Element Christian Church
Forgive Week 9: Living In Our Own Forgiveness
Locations & Times
Element Christian Church
4890 Bethany Ln, Santa Maria, CA 93455, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:45 AM
Welcome to Element
We strive to ensure the biggest thing people think when they hear about Element is Jesus! We are a Gospel centered community who finds our identity in Jesus.
Baptims TODAY
At Element we believe baptism is making a public statement about your life and commitment to walk in the ways Jesus calls you to. Many people only get the Jesus “as seen on TV” and don’t understand what Jesus does in “real life” or what following Him looks like on a practical level...so we not only baptize people, but have them write their stories as well. <br><br>We then celebrate as a church family with food, swimming and laughter! We hope you will plan to join us for the afternoon! <br><br>Immediately following Baptisms, we will have a BBQ. Element will provide Meat, Bread, Beans, and Water. <b>We ask that you bring something based on your last name:</b><br><b> A-R bring salads/sides</b><br><b> S-Z bring FINGER FRIENDLY desserts</b><br><br>You also might want to bring chairs, shade, sunblock and swimsuit - as the pool will be open afterwards. <br><br>This is off-site, please email us if you need direction - info@ourelement.org
Community Trivia Night
This Friday is our last community Trivia night for the year. You can put together a team of whatever size you choose, or opt for us to place you on a team. We have 2 food trucks that will be here: Danny’s Pizza and Oak & Smoke BBQ! Food trucks open at 5:30 as does a kids round of trivia. After the kids round, we invite the kids to head to our Kid Zone so parents can enjoy a night of hanging out and laughing at the crazy questions Aaron and Nic have come up with this time. However, we do need anyone that will be utilizing the kids zone to sign up in advance please.
https://ourelement.churchcenter.com/people/forms/595796High School Ministry Begins September 17th
Our High School Ministry is officially launching Sunday, September 17th and they are going to celebrate with food and a time to just get to know each other and what to expect. All High School students are invited to participate Sundays from 1:30-3pm in the Barn. Email Kevin for more details at kevin.kaub@ourelement.org
Classics Potluck
Friday, September 29th, our Classics ministry for those that are 60+ is having an off-site potluck and hope you will attend. The details of what to bring and address of the location can be found when you sign up at this link.
https://ourelement.churchcenter.com/people/forms/610401The Weekender at Element
See full details of what The Weekender is and claim your spot at the link below
https://ourelement.churchcenter.com/people/forms/482689"Pray for Me" Campaign - Adult Participation Form
Element is launching a prayer initiative to encourage the older generation of attendees to keep our younger generations in prayer. Complete the following form if you are interested in being paired with and consistently praying for a 1st-12th grade student from September through December 2023.
https://ourelement.churchcenter.com/people/forms/601973Stay Connected - Download the Church Center App
https://ourelement.churchcenter.com/setupThis week's song list
Interested in looking for some of the songs we sang this week? Here's the titles and original artists:<br><br>Wholly Yours - David Crowder Band<br>Lead Me To The Cross - Hillsong United<br>Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle<br>Graves into Gardens - Elevation Worship <br>All Bow Down - Chris Tomlin
Living In Our Own Forgiveness
This sermon focuses on understanding the difference between true guilt (for objectively wrong deeds) and false guilt (disproportionate feelings). Secular approaches to “self-forgiveness” fall short because they leave out our vertical relationship with God that was broken by sin. True repentance before God involves fully owning our sin without blame-shifting, self-pity, or self-flagellation. It requires confessing the wrong and forsaking it through changed attitudes and actions. Through repentance, we move from being weighed down by guilt to rejoicing in God’s forgiveness. Many struggle to forgive themselves, because they don’t grasp the depths of their own forgiveness in the Gospel. However, Scripture shows us that we can have humility about our sin and confidence in God’s grace. Understanding Christ’s substitutionary death for us empowers us to turn from sin and live in the forgiveness we’ve received.
• How would you describe God’s forgiveness of you?
• In what ways do you wrestle with feeling unforgiven? How does the Gospel speak into this?
• Do you think it’s possible to truly “forgive yourself” without relating to God? Why or why not?
• How does our culture today try to deal with guilt apart from God? How do you see this play out?
• Why is a grasp of God’s steadfast, covenant love so crucial to genuine repentance?
Internal
• How can we discern between true guilt and false guilt? What role does Scripture play?
• How would you describe the difference between worldly and Biblical repentance? Which have you relied on more?
• What changes of attitude and behavior flow out of repentance? How have you experienced this?
• How can rejoicing in grace and forgiveness empower us to turn from sin?
• Is it easier for you to have godly humility or confidence in God’s grace? Why are both important?
Horizontal
• How can we graciously help others move from false repentance to genuine repentance?
• What encouragement would you offer someone struggling with guilt but not yet ready to repent?
• What role should the community of faith play in someone’s process of confession, repentance and healing?
Action Steps
• Consider what you may need to confess/repent of, and the value of doing so within community.
• Read Psalm 51 together. How does this speak to you today?
• Thank God for His unending mercy and grace, which are always available to us.
• Review and work through this week’s additional resources: "8 Steps for Real Repentance from Psalm 51"
All Binder Resources for Forgive Series
Miss a week? Wanting digital copies? This link has all the additional resources we've made available throughout the series.
https://www.ourelement.org/forgive/resources