Element Christian Church

What is God’s aim in telling the creation narrative the way He does? It is correcting the understanding of His people, so they know that there is ONE TRUE GOD who made everything. God telling the story in Genesis makes some important distinctions from the other stories His people may have been indoctrinated to in Egypt. Other creation stories all portray the gods as violent deities who fight with each other; they don’t care about human beings at all. Genesis tells of a God who is entirely unlike any other gods: 1. There is ONE single God who has made relational promises to be with His people. 2. The God in the Genesis narrative doesn’t need ANYONE ELSE to help in creation. 3. God creates mankind in His IMAGE, meaning they have dignity and worth. He doesn’t NEED us to provide for Him, He provides for us. 4. The God of ALL creation entrusted His image bearers with the task of caring for the creation rather than creating them to serve His whims. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Aaron & Janet sit down to discuss her question, What’s the context behind “wives submitting to their husbands”? Some people take it so literally….. is it really meant that way? What does it mean? How can we learn and understand verses that are confusing? Do you have questions? Email questions@ourelement.org WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH THIS EPISODE OF TALKING ELEMENT

Aaron & Michelle sit down to discuss questions around John 20 where it says, And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” What does it mean? How can we learn and understand verses that are confusing? Do you have questions? Email questions@ourelement.org WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH THIS EPISODE OF TALKING ELEMENT

Many misunderstandings about the Bible start with misunderstanding what the Bible actually is: 1. The Bible is a library, not a book. The Bible is 66 books in two parts (old testament and New Testament) combined under one cover. The Bible is the PRIMARY way God still speaks to us today. 2. The Bible was written for us, but not to us. The Bible is FOR all people at all times and all places to know God and gain wisdom. But it was not written TO us in terms of modern language or contemporary culture with our assumptions in mind. 3. Never Read a Bible Verse – Out of Context. Every Bible verse fits within a larger narrative framework. 4. All the Bible Points to Jesus. We do not see Jesus’ name in the OT, but the whole story line centers around Him as God’s promised savior from Gen 3 onward. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

There are some Christians who say that those who don’t believe the Bible or trust in Jesus, “just need to read the Bible,” but what happens if they do read the Bible and it has the opposite effect? Could the Bible make people atheists if they read it cover to cover? Penn Jillete (from Penn and Teller fame) is an atheist and once said, “Reading the Bible is the fast track to atheism.” Instead of being outraged by the comment, we should instead ask what he means and why he said it. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

James talks about prayer and the reasons we must be a people who are known by it in today’s verses. Prayer is, in its simplest form, communication with God, talking with Him. It is not meditation or reflection, it is communication with the one who created us. Prayer can be silent or audible, in private or public, formal or informal. In James 1 he says we offer our “prayers” in trust that God hears us. John 16 we are told to pray in Jesus’ “name.” In Romans 8 we are told that we pray by the power of the God’s Spirit. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Today, James tells us something that Jesus first said, “let your yes be yes and your no be no.” How easy is it now to add a few words to a statement trying to strengthen what we say? How often do we try to quote statistics (that may or may not be true) or use words like “they say…” when we don’t know who “they” are? When James talks about oaths it would mean to invoke some supernatural power in support of what we are saying. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Patience is one of the fruits that the Holy Spirit brings when we are filled by and led by God. Today our whole society is built around not being patient, yet James says it is vital in the life of those who follow Jesus. Patience enables us to stand with God in situations we do not understand. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

Money can be dangerous, one writer says, "The heart is deceptive. A love of money is deadly, and it's only the gospel that can deliver us from this." The default position of our hearts is usually one that thinks we are doing well; James reminds us that we need to check our hearts (what we do with money in this case) to see what you truly love. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

James asks a lot of hard questions throughout his short letter, questions that are very practical to our lives today. He shows us that how we live in the world (false wisdom or true wisdom) are both built on a view of God and how He behaves in the world. Today, James will make us look at our lives in regard to arrogance and how we think we have ultimate control over all of our circumstances. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE DOWNLOAD 2022 EASTER HANDOUTS HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

There are 3 primary tools in regard to growing in true wisdom: The Scriptures – The point of the Scriptures is Jesus. The community of the church – If we want to walk in true wisdom, we surround ourselves with people who love Jesus and submit to His Word. Those who are further along than us in “the faith” and in life – We should seek guidance, in humility, from others who have lived more of “life.” WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

James, in the previous verses, has talked about how true and real Christianity will come out in our words, actions, and hearts. In James Chapter 2 he finished speaking about the poor and our heart issues, now he moves that to our words (our speech). James shows that walking with Christ comes through a humility, our salvation is not about our self-sufficiency, but Christ’s sufficiency. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

James, in the previous verses, has talked about how true and real Christianity will come out in our words, actions, and hearts. In James Chapter 2 he finished speaking about the poor and our heart issues, now he moves that to our words (our speech). James shows that walking with Christ comes through a humility, our salvation is not about our self-sufficiency, but Christ’s sufficiency. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

James makes us ask ourselves hard questions about whether we truly believe what we say we believe; the book is a great look at whether we are truly followers of Christ. At the end of most of these weeks in James there is supposed to be introspective thinking; asking if we truly belong to Jesus or not. James does his best to show us the reality of what it means to trust and follow Jesus. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

If you go to most dictionaries today, they will define religion as, “an organized system of beliefs and rituals centering on a supernatural being or beings.” Is that all religion is or meant to be, an organized system of beliefs or rituals? WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

James continues in a linear line tying all the pieces of his letter together as he moves forward. Looking at the last 3 weeks we see James moving us into the reasons why we read and listen to God’s word and how it leads to being born again. James 1:18 “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” Then he moves us to James 1:21 “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” The word of God is meant to produce in us a change because of the Gospel. Being made new, or being born again, makes a connection between the word of God, being born again, and the new life we now live. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

The book of James is written to a people who loved God and yet were dispersed in the world because of trouble and trials. The trials were literal (as many of them were hauled into court) and metaphorical (as it spoke about the hardship of daily lives). James speaks about the trials, and turns us towards understand two types of grace that God brings into our lives. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

There are trials in our lives where God is being good and growing us. Parents many times today will not deal with kids at their weak points because they don’t want to deal with a meltdown, but our heavenly Father will push on our weak points in order to grow us. Trials are inevitable and trials can bring wisdom. Note: Please excuse the short audio glitch in the middle of the recording. It’s not you, it’s us. I mean… Aaron can talk fast, but not *that* fast. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE FIND MORE AT YOUVERSION

The reading of James 1:5-8 can be scary if we do not understand the context of James’ words. Many people have read these verses and thought that they were never allowed to have any doubts or worries because God would not listen to them when they did. But what we see is that faith is the word for trust and faith consists of more than intellectual beliefs. Faith is meant to inform the way we live our lives and the way we respond to circumstances (even difficult and challenging situations). WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE

This week launches our 19 week series through the book of James, a book written by Jesus’ own half-brother. James moved from seeing Jesus not just as a family member, but as God and Savior. In his opening verses, James encourages readers to “count it all joy” as we come face to face with trials and suffering. The word “count” (NIV says “consider”) has at its root the idea of being first, meaning when you face trials, before you focus on the trial, think about what it means. He doesn’t say, “Consider your trials joy.” He says, “Count it all joy….when…” James is commending the conscious embrace of a uniquely Christian understanding of every trial: that all things can grow us and glorify God. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE