פודקאסטים בנושא Element Christian Church

When someone wrongs us, Jesus says we must “pay attention to ourselves” and be aware of our own tendency toward resentment and unforgiveness. The Gospel challenges us in that we must identify with the wrongdoer as a fellow sinner in need of grace. Forgiveness means we inwardly pay the debt of the wrongdoer ourselves instead of seeking revenge; this…

This sermon focuses on understanding the difference between true guilt (for objectively wrong deeds) and false guilt (disproportionate feelings). Secular approaches to “self-forgiveness” fall short because they leave out our vertical relationship with God that was broken by sin. True repentance before God involves fully owning our sin without blame…

This week’s message focuses on the role of guilt/shame in understanding our need for forgiveness. Many today seek to avoid or dismiss the concept of guilt or shame, or even attempt to cover it through their own efforts. A Biblical worldview clearly names and describes the implications of the Fall—humankind’s rebellion against God and the unraveling…

This week’s message on biblical forgiveness focuses on how forgiveness aims to restore community. God’s forgiveness of us individually is meant to be reflected in our own relationships with other broken people. Scripture calls us to rebuke those who sin against us, but also to forgive endlessly. This combines confronting wrongs while being willing …

A reading of the white paper “Justice: The Foundation of a Christian Approach to Abuse”, written by Jacob and Rachael Denhollander. Read by Nicole Pruett WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HEREDOWNLOAD READING PLAN HERE FIND THIS WEEKS ANNOUNCEMENTS, SONG LIST, NOTES, AND MORE AT YOUVERSION…

This week’s message focuses on balancing justice and love when forgiving others. Scripture condemns seeking revenge, hating others, and bearing grudges against those who wrong us. Instead, it calls us to rebuke those who do wrong while also loving them. True forgiveness requires both justice and love - if we only forgive without confronting the wro…

As we’ve discussed in this series, the vertical dimension to forgiveness is our starting point. It is God’s own extension of mercy to us that serves as the motivation for our forgiveness of others. An important aspect of this vertical dimension is the nature of God’s love. In His perfect love, God demonstrates wrath against sin, which is an affront…

This week’s message explores how Christianity introduces an ethic that challenges our innate self-centeredness. Because of who Jesus is and how He has loved us, we are compelled to sacrificially love others. We go from self-regarding to self-giving as followers of Jesus. It’s understandable, then, that forgiveness would be especially difficult for …

This week’s message explores different models/views on forgiveness that are popular today. Those that refuse to understand the costliness of grace (as shown by the Cross) distort the reality of what forgiveness entails. As opposed to forgiveness being blind, transactional, therapeutic, weaponized, or withheld, forgiveness is a reflection of God’s o…

In this week’s message, we explore the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18. We can learn a lot from this parable, as we see that we have been forgiven of an impossible debt by a generous King. We also see that King, God, desires for us to extend the same mercy He has shown us to others. Realizing the gravity of our own wrongs will dest…

This message marks the first in a series of 11 messages on the topic of forgiveness inspired by Tim Keller’s book Forgive. As we progress through the series and come to understand what forgiveness looks like in our own lives, we have to start with a broader exploration of what forgiveness even is - renouncing revenge and being open to reconciliatio…

If we look to use Galatians for its intended purpose, we can gain so much valuable understanding from it. The end of the letter is more than a wrap-up; it is a reiteration of the letter’s entire aim. Galatians 6:14 is one of the best verses in Galatians and most of the Bible, because it explains the meaning and the power of the cross. (NIV) “May I …

Galatians 6:6-10 is technically part of Galatians 6:1-5; both passages are two parts of the same thought. Last week we talked about being nothing and something; the week before that, we spoke about burdens and loads. All these concepts are meant to go together—just as we, as parts of the same body of Christ, come together. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOU…

God sends His Spirit to dwell in us so that we are no longer orphans, but family; we become adopted children of God. We must continually return to the means by which we were saved—the Gospel. One of the greatest ways others can see the transformation of the Gospel in our lives is how we love one another. Gal 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provok…

God sends His Spirit to dwell in us so that we are no longer orphans, but family; we become adopted children of God. We must continually return to the means by which we were saved—the Gospel. One of the greatest ways others can see the transformation of the Gospel in our lives is how we love one another. Gal 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provok…

Galatians 5:16-25 is one of the most well-known passages in Galatians as it talks about “the fruit of the Spirit.” Tim Keller wrote that he doesn’t think there is any better passage in all the Scriptures than Galatians 5 in showing us what spiritual life results in. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HEREDOWNLOAD READING PLAN H…

