried to rally them.
Numbers 13, 30. Hey, let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it. And then Joshua pleaded with them. Numbers 14, 8, and 9. If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land.
Only do not rebel against the Lord. But the people refused. They knew what God said. They did not act on it. And because of that, God pronounced judgment on them.
Numbers 14:34. The Lord says, according to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, 40 days. For each day you shall bear your guilt. One year, namely 40 years. Do you understand that?
They wandered in the wilderness unable to find their way to the promised land for four decades because of this. Not because they lacked information, they had it. But because they refused to obey.
Everybody say they knew better. And once you know better, you're on the hook. The Bible says, though, and this comforts me. The Bible says that God is patient with ignorance. If you've ever felt ignorant, you didn't know what you needed to know about God.
He's patient with that, but not forever. When Paul was preaching to the pagan idol worshipers on Mars Hill in Acts 17, here's what he said about God. Truly, these times of ignorance, God overlooked man. That is a comforting verse.
But now commands all men everywhere to repent. Do you understand that? God's not offering you eternal life. He's commanding you to repent and take it.
So listen to me. There are seasons when God gives light information, stuff you need to know about Him. But you also need to understand that once that light comes, responsibility comes with it. You're responsible to act on the light that you have.
That's the warning. Jesus. That's the warning that James is pressing here. It's not just the sins you commit that matter. It's the obedience you ignore.
So the Israelites did not press forward into the promised land and attack the Canaanites like God told them to. They just hesitated. And hesitation cost them 40 years. Hey, do you think moms get this? I do.
She knows her kids need a spiritual foundation in their lives. She knows her marriage can't run on autopilot. She knows when her own heart is running on fumes. Knowledge is not the problem. Acting on it is.
So when you know better, you're on the hook.
How'd that go? Did you get that? All right, number two. James says putting it off is still a choice.
To him who knows the good to do and does not do it to him. It is sin. And does not do it to him. It is sin. James doesn't soften this.
At this point in the letter, he's not trying to win your affection anymore. He's just telling you how it is. Delayed obedience is disobedience.
Not making a choice is still making a choice. Jesus told about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. And the striking thing about that passage is what the goats did not do. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, he separates people like a shepherd separating sheep from goats. And then he says to the righteous, in Matthew 25, 35, and 36, these are the words of the Lord Jesus.
I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me. And he says this to the sheep on Judgment Day.
And the sheep are surprised. They ask when they ever saw Jesus in these conditions. And our Lord answers this way. Matthew 25:40. Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, what?
One of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. I hear people quote this verse wrong all the time. They say Jesus said, if you've done it unto one of the least of these, you've done it unto me. But that's not what he said. He said, if you've done it to one of the least of these my what?
My brothers, my brethren. Look, he's talking about the family of God. He's talking about the elect. He's talking about the repentant and the people that have faith. If you've done it unto the least of these my brethren who are suffering, you've done it unto me.
Humanitarian aid is not the gospel. It's good to do, but apart from the gospel, it just makes people feel better on their way to hell. Does that make sense? It's the least of these, my brethren. Perfect.
On a day that we're talking about church membership, he says, you saw the ones that mean the most to me, and you helped them. And you didn't know that when you did that, you were helping me. But then Jesus turns to the goat and I want you to see what condemns the goats. He doesn't say they rob the hungry. That'd be bad.
We would probably identify them as goats if they did that. He doesn't say they abuse the poor. Also bad, probably goat behavior. He doesn't say they persecuted the weak. Instead, the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 25, 42 and 43, I was hungry and you gave me no food.
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not take me in and you did not clothe me when I was naked. Their sin, the sins of the goats that Jesus magnifies at his judgment are sins of omission, sins of walking past the need, postponing compassion, withholding generosity. See, the goats assumed that somebody else would step in and do it. But every time they walked past someone in need, they were making a choice.
And our Lord Jesus makes the sobering point.
Ignoring the needs of others is the same as ignoring him. Putting it off wasn't neutral. Putting it off was a decision. The sin was not active cruelty. The sin was passive neglect.
In Luke's Gospel, it's even sharper. Jesus tells the story about servants waiting for their master to return. Some servants stay alert and ready. Others assume they have time. And so they begin to relax their obedience.
And the point of the parable is simple. When the master comes back, the servants will be evaluated based on if they did what they knew they were supposed to do. And then Jesus delivers this piercing principle in Luke 12:47. And that servant who knew his master's will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes. So having all this light, having all this knowledge that we have and not acting on it brings judgment from God.
See the emphasis? The servant knew his master's will. The problem was not ignorance. The problem was refusal. He understood the assignment, he just chose not to act on it.
Our Lord Jesus is telling us in our text today that knowledge increases responsibility. Let me just say something. You're in a church that's strong in the Word. For some of you, you've never had verse by verse preaching before. You haven't had the Bible taught to you in context.
I have nothing to say about your past on that. Nothing I can do about it. But what I can say about your present is be very careful and alert and weary about stacking up Bible knowledge and never doing it.
Make sure that my approach to preaching the Word doesn't take the place of your conscience. That's an error.
It's good to know things better to do it. We are in James right. Be doers of the Word, not hearers. Only when you know what the master wants, waiting becomes disobedience. This is James 4:17 in a nutshell.
Knowledge without action is negligence.
The 18th century British statesman named Edmund Burke famously said, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Have you heard this quote before? The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Burke wasn't talking about criminals. He was talking about good people who stay quiet.
