Element Charlotte

Oct. 23rd, 2011 - This Sunday we continued our new series, Crazy Love. The series is based on the incredibly impacting words from  the incredible book of Romans, from the New Testament. And this week, as we dug further, we found that Paul, as he explores what this Good News really means, asks us to take a pretty extraordinary step in our thought process...Something counterintuitive, that doesn’t buy into how our minds really work. And yet Paul says this is a pretty important part of the process - and it’s this idea  that the Law isn't a bad thing, by itself. It was actually given to us by God, and it basically allows us to figure out how well we’re doing, as objectively as a human being can But the extraordinary step that Paul asks us to take is to take the Law - in reality, take everything we think we know, and subject it to a higher idea than the Law, and that higher idea is Grace...What does all of that mean? Take a listen and find out!

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (3)

This Sunday we kicked off our new series, Crazy Love. The title is respectfully stolen from a book by Francis Chan, but the series is not based on the book (which is really good, by the way!). Rather, it's based on the incredible book of Romans, from the New Testament. And this being the first week, we dug into the first few chapters...Which contain some seriously bad news. Paul (who wrote the book) minces no word as he describes the grim realities of humanity - the sinfulness, and the tendency to buy into the belief that we're actually doing pretty well, or that it's only others that fit that "sinful" description. No, Paul says the picture's not pretty. But he introduces the idea that Jesus did something amazing for us anyway, despite our state, and he also gets into a very important idea - The idea that we need to strongly re-evaluate how we think of, speak of, and treat each other., as people who are all in the same boat. There's no room for writing certain people off because we don't like what they did or what they do...Join us for the challenging beginning to this series!

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (7)

October 9, 2011 - Worry is a cancerous thing...It affects every last one of us, clouding our minds, wreaking havoc on our attitudes, and creating tension in our lives. Yet the Bible seems to indicate that we can somehow manage the worry in our lives, and even rise above it with God's help...But how do we do that? And just as importantly, what happens when we don't feel like we can, but we keep hearing that as Christians we should be able to have a different perspective on this? Are we just bad at having faith that God can take care of things? Join us as we wrap up our "I Believe in God, But..." series!

*Note - This was a bit of an interactive morning, so please bear with the pauses...It was a phenomenal morning to be a part of!

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (7)

October 2, 2011 - Ever felt lost when it comes to talking about God? Ever wondered whether you can have a good relationship with God and just keep it to yourself? Does it make you uncomfortable to broach the subject with others? Is it even important to talk about God with people? Why? Can't I just leave it to the professionals? Good questions!!! Listen in as Lead Teaching Pastor Brian Doell takes a candid look at this!

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (4)

Sept 25, 2010 - We've all heard this question before...And many of us have asked it ourselves - How can a good God be ok with so much terrible stuff in the world? Well, the reality is that there's no easy answer to that question, but there are certainly some clues in the Bible that can shape how we think about it...Join us as we tackle one of the toughest questions in life. From Lead Pastor Brian Doell.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (4)

If you're like a lot of people, you don't love it when churches talk about money and giving....In fact, this is one of the biggest problems people have with the church community - It seems like they're always after my money, and it doesn't make sense, particularly if you see huge buildings or televangelists with expensive jewelry...But there's an underlying idea to giving that's actually a huge part of how God designed us, and to misunderstand it to miss some big parts of the joy in life...Join us as we try to break this down as honestly as we can, and we hope it might spark a new way way of thinking about the stuff we have (which, by the way, isn't bad.) Just take a listen!

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (7)

We all know people who think this, and many of us think this ourselves to some extent or another. At the core, are all religions just different ways of expressing the same thing? What about the Biblical idea that says there's one way to God, and that's through Christ...Isn't that pretty intolerant and unreasonable of God? Join us we explore this idea - The reality is that under the surface, there are some very significant differences between what Jesus claims in the Bible, and what other religions teach. And we don't say this be divisive - In fact, part of the message deals with this whole topic of intolerance...Join us, and feel free to download and share!

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (9)

The intro to the our brand-new Fall series! Most people that go to church, or listen a podcast from a church have some sort of belief in God, but we all have our own individual hangups and issues, and it would be ridiculous to pretend we don't!  Over the next few weeks we'll be taking a look at some of these issues, and this week, we're looking at what happens when we feel crippled as far as knowing what direction to take in a given situation. Essentially, we can't let our issues force us into settling for less than God intends for us - And be reassured...Growing in Christ is possible even if we're full of unresolved questions! How is that possible? Join us as we look at a few key, practical  ways God has given us to sort through the possible options in life - We've already heard from several people who have seen God work in very powerful ways through applying this since being there for this Sunday - We invite you to listen, download, and share! (originally from September 4, 2011)

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (6)

Philippians 4 contains some very encouraging, uplifting verses. It also contains a pretty intense challenge for each one of us, and it's found in one of the opening verses that we tend to just skip over. It has to do with forgiveness, extending grace to each other, and how vital that is to seeing the rest of the chapter become applicable to our lives. The message contained an unforgettable video about a completely unreasonable forgiveness, by human standards), but is actually  the way God intends it...From Brian Doell.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (10)

Ever gone to clean out the fridge, or a closet, and gotten stumped as to what to keep and what to toss? Life's like that...We all have things in our lives that need to go, but we often have trouble distinguishing between the things that are ultimately good for us and the things that aren't. In his inimitable way, Paul takes a look at taking out the trash in Philippians chapter 3...Join us as Brian Doell talks through this, and for those of you were there, now you know never to trust a drink Brian gives you

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (9)