Element Christian Church
Philippians - Joy In All Seasons Week 3: Grace and Peace
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 aim to glorify God by teaching and living out the Scriptures, transforming community into Gospel community, and planting churches.
NEW Missions Update - Winter 2025
Our Fall issue of our quarterly Missions Update is now available
https://ourelement.org/downloads/2025/2025_1_26_MissionsUpdate.pdfMeet and Greet TODAY
Are you newer to Element and wanting more information on who we are and how you can get connected? Join us immediately following service in our Lounge for a chance to meet one of our Elders, and some of our staff as they give a very high over view of the main things to know about Element.
Annual All Church Business Meeting and Ministry Update TODAY
If you are someone who loves to know where all the money went, and where it is budgeted to go, this meeting is for you! If you are someone that likes updates on our growing ministries, this meeting is also for you! At this meeting, all are welcome and will hear from our Board, as well as some of our staff and various ministry leaders to highlight some things from 2024 and update you on where we hope to go in 2025. This meeting takes place right here in this room on January 26th at 12:30pm.
Alzheimer Awareness Presentation
On behalf of the Classics, Element's ministry for those 60+, ALL (regardless of ages) are invited to an upcoming presentation on the warning signs and early detection of Alzheimer's. We hope this event will be informative and beneficial to the community as we learn more about how to care for aging populations. The Alzheimer's Association will be presenting material and also offering a Q&A period following their presentation. Whatever your age, please feel free to join us in the Element sanctuary on Sunday, February 9th, from 1-3 PM...and feel free to spread the word, as this event is open to the public.
Subscribe to Email Update
Get a recap of all the important dates and information we think you want to know every Wednesday.
https://ourelement.org/contact-us/Start serving at Element
If you are looking for a way to meet more people at Element or feel more connected, one of the easiest ways is to start serving. From once a month for 15 minutes, to helping in our classrooms for a longer time, we have needs to fit your gifts.
https://ourelement.churchcenter.com/people/forms/395779Download the Church Center App
Stay in the loop with Element's calendar of events, group sign ups, online giving, and other links all in one 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:
One Thing Remains - Jeremy Riddle
This is Amazing Grace - Bethel Music
Jesus Paid it All - Passion
The Blood - Kingdom Culture Worship
Glorious Day - Passion
Grace Alone - The Modern Post
One Thing Remains - Jeremy Riddle
This is Amazing Grace - Bethel Music
Jesus Paid it All - Passion
The Blood - Kingdom Culture Worship
Glorious Day - Passion
Grace Alone - The Modern Post
Philippians - Joy In All Seasons
Week 3 - A New Way of Life Part 2: Grace and Peace
Today we will take another look at a new way of life “in Christ.” There is a transformative power that comes from God’s grace that results in peace in our lives. Paul’s greeting isn’t just a formal introduction but encapsulates the essence of the Christian experience. Grace is defined as favor granted to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver, while peace (shalom) represents complete harmony with God, others, and creation. We can understand God’s grace by seeing both the depth of our sin and the height of God’s mercy. This dual vision creates a spiritual explosion in our lives, breaking down barriers of self-righteousness and enabling us to extend grace to others.
Week 3 - A New Way of Life Part 2: Grace and Peace
Today we will take another look at a new way of life “in Christ.” There is a transformative power that comes from God’s grace that results in peace in our lives. Paul’s greeting isn’t just a formal introduction but encapsulates the essence of the Christian experience. Grace is defined as favor granted to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver, while peace (shalom) represents complete harmony with God, others, and creation. We can understand God’s grace by seeing both the depth of our sin and the height of God’s mercy. This dual vision creates a spiritual explosion in our lives, breaking down barriers of self-righteousness and enabling us to extend grace to others.
Paul, throughout all of his letters, reminds us that we are being remade; we are not who we once were. He tells us that when God looks at us, He now sees Jesus because we are found “in Him;” God’s view of us is Christ and Jesus is perfect. Paul says we are holy--not we are “going to be holy someday.” Holy means pure, without blemish, unstained. Paul insists we are literally, now, a “new creation.” 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. In so many of these passages we are being told who we are now, and we need to learn who this person is that God keeps insisting we already are--those who have been given grace and peace!
• Grace to you – In the new testament the word ‘grace’ means favor, good will, or even benefit. In the Old Testament it meant favor.