And history shows this to us time and time again. Injustice often spreads, not because everyone agrees with the injustices we don't, but because people who know better hesitate to act. That's the sin of omission, not doing the good that we know. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I don't know if you know much about him. He was a pastor in Germany during the Third Reich.
He wrote, silence in the face of evil is evil itself. Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act. Dietrich Bonhoeffer would be killed in the death camp. But he saw firsthand in Nazi Germany how the church's inaction became the church's shame. Because evil thrived not only because of the loud voices of tyrants.
And can we agree Adolf Hitler was one of those? He's not in heaven today. But because of the quiet inaction of people who knew better.
Omitting can be just as dangerous as committing. Let me give you an example. In New York City in 1964, Kitty Genovese, a young woman, was attacked on the street in broad daylight outside her apartment building in the borough of Queens. The assault by men bludgeoning her and beating her, lasted more than half an hour. You know, a fistfight usually lasts about two minutes.
Investigations revealed later that multiple neighbors in the city, from raised positions in their apartments and on the street, either heard or saw parts of Kitty Genovese's attack. But every one of them assumed someone else would intervene or somebody else would call the police. Some looked out their windows. Some hesitated. Some thought it was a domestic dispute, it would solve itself.
The problem was not hatred toward Kitty Genovese. The problem was hesitation. Psychologists even came up with a term for it afterwards. It's called the bystander effect. That's when many people witness a problem and each assumes someone else will step in.
But in Kitty's case, no one did. And that's exactly what James chapter 4, verse 17 exposes. Sometimes the tragedy isn't cruelty. It's silence. It's hesitating.
It's the moment we think someone else will handle it. And this shows up in everyday life. Picture a mom again who means to read Bible stories with her kids. Would we agree that's a good thing? Maybe you had a mom that did it.
With you. She has the children's Bible on the shelf and it's bookmarked with all her good intentions. But as you know, bedtime with little kids is always rushed. There's homework to finish, there's last minute projects that they just remember at 9:35 at night. There's dishes to clean and there's soccer uniforms to get ready.
And she keeps thinking, well, tomorrow night will start.
But tomorrow never comes. And years later, those kids now know every Disney movie plot, they know every Marvel superhero. But they don't know who David is, and they don't know who Esther is, and they don't know who Job is, is or Paul. There was something omitted, and it wasn't omitted with bad intentions or motives. It came from delay.
And the delay can cause something eternal. I wonder if you feel it every time you think, well, we'll pray together when life slows down. We'll look for a church when things settle. I'll finally rest when the calendar clears. But does the calendar ever clear?
Does life ever slow down? Mine's been on fast forward since the 70s.
Putting it off is still, in essence, a no.
Putting it off is still a choice. Okay. Did you survive that? This is just one verse here.
Number three in my notes. Today, grace is the push you need to act. I want to end on some good news. Grace is the push you need to act. James 4 isn't just about guilt.
It's about grace. In fact, James 4:6 says, he gives more grace. Do we like grace, yes or no? I'm desperate for it. God doesn't just call you out for the good that you're neglecting.
He offers you power to take the next step. I want you to think of the prodigal son in Luke 15. We know the story of the prodigal son. When he finally stood up out of the pig pen. When he finally came to his senses and went home, he discovered his father running to meet him.
In other words, grace sprinted faster than our slow steps back to God.
And this is the heartbeat of spiritual maturity, by the way. James whole letter is about moving us from hearing to doing. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him, it is sin. One commentator called that verse the hammer blow. When I saw that, I said, I'm going to do a whole sermon on it, not just tack it onto the end of the other text.
Write this down, friends. Not doing the good we know is as serious as doing the wrong we know.
Why is that, preacher? Because maturity is not measured by how much you know, maturity is measured by if you care to obey. Well, Pastor, do I prove my spiritual maturity by joining every Bible study in town? Do I prove my spiritual maturity by showing up at every food distribution in the community? The answer is no.
I show my maturity by acting on what I already know about God's truth. And if that's the case, let me encourage you. Pray with your kids tonight.
Text your husband at lunch this week and encourage him.
Call your wife just to tell her that you love her and that you're thankful for the marriage that God has given you. Join a small group. Risk being known because grace turns knowing into doing.
In conclusion, today James closes chapter four by blowing up our favorite excuse. You know what our favorite excuse is? I didn't do anything wrong. Didn't do nothing. James says.
Exactly. And that's the problem. Neither did you do the good that you knew.
So life is short. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. The time to act is today. Don't bury the good that God has put in your hands. In other words, don't waste another moment of the vapor that is your life.
Now, we're not through praying for people. We're going to open our prayer lines at the end of this service. Let me give you two ways to apply this message to your life at prayer ministry after the service. Number one, pray for courage to stop saying someday, start saying today.
And number two, ask God to turn your good intentions into good actions before the day is done.
I'm done preaching now. Is everybody okay with that? Let's stand together. Prayer ministry team. If you'll come and if you're going to pray for people after the service, you'll get in place on your ministry card.
This is for some of you, a next step you can take. You know what it says? It says, I'm curious about membership. If you mark that box, it doesn't mean that you have to become a member of our church, but it can mean, hey, I'm interested enough. I'd like to talk with someone about that because I'm thinking about it and I want to see if this is what the Lord wants me to do.
You know, church membership is a two way street. You take steps toward us, we take steps toward you. And we are. It's just not one way. And so what you think about that, Mark?
I'm curious about membership and we will talk to you about joining our church today. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for the ordinary means of grace. Thank you for the gathering of the saints. Thank you for such a great salvation.
We give you praise. Today we ask you for a week filled with the spirit. This is our prayer in Jesus name and a faith filled church said all right to the mission field you go.

