Element Christian Church

In Ephesians 4 Paul will talk about the spiritual “people” gifts of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors/Shepherds, and Teachers (APEST). Paul picks these gifts here (because there are more gifts in other books of the Bible) for a purpose, that purpose is to help us see Jesus better. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Luke's Gospel highlights female disciples and gives us three names from among that group: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna. Mary Magdalene’s story is an Easter story. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

As Paul starts this section of his letter, he moves his focus to our lives and the unity that Christians are supposed to have inside the church. We are to love one another as Christ has first loved us. Within the Church, we will have people of different political views, different tastes in music, differing parenting styles, different food choices, and different ways we enjoy connecting. In every local church there will be different personalities and people from different social statuses; the only way we will ever come together and have our differences be secondary is if (and when) we worship Jesus first. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

In the second half of Ephesians Chapter 3 Paul prays (again) for us to walk in power and love. Most of the first 3 chapters of Ephesians is about doctrine, but that doctrine is shown to us through Paul’s prayers. Paul continues to praise God and pray for this church. For Paul, prayer and action are not opposite ends of the scale of Christian activity, he saw much of his actions come directly out of his time in prayer. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

In today’s passage, Paul reminds us how salvation entails being brought into God’s family. We are to be unified in our love and worship of Him; only by getting our eyes off ourselves and on Jesus will we ever see true and lasting unity. It’s important to remember that our very security in God’s family is a result of the work of Jesus Himself. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

In today’s passage, Paul reminds us how salvation entails being brought into God’s family. We are to be unified in our love and worship of Him; only by getting our eyes off ourselves and on Jesus will we ever see true and lasting unity. It’s important to remember that our very security in God’s family is a result of the work of Jesus Himself. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Today we are going to walk through one of the most profound things in the Bible, being saved by grace through faith…and then being sent out to be God’s workmanship in the world. Ephesians 2:1-3 shows us what we are saved from: our trespasses and sin. Ephesians 2:4-7 shows us what are saved through: God’s mercy and kindness (we go from spiritual death to life). Ephesians 2:8-10 shows us what we are saved for: a life of faith and good works. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

While Ephesians 1 sees salvation from God’s point of view, Chapter 2 examines salvation more from a human point of view. Chapter 3 will combine both perspectives so that the following chapters (4-6) are very practical in their theology. The truth is we cannot live practically unless we know what we believe; doctrine is important. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

We have spent the last 4 weeks looking at Paul’s prayer about who God is and what He does in the world. While Paul normally starts his letter with a greeting before launching directly into how he is praying for a particular church or people, in Ephesians, He focuses on who God is first. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Ephesians 1:3-14, in the Greek text, is one sentence and one prayer. Paul seems so excited about God that he doesn’t have time for punctuation! He starts and ends with “praise God,” and in the middle, he proclaims who God is and what He has done. Paul is trying to get us to see the magnificence of Jesus as the King over all things. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

When it comes to a book like Ephesians, our brains and rational leanings almost do us a disservice. We are in a world of deep theological truths, but can get distracted by certain words and phrases (e.g., election, predestination, etc.). WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Before Paul gets into his specific prayers for others, he establishes the appropriate context for all Christian prayer, reflection, and exhortation: The worship and adoration of the God who has lavished His love upon us. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

“To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus,” is to whom the letter of Ephesians is addressed. The letter itself is written in a more formal way than some of Paul’s other writings, which tend to have a rapid-fire pace. Ephesians has a trajectory to it that shows us salvation from God’s point of view in Chapter One, salvation from a human point of view in Chapter Two, and how those both come together in Chapter Three. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Yes, it is 2024 and we are doing one last message in our Not So Little Women series by looking at a forgotten mother named Hannah. Hannah is the mother of the prophet, Samuel, who would go on to become the most known prophet in ancient Israel. Samuel will anoint Israel’s first king, Saul, and their greatest king, David. Aside from Samuel’s legacy, however, we see Hannah is an amazing woman who teaches us what true trust in God looks like. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

The Not So Little Women series focuses on stories of different women in the Bible. Today, we look at Martha, on of Jesus' disciples. Who was Martha? – She was a disciple of Jesus. Martha was from Bethany, a 2-mile walk from Jerusalem. She was the sister of Mary (of Bethany) and Lazarus. Martha was a ‘get things done’ person and likely had a gift for hospitality. What is her story? – While hosting Jesus at her home, Martha became frustrated with her sister ‘sitting at the feet of Jesus’ while she served Jesus. Jesus spoke truth in love to Martha - teaching her that women and men both can be His disciples, and that ‘being with’ Him supersedes ‘doing for’ Him. Much later, Martha proclaimed her belief in Jesus as Messiah, witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and served a meal in Jesus’ honor. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Merry Christmas Eve. We tend to see Mary and Joseph as people who were overflowing with blessings because God had provided them with the miraculous birth of Jesus. Instead, the reality is that they had just as many questions as we would about a “virgin birth.” Mary and Joseph most likely lived with rumors and innuendos following them most of their life. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

In the genealogy account of Matthew’s Gospel, we see that we can’t understand Christmas or the birth of Christ without first understanding Jesus’ family tree. If you look at ancient family trees and genealogies, there are almost never any women in them, but in Jesus’ genealogy, there are quite a few women named. Ruth is one of those women (as well as Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba). WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

We often prefer to learn lessons from people we like or have an affinity toward. We do not often think that we can learn lessons from those whose lives or choices are “questionable.” All too often, we want to write off the ugly parts of the Bible and only focus on the happy places…or reframe the narratives so people do not look as bad as they actually are. The Bible is not a book that shows us superhuman heroes; it shows us the failures of all humankind and how we, as modern readers, are complicit because we do the exact same things. The Bible’s thrust is to show us that it is only Jesus who can save us, because only He is truly good. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Deborah was the only female judge in the Old Testament book of Judges. Her story is the dream we should have for all the children at Element: that they would grow up to know God, walk with God, lead others to know God, and to speak honestly and truthfully. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Today in our Not So Little Women series, we look at a woman named Abigail who was married to a “worthless” man named Nabal. We meet a few men in this story, yet all of them look terrible and make bad decisions. The only time we see them come back from the brink is when Abigail speaks wisdom into their folly. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE