Elements City Church Podcast

As we wind down 2018 and move toward 2019. We want to recognize that change can often happen best through FOCUS. Focus is fuel for us to experience the greatest transformation. So we are seeking God to help us focus on ONE WORD and ONE PERSON. Let's lean in together to discover that 'less is more' and see what God can do through our ONE focus this year.

We are to see the fullness in the promise of Jesus being our Prince of Peace. He is the PROVIDER of a peace securing us a NEW standing before a Holy and Perfect God. His peace is to permeate and impact our relationships. We’re enfolded into being peacemakers, bringers of peace to a broken and volatile world AND we’re given a permanent possession of God’s ever-present peace that travels every day life with us.

One of the distinctive privileges and marks of a Christian is to know God as everlasting Father. This is at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. You grow to know God as Father, as Jesus does. We get to do so as we stand in a unique relationship to him through faith. You can’t have the fatherhood of God without embracing the Son-ship of Jesus. But it's through faith in Jesus that we're brought into a spiritual adoption in God's forever family. Adoption has such powerful biblical imagery and implications for our everyday life. This Christmas, let this reality draw you closer to your Everlasting Father.

When we think of ‘might’ – we usually associate it with someone who appears to be ‘bigger, stronger, more powerful’. Isaiah is helping us see that Jesus came as the ‘Mighty God’ - where we see the power and heroic nature of God on display in a unique and personal way through Christ. His appearance may not seem to mighty at first glance, but His Power is evident all throughout his birth, life, death, resurrection and it's still evident and active today.

There is a declaration that rings out in Isaiah 9 around the wonder we celebrate at Christmas. The magnitude and majesty of what's GIVEN to us in our Messiah. Jesus is our: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Tonight we examine him as our wonderful counselor. Friends remember: whoever you listen to the most, is your greatest counselor. So, who are you listening to the most?

As we conclude our series, we want to look at how we can influence our kids relationships and teach them to become people of influence for God and His good in this world. We can all get better relationally. We can help our children move forward relationally with others by how we interact and invest in them. Tonight, we look at some practical biblical wisdom to do so.

You can not give to your child something you do not possess! What are the most important things for your kids and others to know about God in order for them to grow their relationship with Him and how can you help?

We want to help our children and the next generation grow relationally rich with us, with God and with others. It's relationships that bless our lives. So we want to unpack how tofoster growth, health and biblically rich development within those relationships. We'll look into three key questions to help cultivate relationonally-rich children and the truths the Scriptures provide for parenting and investing in the next generation.

Tonight we continue our look into living the satisfied life through godly generosity. We dive into the dangers of comparison. It blinds us to our blessings and forces us to focus our attention on what we lack and our perceived scarcity. When my heart is distracted and my eyes wander – when comparison reigns: the satisfied life begins to evaporate. We want to grow our gratitude and become people who 'overflow with thankfulness' for all Jesus has done and provides (see Col. 2:6-7). Let's learn to count our blessings - WHAT'S IN YOUR BOWL?

In a culture that's saturated with marketing and the push to capitalize on consumption – it can lead us to living by a mantra of: MORE IS ALWAYS BETTER. But is it? Having MORE may not actually lead us to: being happier or being more satisfied. In a land obsessed by consumption, contentment calls to us!  Contentment is learning to have a satisfied heart and not just follow along with the pursuit of acquiring more and more and more. Enough > More. The Apostle Paul has some wise words to help us fight for contentment. 

We're to live on the GO for Jesus. Some of his final words recorded in the gospel of Matthew are to be are first priority! If we’re to live out the Great Commission of Jesus (Matt 28), we must do so with Great Commandment love (Matt 22) -- we must live it out through our actions AND we must speak about Jesus as we have opportunity. We examined 3 key opportunities available to us as we seek to leverage our lives for Jesus as His disciple.

Sometimes we are content to be spectators, but being a disciple is NOT for spectators. Christ wants us to jump in with both feet and eagerly participate in his kingdom building. The parable of the talents challenges us to wrestle with the question: 'what are we doing with what's been entrusted to us?' To whom something is given—regardless how great or small —something is required. We've been enfolded into a faith that calls for our participation as we follow after Jesus.

Being His disciple means we live out loving God and loving others.

Tonight we examine a conversation that Jesus has with Peter around one of the toughest challenges we will wade through as one following after Jesus. Forgiveness as a habit and mark of a disciple is tough when we live in a culture that likes to keep score. So we look at what forgiveness is, what it is not. We lean into the heart Jesus wants to form within us. Ultimately: forgiven people, forgive people. *also hear a testimony from Sheila in her journey of forgiveness.

We live in a world that likes to define greatness in a way that is contrary to how Jesus defines it. We look into the conversation (Matthew 18) he has with his early followers redefining what greatness truly is - as he sought to move their hearts toward a motivation to serve others. We’re called to live life with the mindset of Christ, with humility and an “it’s not all about me” type of attitude and approach as a disciple.

We lean into the Parable of the Sower and what Jesus unpacks about the receptivity of the human heart towards the truth, grace and hope of God. We're challenged to cultivate a receptive heart within ourselves and to also share God with whomever, whenever and wherever we're given opportunities. Invest like the Sower. Cultivate a heart that is conditioned well for God's growth in and through you.

In our 'always connected' culture, often times, real rest can be elusive. We can get caught up striving for more and more and even have that mindset slip into our spiritual journey. But the beautiful invitation of the gospel is to a posture of rest. Resting fully in the finished work of Jesus and learning rhythm's of rest as we journey life with Him. Lean into one of the most significant invitations given by Christ.

Doubt isn't something only some encounter in life, it seems to be a part of the human experience. As we pursue after Jesus, doubts and questions might surface in our journey. What do we do in those moments? Disciples are not people who never doubt. They may have doubt, but they choose to lean on Jesus with their doubts. We look at John the Baptist's experience with Jesus in Matthew 11:1-15 and see that Jesus meets us in those moments - he responds, he doesn't rebuke. Our faith can persevere and even grow through seasons of struggle.

As a disciple, we’re to grow an INCREASING sense of AWE for ALL of WHO Jesus is. Following after Jesus is a continual encounter with a God who is way bigger than you think He is. Increasing AWE should be an emotion we experience often. Jesus is bigger than your struggles, bigger than your past, bigger than your future worries and BIG ENOUGH for you.

We kick-off our series in the gospel of Matthew looking at what is a disciple of Jesus look like? How did Jesus disciple the disciples and how might that impact our following of Jesus today? It took a willing heart for Matthew to leave his 'known' and follow Jesus into the 'unknown'. Matthew would begin to see how Jesus would continually call for that willingness to follow. The BIG TRUTH: the heart of a disciple is WILLING. That’s what Jesus is shaping within his early followers. A heart that's growing in willingness to go where he goes, do what he does, love how he loves and quickly shaping their lives to be more like him.