 

 

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Join us this Sunday at Great Commission Church for a welcoming and uplifting worship experience. If you’ve been searching for a church near you, you’ll discover a warm, authentic church family ready to help you grow in faith.

We are a family-friendly, non-denominational Christian church in Olive Branch, serving individuals and families throughout DeSoto County and the greater Mid-South. People looking for Christian churches in Olive Branch often discover a vibrant community where faith comes alive and lives are transformed through the Gospel.

Whether you’re new to faith or have followed Christ for years, you’ll find welcoming Sunday services, practical Bible teaching, and a place to belong. We are more than a congregation — we are a church family united by a mission to follow Jesus and live out the Great Commission.

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Experience contemporary worship with modern Christian music, heartfelt prayer, and Gospel-centered messages designed to help you encounter God personally. If you’re looking for vibrant worship near Memphis, you’ll find a place that feels both authentic and inspiring.

Grow in Your Faith

We offer Bible studies, small groups, and discipleship opportunities that help you understand and apply God’s Word to everyday life. If you’re looking for a place to grow spiritually, you’ll find support and encouragement here.

Connected to Our Community

We are passionate about serving our neighbors through outreach and local partnerships, making a positive impact in Olive Branch and beyond.

Conveniently located in Olive Branch, we serve families from surrounding communities, including Southaven, Germantown, Collierville, Lewisburg, and Byhalia.

You’re Invited

If you’re looking for a church family, meaningful community, and Gospel-centered worship, we would love to welcome you.

Join us this Sunday at Great Commission Church — where faith, love, and community come together and lives are changed by Jesus.