Elim Church

Why is peace SO hard to have? Are we living in some sort of continual paradox? Striving so hard to find simplicity. Pushing through the chaos to find peace? Why does it feel like as soon as we have it leaves? The reality is, if our peace is predicated on our ability, our power, our control, peace will always be hard to grasp. The Prince of Peace comes to us, and gives us a way to have peace and maintain peace no matter our situation. This Christmas season, we are praying that we would be people with an abundance of peace because we know whom has it and can give it to us.

Every year Christmas comes and every year our emotions go on a massive roller coaster. Excited for the season but overwhelmed with the to-do list, ready for joy and laughter but bogged down with perfection. Trying to strike the balance between enjoying the Christmas season and the chaos of materialism and busyness. The truth is, God sent his son to be with us, Jesus came into a time that was heavy, scary, chaotic and messy and thats why we can always have hope, joy, love and faith. Our world may look heavy, weighed down and weary, but we can always rejoice, because Jesus has come, he has entered into the mess with us.

At some point, we can no longer let our suffering define us, or dictate our future. It’s not easy or simple, and it takes a lot of leaning into the Holy Spirit. Yet the truth still remains, our pain can have purpose, we can grow and learn from our suffering. At the end of the day, we can have hope again, but it may take something on our part, something we have received and something God calls us to freely give. In this message Ps. Lukas shares how healing happens, when we stop worrying about revenge and justice, and start offering forgiveness and love.

Every one of us will walk through hardship, and even though grief and pain has a mind of its own, by God’s grace we can walk a righteous path amidst the suffering and see God move us from trial to triumph. God is the author of life and gets to finish every single person’s story, we must trust him and watch God move in our pain and learn to truly suffer well in His eyes, so we can leave the door open for blessing and restoration.

We kickoff our series on suffering tackling the hardest most asked question on the topic, “why does God allow suffering in the world?” Ps. Lukas tackles this question both theologically and philosophically helping us see that as we look at every worldview the only one with an answer that brings comfort, healing, hope and restoration is the Christian worldview. The truth is this, God has a master plan and although suffering is a reality for all of us, God doesn’t leave us to suffer alone, where there is suffering, you will find His love.

Our final sermon in our homecoming series carries our heart to be a church that always creates space for the next generation to hear and learn about Jesus. There is no Jr. Holy Spirit, God has come to redeem and kick-start revival not just in the older generation but in all of us. We need each other, every demographic, every generation and our heart to is to care and cultivate a culture that blesses the young so they can grow up in a house that sees and empower them.

It’s Baptism Sunday! There is nothing better than the good news of Jesus, reaching, healing and bringing salvation to those who are desperate for a real tangible encounter from Jesus.

What does it mean to be radically generous? Is it purely financial? Is it giving beyond our means? In this sermon Ps. Lukas breaks down a well-known verse that is just as much about loyalty to the kingdom as it is about where your money goes. In this message you will also hear a heartfelt update on the growth of our church, the vision of where we are headed and how we can all be radically generous laying down our preferences and focusing on our purpose and vision of reaching the lost and creating space not just for who is in our community, but who isn’t.

The Church was never meant to be something to just come and consume. WE are the church; WE are the body of Christ. A homecoming means every person, and every part of the body plays its part, but our part isn’t bigger than what we are a part of. In this sermon Ps. Lukas challenges us to become contributors and champions to God’s mission and God’s church, because the vision He has for us will take every one of us.