Churches can be messy places because they are full of people. God knows His church is messed up because it is full of people, people He purchased with the blood of Jesus. Todd Wilson writes, “Clearly, God is convinced the church is a mess worth making!” WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HEREDOWNLOAD READING PLAN HERE FIND THIS…

In these verses, the Apostle Paul will write about wisdom by showing how looking at the end of our journey can influence our present—our motivation. Why do we do what we do? Why is motivation so important to how we live? To put it simply, foolish people and wise people can start off with the same goals, but foolish people give up because they focus…

For thousands of years, fellowship with God had been established through observance of the Law, but the Law was always a time of winter—a time of waiting. There are different modes of travel that are appropriate during the winter season. If you try to use winter modes of travel (e.g., snowshoes, snowmobiles, etc.) during springtime (when everything…

Galatians is a book written to churches where false teachers came in and began to contradict Paul’s original Christian message. • The false teachers were saying: “Believe in Jesus, obey the law, and as a result, you’ll be saved.” • Paul said: “Believe in Jesus, be saved, and as a result, you will want to obey God.” There is a huge difference betwee…

Galatians is a book about grace and how we so often misunderstand it. Today, Paul breaks his tone with the Galatians and reveals part of his heart, because it is necessary for him to emotionally convey what he is thinking and feeling. He starts with an appeal to friendship Gal 4:12Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as y…

Paul’s admonition today in Galatians is to stop worshiping false gods (or “elementary principles of the world”). In our current mindset, it may be easy to think, “Of course we shouldn’t worship false gods.” All too often, however, we easily fall into the trap of doing so. False gods (or elementary principles) do not just include pagan rituals or No…

Paul’s admonition today in Galatians is to stop worshiping false gods (or “elementary principles of the world”). In our current mindset, it may be easy to think, “Of course we shouldn’t worship false gods.” All too often, however, we easily fall into the trap of doing so. False gods (or elementary principles) do not just include pagan rituals or No…

The book of Galatians, unlike some other books in the New Testament, is not written to a specific church. Rather, Galatians is written to an area that contained multiple churches who were all having the same problem: people claiming to have authority were coming in and steering these churches toward a form of legalism. These false teachers believed…

At the end of 2022, Element went through a 13-week series on prayer. We said that, “Prayer is a continuing conversation that God has started through His Word and provided by His grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with Him.” Prayer starts with God revealing Himself to us through His Spirit and His written word. In response, we can know…

The Jewish people held Moses as the greatest messenger of God’s will and blessing because he brought the Law to the people. Paul will say something both amazing and offensive at the same time: Moses was a mediator Moses was a terrible mediator When Moses showed up (as a mediator), he made things worse, because the Law only revealed the depth of our…

In Galatians 3:6-14 Paul shows the disaster that can happen when people go down the path of religious law-keeping in order to find righteousness or acceptance before God. Paul has been on this journey before with many others, and he knows how to keep us on the path, as too often, we get lost seeking God’s acceptance of us. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOU…

The Law of Moses, as found in the first five books of the Bible, has been a hotbed of debate ever since God gave it to us. There are those today who say that in order to be a Christian, you must also follow the law (just like they said to the Galatians). Paul has been arguing that we are saved by the mercy and grace of God through faith in what Chr…

How we live the Christian life is a topic of endless books, seminars, camps, and conferences; in Galatians Paul speaks of living in the Spirit’s power. When he speaks of the Spirit’s power, he is referring to God the Holy Spirit and the restored relationship that is provided in Christ. When we understand the truth of the Gospel, we have a transform…

In this long form bonus episode, Aaron and Michael interview Kevin, our new hire for High School and post graduation ministries. This get-to-know you episode is for you to hear Kevin’s journey getting here and his heart for ministry. CLICK HERE TO EMAIL KEVIN WATCH THIS WEEK'S SERVICE ON YOUTUBEעל ידי Aaron

Up to this point in Galatians, Paul has been recounting his story of how and why he preaches grace and the Gospel. He has been giving a couple of stories about his life, his interactions with the church in Jerusalem, and his confrontation between Peter and himself. This confrontation was about the nature of the Gospel, the essence of the Christian …

Truth is a big deal in our culture, but the truth we adhere to is often personal truth based on what we feel, and not on what is objectively true. Christianity believes there is absolute truth and it is found in Jesus. That claim has caused a lot of people to shy away from Christianity, because we are often taught that if someone claims they have a…

In this section of Galatians, there is an encounter that feels like one of the most awkward moments in the early church: Paul goes after Peter for separating himself from Gentiles he was eating with previously. After a group of Jewish men show up in Antioch, Peter reverts to the old ways of keeping distance from those who were not Jewish. WATCH FUL…

In an effort to bring unity, Paul speaks of his travels to Jerusalem and what the leaders there thought of his ministry (they validated it). He ends with this line: Gal 2:10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. An issue at the beginning of Galatians 2 was whether the Gospel Paul preached among Gentiles was suf…

Paul has a passion for the Gospel. It is why he continues to tell his own story about what God did and continues to do. Sometimes it is easy to talk about the need for grace in our lives, but it is another thing to see or believe how much we really need that grace. Paul has been telling his story of coming to understand God’s grace in Galatians 1. …

We all have a grid for how we view our life—the things that happen around us and the things that happen to us. At Element we are constantly trying to get people to see their lives through the larger narrative of God’s story. Very often, we tend to narrate life through the lens of our past. All of our joys, sorrows, ups, and downs filter through and…

The Apostle Paul was an interesting case in his authority as an Apostle. He was one of the most learned men in the history of the church, being trained by the best scholars of his day, but when it came to the Gospel message it was Jesus who took all that learning and applied it in real ways. Paul was independent of most influences of his day, but n…

In week one we started by talking about what the Gospel is, who Paul was writing to, and Paul’s apostleship and authority. People have now arrived in the area of Galatia who are trying to tear Paul’s teaching down by saying he was a secondhand apostle and wasn’t actually sent by Jesus. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HEREDOW…

Galatians is a book about God’s grace as seen specifically in the Gospel. This book was the central theological work that brought about what we now call “The Reformation.” Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians says, “…tyrants and enemies of ours may accuse and frighten us, but they dare not condemn us, for Christ, whom God the Father has raised f…

Last week we looked at Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3. Today we want to flesh that out in how we truly view God. We want to become a people who know that the reason we pray is not to get things from God, but to know Him better. Prayer is often misunderstood because we think it is about getting from God rather than being with God; this is why Paul pra…

Statistics and surveys today tell us that most people in America (and around the world) say that they are spiritual but not "religious." They are not interested in what would be called "institutional religion." They also say they value "spirituality" and are "spiritual" themselves. It is important in this series to understand what "spiritual-ness" …

Daniel is one of the most famous Bible heroes of all time. He prays to God and recognizes where his country failed, but also where God showed Himself as faithful. The book of Daniel, historically speaking, is written while the nation of Israel is in captivity in the nation of Babylon. Daniel was probably, scholars say, somewhere in his middle schoo…

During the last few weeks of this series on prayer, we want to look at examples of how people prayed in the Scriptures so that we can have insight into what real prayer looks like. Today we look at a prayer by Heman that is dark; as a matter of fact, the last word in the Psalm is darkness. There is a reason we want to study a dark prayer like this.…

This week we begin to make a transition from talking about what prayer is, to how certain people in the Bible prayed. We have walked through unanswered prayers, real prayer, the "Lord's Prayer," ceaseless prayer, and what "praying in the Spirit" means. Now we want to see how some people in the Bible actually prayed and what their examples can show …

Praying in the Spirit can sound other-worldly and spooky, but that is what the Scriptures tell us to do. The Greek word for "pray in" means "by means of," "with the help of," "in the sphere of," and "in connection to." Praying in the Spirit does not refer simply to the words we are saying, but it refers to how we are praying. Praying in the Spirit …

One of the dangers in “spiritual life” is thinking that we know what the Scriptures are saying when we don’t; we at times get so used to Bible language that we fail to stop and think, “What did the writer mean by that?” This is why an understanding of prayer is so important, because prayer is always connected to a very deep truth: God is always pre…

People everywhere have at least some difficulty knowing how to pray. We tend to default to the way we have heard others pray. Because we've heard people being "eloquent" as they pray, we think God wants us to step up our vocabulary to a higher level, so we try to learn the new spiritual dialect, but God wants to have a relationship with us as we ar…

It is interesting that Jesus' disciples never asked Him to teach them how to prophesy or preach, but they did ask Him to teach them how to pray. Most often, Jesus taught others how to pray by simply praying. He would pray where the disciples could see and hear Him, but He also went off to pray by Himself (sometimes at the most inconvenient times) a…

Some people pray and are constantly wondering if God hears them. If and when we do pray, we usually expect God to interact with us in a way that we find acceptable. When He doesn't, we may think there is something wrong with the relationship or with God Himself. We are told that God is like a Father, which is wonderful, but some people view that re…

Unanswered prayers can be challenging for us on an individual level. They can be especially challenging in a group/community setting, where different opinions/interpretations of why they've gone unanswered come to the forefront. This sermon challenges the misconceptions we often have and shows us how we can offer Gospel encouragement to one another…