Element Christian Church of Santa Maria

Has God ever done something that doesn’t make sense to you? The truth is that God rarely takes His people on the most direct route. More important than many of our destinations, is who we become along the way. A true relationship with God must start in a place of trust that God knows what He is doing. More info about our Lent Journey through Job: www.ourelement.org/lent DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES H...

This week, both Joy and Michael share about the ways God has brought them the long way around in life, and what they have learned and how God has grown them. More info about our Lent Journey through Job: www.ourelement.org/lent WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH This Episode of Talking Element

We are called to be a people who entrust not only ourselves, but others into God’s care. When we cease to trust God to take care of us (what we eat, drink and wear), we will naturally not trust others to His care and fall very easily into judging. We must trust that God holds all things and then be willing to speak His pearls when it is appropriate. DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE WATCH FULL SERVIC...

Questions Discussed: - How do you discern when to be silent vs speaking truth? - Is there a time to define your role in conversation? - When have others given you their pearls and you have ignored them? - Have you had someone you’ve loved but needed to stop pushing truth and trust God, instead? - Jenna’s Tony Dungey story personal examples. - How can we be better as a church to have more of a mult...

Sometimes one of the greatest prayers we can pray is not, “Lord, change them,” it is, “Lord, change me and my attitude.” The focus on God’s rescue of us should lead us to the place where we cease thinking how great we are and start to live as if Jesus is great. The Gospel is the only way we will ever take responsibility for our own life and not walk away dejected. DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE WA...

Questions Discussed: - Ashley’s history with judging & journey - What does it mean to judge? - How have you experienced that judging and blaming hurts relationships, families, and love? - Why is it easier to judge others and not ourselves? - Do you use the gospel to try to straighten others out, to just be better? WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH This Episode of Talking Element

The cross was Rome’s ultimate form of rejection and we see in Isaiah 53:5 that Jesus would be despised and rejected not just by the Jewish nation or the Romans, but all of us. The story of the Woman at the Well isn’t about the woman or us, it is about Jesus…the most rejected person in the Bible is God Himself. At the cross, our rejection of God and God’s acceptance of us comes together by a miracl...

This week we explored ways we have all suffered from rejection, and ways God brings healing. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH This Episode of Talking Element

We all try to hide our failures because we want to be loved, but that hiding is what keeps us from experiencing true love. We hide because we think if someone truly knew us there is no way they would love/like us. But we can never truly love one another without being fully known. DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH RELATED TALKING ELEMENT EPISODE

Questions Discussed: - Aaron’s goal for this new series. - What deeper understanding of community can we learn? - Family and Gospel Community. Irrational commitments. - We need to be known in order to belong – why don’t we want to be known? - How can Element be better at being a place for the lonely? WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH This Episode of Talking Element

Questions Discussed: - How have you come to understand Walking in the Spirit? - Do you have a specific time you rested in God’s work instead of your own, and how did that look practically? - Discussion “yielding to God’s will.” WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH This Episode of Talking Element

Big Idea: Every step of the way, Walking in the Spirit is better. Better for us individually, better for us as a community of believers, and better for the world around us. Definition: “Walk in the Spirit”is a metaphor for the practical day-to-day way we conduct our lives as followers of Jesus. We Walk in the Spirit when we are in step with, under the control of, and depending on the power of the...

Questions Discussed: - Have you ever found yourself begging or bargaining with God for some spiritual change in your life? - Have you ever worked hard in order to please God so that He’d give in to your request? - Discussion on “my best doesn’t work.” - Discussion on freedom of slavery. - Are conflicts a good indication of we are walking in the Spirit WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH This Episo...

Today, the last Sunday before Christmas, we will look at how Jesus saw and interacted with the Spirit. What does a life full of the Holy Spirit actually look like? It looks like Jesus. DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH RELATED TALKING ELEMENT EPISODE

Questions Discussed: - Mike’s journey of growing and understanding the Spirit - Abiding presence and expecting the Holy Spirit to work - What would help us to be more expectant? - What personal areas could we be more expectant with? - What types of sources of power do we as people rely on, other than the Holy Spirit? - What does a life dependent on the Holy Spirit’s power look like? WATCH FULL SER...

The topic of the Holy Spirit, studying and talking about Him is very difficult to wrap our minds around in modern America. When most people talk about the Spirit of God we tend to fall into 3 categories: - We don’t really know if we belong to God…but we WANT to know more. -We are sure we belong to God and believe that God’s Spirit resides in us, but don’t know what it means to walk in His ways and...

Questions Discussed: - Introduction to Hillary - How has the Spirit of God dealt with you in conviction? - Conviction of sin, Christ’s Provision and Judgment - Reshaping of our Identity: how can we trust Jesus’ in our new identity? - Does the thought of Jesus dying on the cross so thrill you…? - How has the Holy Spirit invited you join His mission? WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH This Episode...

The topic of the Holy Spirit, studying and talking about Him is very difficult to wrap our minds around in modern America. When most people talk about the Spirit of God we tend to fall into 3 categories: - We don’t really know if we belong to God…but we WANT to know more. -We are sure we belong to God and believe that God’s Spirit resides in us, but don’t know what it means to walk in His ways and...

Questions Discussed: - Sarah shares her experience with a more charismatic church growing up. - Describe in more detail the “means” of the Spirit. - How have you seen others search for that “spiritual connection’ knowing that they were made for ‘more?’ - How do we discern between valid and invalid spiritual experiences? - What advice do you give to someone who wants to read the Scriptures but does...

The Holy Spirit, because He is a person, guides us into truth and authenticity in how we live our lives. The truth Jesus refers to in John 16:13 is the ultimate truth of the Gospel, but it is also the authenticity that is meant to mark our lives. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit. This has the idea that we are not to try to stop what God’s Spirit is trying to d...

Questions Discussed: - What has your understanding of the Spirit been, and how has it changed over the years? - What comes to mind when you hear, “Being filled with the Holy Spirit?” - Thoughts on the 3 points: Life of Excess, Life of Stimulation, Life filled with Joy. WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH This Episode of Talking Element

The Holy Spirit is a person, He is God. We say He is the “Third person of the Trinity,” but “third” has nothing to do with preeminence or who is better or more powerful. One writer calls the Holy Spirit He becomes a “divine resident of the Christian’s heart.” Jesus never refers to the Holy Spirit as an “IT,” He doesn’t say the Holy Spirit is like an energy or a force, but the Holy Spirit is a pers...

Questions Discussed: - Why is a series on The Spirit so important? - Do you see the Holy Spirit present and active in the middle of your life? - What has changed in your life knowing He is present all the time? - Was there a time your heart fought the Holy Spirit’s conviction? - How do discern if it the Spirit prompting/speaking or yourself? - Clarification of the Holy Spirit being an advocate her...

The Holy Spirit is often misunderstood in Christianity today. Many people in Christianity take one of three stances toward the Holy Spirit. Either He is overlooked, misunderstood, or simply ignored. DOWNLOAD PDF SERMON NOTES HERE WATCH FULL SERVICE ON YOUTUBE WATCH RELATED TALKING ELEMENT EPISODE

Questions Discussed: - Aaron’s hopes for this new series for Element - How do you explain spirit and Holy Spirit? - What are some teachings that the conservative side focus on or don’t focus on when discussing the Holy Spirit? - What if we don’t see evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit? - How can we grow in worship of/to the Holy Spirit? - Homework in growing in understanding and worship of the...