Elements City Church Podcast

Tonight we wrap our #SeekWisdom series looking into how do we build a life that walks in wisdom. It's way more than an external accessory to life - it's comes from the overflow of our internal life that guides us. Jesus spoke of this precisely in Luke 6:43-45. As we look into Proverbs 4, we'll discover what we need to guard above all in order to walk in wisdom. We also see a principle of wisdom and a wisdom filter that can help us in every decision we need to make.

Tonight, we're examining several practical ways to cultivate wisdom within our lives. Wisdom comes as we look back to mine from our experiences and as we create margin to contemplate. Wisdom has a God-centered trust about it (see Prov. 3:5-8). Wisdom doesn’t come in an app - it comes through application. Walking in wisdom is about practicing wisdom and walking it out, even baby steps. Wisdom knows, so wisdom does.

We begin a new 3-week series called: #SeekWisdom. It's not something we come equipped with, nor is it an automatic pickup as we grow up. But it can be ACQUIRED. The Scriptures implore us to seek it as one who seeks a great treasure. Wisdom guides us to be able to navigate the twists & turns of life soundly and to look back over our days - able to say “that was a life well lived." It's worth your pursuit. We define it and see 3 keys about wisdom in tonight's message.

Please welcome Pastor Josh Reich from another dynamic church here in Tucson - Revolution Church. He's got a powerful word tonight about how to trust God from Galatians 3 as we continue our Summer at Elements series. Trust is so vital to our journey of faith and it matters WHO we can trust. How we trust God is based on the promises of God and not what we do.

Chris Collins is on staff with Fellowship of Christian Athletes here in S. Arizona. He's been a player and coach on the college level and now is making a difference with coaches and athletes here in Arizona. He's got a powerful word tonight about living a life of availability to God. You don't have to serve EVERYONE, but we must serve SOMEONE.

Jesse Colburn is our speaker tonight and is the Lead Pastor at Move City Church in Sierra Vista and a good friend of Elements and Pantano Christian. We're delighted to have him sharing some biblical insights/lessons from the life of Jonathan and David in 1 Samuel. As a people and as a church: we are to be faithful with our potential to bring out the potential in others. We need to desire faithfulness more than fame.

We all sing. We can name the places WHERE we sing. Tonight, as we experience a worship night, we discuss WHY we sing. There are lots of reasons, but a main one is: we sing to DECLARE the goodness & greatness God.

Tonight we'll examine one more principle that every relationship needs to consider. There will always be a gap between "what you expect" and "the other's behavior", so what you fill in that gap - really matters. Also we answer some of your relationship questions.

One of the most dangerous pitfalls in a relationship is getting caught up in the ways we think the other person needs to change. It’s a tendency that all of us have and when it happens, we do far more harm than good to the relationship. Thankfully, Jesus offers us an alternative to this destructive pattern. His words are challenging. But if we follow his instructions, it has the potential to actually change our relationship for the better.

We were created for relationships, but HEALTHY ones don't just happen providentially or accidentally, they happen INTENTIONALLY. They don't come fully assembled. Tonight, we discover 2 key principles from Scripture that can help fuel godly and healthy relationships as you seek love and seek to have it flourish in your life.

We finish our #NoOtherName series tonight through the gospel of Mark looking at the Resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is God's proof He can create new beginnings out of anything. One of the unique aspects of Christianity, when compared to any other faith or religious movement, is that it traces its origin to one particular event, on one particular day in history. Easter changes EVERYTHING.

As we begin Holy Week, we're looking into a meal Jesus had with his disciples and moment of conflict that arose later that night. This meal is full of substance and significance to the mission of Jesus! We're reminded that the deliberate sacrifice Jesus made for us – makes a way for us to have true freedom and life with God.

All life-changing love requires a sacrifice. Mark 10:45 is theHEART OF CHRISTIANITY. It explains the cross and tells us what Jesus came for and why! Jesus came NOT to be served but to serve us and to give his life as a ransom, to stand in place of our sins.

Mark ch. 9 allows us an eyewitness account of a mountain top experience Jesus has with some of his early followers. It's known as the 'transfiguration' - which is a fancy name to communicate that Jesus reveals more of who He really is to them. There are some lessons here for us. Life is only lived in one direction - forward. God moments are just that, moments. Enjoy them, but keep following Jesus forward in life. Pray for them (see Ephesians 1:17).

We all are faced with questions all throughout life. But there is ONE question that we all must come face to face with - it's the ultimate question of life that Jesus raises in this passage tonight (Mark 8). We'll see that there really are two groups of people as it comes to deciding your viewpoint about Jesus: Fans or Followers. And followers have a couple distinct qualities that are to flow from how they have answered this ultimate question.

Often we like to label people by their actions, but actions have origins within the human heart. Jesus points out in Mark 7 that God measures the heart and not just actions. We also discover that inside-out godly kind of living is only found as we live surrendered & secured IN Jesus. As we give Jesus charge over our inside attitudes our outside actions will reflect the change of who's in charge. We must guard our hearts and we're called to keep our heart proximity primarily with Jesus.

All of us will face circumstances in our lives where we will need Jesus to intervene on our behalf. It could be a physical need, an emotional need, a spiritual need, or some combination of those. In that moment we will have to decide, are we going to come to him on his terms our ours? As Mark 5:21-43 shows us, Jesus is delighted to restore us when we come to him in faith.

Storms in life? Learn how Jesus power in your life makes you unsinkable. If Jesus is who he says he is, if he is LORD over the storm, then no matter what shape the world is in or no n matter what shape your life is in- you will find Jesus provides all the healing, all the rest, and all the power you could possibly want.

Today we're looking into 3 snapshots of Jesus early on in the gospel of Mark and what they show us about him and what they call us toward. 1) Jesus alone in solitude/prayer - WITH the Father. 2) A paralyzed man lowered before Jesus - With the Father on mission. 3) Jesus at a party - WITH those the Father loves. We're called to live a life of WITH.

The gospel is news of something that has happened in history, that changes our status forever. As we begin this new series looking at the life, message and mission of Jesus - we remember: Christians are people who are freed by GOOD NEWS, not just limited to good advice. Friends, what Jesus said he came to do is vitally important to how we experience and engage in life.