Most people think trials are obstacles. James says they’re the assignment. In this episode, we continue our deep walk through the book of James, unpacking verses 2–4 with covenant theology, exile identity, and biblical fire. This is not self-help joy. This is defiant, covenantal joy—a war cry in the middle of the furnace. Trials don’t weaken your faith. They forge it. The fire is not failure. It’s formation. If you are a slave of Christ in exile, your suffering is not random. It is royal. And it will not end until you are perfect, complete, and lacking nothing.

In a world that worships feelings and measures life by emotional satisfaction, James speaks with a sharper word: “Count it all joy.” This week, Micheal Davis teaches through James 1:2–4 with a sobering call to submit even our emotions to Christ. Trials are not interruptions or accidents. They are appointed by God to forge endurance and bring us to maturity. Drawing on scripture, theology, and a quote from The Screwtape Letters, this episode confronts the lie that happiness is our highest good—and exhorts us to trust the God who “gives back with His right hand what He has taken away with His left.” True joy isn’t emotional survival. It’s sanctification in motion.

Before James tells us to tame the tongue or endure trials, he tells us who he is. Not “brother of Jesus.” Not “bishop of Jerusalem.” Just one word: δοῦλος—slave. In this episode, we go line by line through James 1:1 and uncover the theological bombshell hidden in plain sight. What is the significance of Jacob? Why does he address the “twelve tribes in the Dispersion”? And why does his first word mean rejoice in the middle of exile?

This week at Valley, guest speaker Micheal Davis walks us through the final chapters of Hebrews, opening with the iconic "Hall of Faith" in chapter 11 and pressing through the weighty exhortations in chapters 12 and 13. What does it mean to live by faith—not as wishful thinking, but as proof of unseen, eternal realities? From Abel to Abraham to you, faith is the tether between this fleeting world and the unshakable kingdom we’ve inherited in Christ. Join us as we wrestle with the glory of discipline, the weight of obedience, and the legacy of those who refused to trade their birthright for a bowl of soup.

The Priest has sat down—but that doesn’t mean the battle is over. In this exposition of Hebrews 10, we dismantle the shadows of dead religion and call a covenant people to rise under a seated King. Christ's finished work of atonement is not the end of the story; it’s the beginning of global dominion. This message is a war cry against apostasy, passivity, and pietism. Draw near. Hold fast. Stir up. Advance. The King is seated. The kingdom is moving. Time to act like it.

Hebrews 9 walks us through the architecture of the tabernacle—and then tears the veil in two. In this episode, we explore the difference between ritual purity and actual atonement. The high priest entered the holy place once a year, but Jesus entered the true holy place once for all. The copy is obsolete. The blood is real. And the covenant cannot fail.

Jesus is not just a better priest—He is a different kind of priest. In this lesson, we trace the Melchizedek pattern from Genesis and Psalm 110 into the throne room of heaven. We see how the Levitical system was subordinate from the beginning, and how Christ now mediates a new and better covenant built not on law but on resurrection. The old age is over. The new age has begun.

Join us on our 1-year beach anniversary for a short history of Valley and our mission.