To find favor means to be let in to a place we don’t have the right to be. Tim Keller once defined grace as: Favor granted to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver. Keller calls it “cosmic hospitality,” that is grace. God not only let us in but brought us in Himself, into His family. We will never be satisfied with anything else because our heart, our being, yearns for God. We are received, not because of good works (payment), not because God is obligated, but because of His own free grace. That grace comes to us because Jesus lived a perfect life and died a perfect death in our place for the punishment of our sins. One person wrote, “Our most severe problems are caused by an ignorance of the true depths of the meaning of God’s grace.”
The doctrine of grace reminds us that no human being is so good they don’t need grace, and no human being is so bad they can’t find grace. It’s like looking at the world through two eyes. To walk in grace we need to see the height of God’s mercy and the depth of our sin; when we do we become changed by grace. Grace will not comfort us unless we see what God has done as grace. God’s grace is always astounding and unexpected.
• Peace – Peace means harmony between two individuals; in our case, us and God.
Where do grace and peace come from? They come from our triune God. 1 Peter 5:10 he calls God “the God of all grace,” and rightly so. We have received grace from not only the Father, but the Son, and from the Spirit so we can have His peace. John Wesley wrote, “Oh what a pearl … is the lowest degree of peace with God. It is worth selling everything to receive it.” When we receive peace, it is Jesus’ peace, He gives us the peace He has always had.
• Grace to you – In the new testament the word ‘grace’ means favor, good will, or even benefit. In the Old Testament it meant favor.
To find favor means to be let in to a place we don’t have the right to be. Tim Keller once defined grace as: Favor granted to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver. Keller calls it “cosmic hospitality,” that is grace. God not only let us in but brought us in Himself, into His family. We will never be satisfied with anything else because our heart, our being, yearns for God. We are received, not because of good works (payment), not because God is obligated, but because of His own free grace. That grace comes to us because Jesus lived a perfect life and died a perfect death in our place for the punishment of our sins. One person wrote, “Our most severe problems are caused by an ignorance of the true depths of the meaning of God’s grace.”
The doctrine of grace reminds us that no human being is so good they don’t need grace, and no human being is so bad they can’t find grace. It’s like looking at the world through two eyes. To walk in grace we need to see the height of God’s mercy and the depth of our sin; when we do we become changed by grace. Grace will not comfort us unless we see what God has done as grace. God’s grace is always astounding and unexpected.
• Peace – Peace means harmony between two individuals; in our case, us and God.
Where do grace and peace come from? They come from our triune God. 1 Peter 5:10 he calls God “the God of all grace,” and rightly so. We have received grace from not only the Father, but the Son, and from the Spirit so we can have His peace. John Wesley wrote, “Oh what a pearl … is the lowest degree of peace with God. It is worth selling everything to receive it.” When we receive peace, it is Jesus’ peace, He gives us the peace He has always had.
CONVERSATION Guide:
Opening Questions:
• What kinds of experiences have led to you feeling like you finally arrived or belonged?
• Have you ever experienced a time when someone showed you unexpected grace? How did it affect you?
Discussion Questions:
• What is the difference between earning something versus receiving it as a gift?
• What makes it hard to accept grace from God (or others)?
• How does grace lead to peace in our lives?
• Do you struggle with any “idols of self-righteousness? (ex. religiosity, ways to perform/earn, etc.)?
• How does grace destroy our self-righteousness?
Personal Application:
• Is there someone you need to extend grace to this week?
• What practical steps can you take to rest in God’s grace rather than striving?
• How can we as a group help each other experience and extend grace?
• What would look different if we lived in true Gospel peace?
Group Focus:
• Identify one “idol of self-righteousness” in your life that needs to be confronted.
• Practice extending grace to someone who you find difficult.
• Express thanks to God for the peace that comes through understanding grace
Opening Questions:
• What kinds of experiences have led to you feeling like you finally arrived or belonged?
• Have you ever experienced a time when someone showed you unexpected grace? How did it affect you?
Discussion Questions:
• What is the difference between earning something versus receiving it as a gift?
• What makes it hard to accept grace from God (or others)?
• How does grace lead to peace in our lives?
• Do you struggle with any “idols of self-righteousness? (ex. religiosity, ways to perform/earn, etc.)?
• How does grace destroy our self-righteousness?
Personal Application:
• Is there someone you need to extend grace to this week?
• What practical steps can you take to rest in God’s grace rather than striving?
• How can we as a group help each other experience and extend grace?
• What would look different if we lived in true Gospel peace?
Group Focus:
• Identify one “idol of self-righteousness” in your life that needs to be confronted.
• Practice extending grace to someone who you find difficult.
• Express thanks to God for the peace that comes through understanding grace