The Israel of God

Gary Smith begins this sermon by quoting James 1:1 which seems to say the book of James was written to physical Israel, but when you look at the content of the book you clearly see it was written to Christians. How do we resolve this apparent contradiction concerning the purpose of the book of James?

Gary Smith was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, but spent most of his youth in the Pasadena, California area. He graduated from Ambassador College in 1976 and he and his wife, Liz, moved to Peoria, Illinois. For the next six years he worked as a nursing home administrator in Illinois, Ohio, and Texas.
In 1982, he and Liz began to serve in the full-time ministry. Since that time, they have served in a number of congregations in the Midwest.
Gary and Liz now pastor in Houston, Texas near their two children and grandson.
Apart from pastoring, Gary enjoys hiking, playing and watching sports, reading and spending time with family.