Elm City Church Podcast

“There is nothing more freeing than abandoning your own mission and joining the everyday mission of God.”

Colossians chapter three is often titled, “Put on the New Self.” In it, Paul unpacks a Christian’s identity of being “in Christ.” Identity and ethics are closely linked through this section and Paul calls this church to live into their new identity and lay aside their old way of life, a way of life that no longer makes any sense in light of who they now are.

In this message, we look at how to develop a heavenly mindset.

In this message we wrap up Chapter 2 of Paul's letter to the Colossian church. The focus was on three things that were plaguing this young church plant: Legalism, Mysticism, and Asceticism .  

In this message we look at the reality of competing thoughts and ideas that have truth, but are ultimately hollow because they lack the redemption that only Jesus offers. 

In this message, we look at three different reasons “why” the church gathers. The church gathers to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:21), to “spur each other on to love and good deeds” and to “encourage each other” (Hebrews 10:24-25), and to be “rooted” and “built up” in the faith (Col. 2:6-7).

This week we took time to focus on Paul’s ultimate goal for the Colossian church (and subsequently, every disciple everywhere) – everything orbits around this point; he wants to move people towards spiritual maturity . To this end, he “toils” and “struggles”, working toward this goal through God’s power and strength.

This week we looked at Ephesians 4:1-6 and the character of unity. Unity is not easy because our natural pull is towards self and not others. But unity is at the heart of the Gospel message because we have a God who unifies and reconciles diverse people to himself. The mission of the church is crippled by division among various groups, and unless we evidence our unity, our witness does not deserve...

Explore Matthew 11:28-30 with us. In it we see Jesus give an invitation, followed up by a promise, and then there is space left in the narrative for our response. 

The Christian hope tells us that “everything is going to be ok even if everything is not going to be ok.” 

Up until now, Paul has been focus on the “person of Christ” (or who Jesus is) and he now switches gears to focus on the “work of Christ” (what Jesus has done). 

How do we take advantage of this moment of increased isolation to emerge stronger as a faith community? 

In Colossians 1:15-20, Paul unpacks a BIG vision of who Jesus is and how we should relate to Him. 

Discover some of the reasons why the Resurrection of Jesus isn't just a nice story, but something that actually happened! 

What can a donkey tell us about the identity of Jesus? Find out in this special Palm Sunday message!

This message looks at Paul’s prayer for a church in trouble. In Colossians 1:9-14, Paul continually prays that they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will for their life which would result in them living a life worthy of the Gospel!

Week Two of online only gatherings as we continue on in our series through Colossians. 

To begin our series we started by doing a big picture overview of what the Bible is. The Bible is more a library than a book. It contains 66 inspired works, that were originally written in three different languages, over 1,500 years, that all tell one unfolding, unified story. Because of this, we believe the Bible is to be, “believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trus...

What does it look like to be a church that is for the place we live? This is the question we are trying to answer and live into as a church.

In our final installment for #SlowDown, we looked at the inner reality and the outward expression of Simplicity. 

This week we looked at Sabbath and how it can be a gift that restores our soul. 

We're looking at Silence and Solitude and how part of hearing God's voice only comes via this avenue. 

In a world filled with hurry and distraction, we can find value in a regular time of silence and solitude. Discover the benefits of silence and learn how to follow Jesus in his example of getting away from the noise of life.

This episode explores the role that tech devices play in our lives, how that affects our spiritual lives, and what a digital rule of life might look like.  

This week we looked at the importance of living in an intentional way and introduced the concept of a "rule of life."