First Church Charlotte

March 24, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms If we only see God as the God of judgment of the Old Testament, then we miss God of the New Testament Who shed His blood for saving humanity. Jesus is what God is really like. After the prophets spoke judgment on God's behalf in the Old Testament, God spoke Himself hope through Jesus Christ.

March 21, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Why do people weep? Why do you weep? Why do I weep? Loss. Pain. Sorrow. Evil. Trauma. Reality Check for us: 1. EVIL IS THE DOWNSIDE OF OUR FREE CHOICE “Sin came into the world because of what one man did (Adam), and with sin came death.” Romans 5:12 (NCV) 2. Everything on earth is BROKEN by evil & sin “There will be more and more evil in the world, so most people will stop showing their love for each other.” Matthew 24:12 (NCV) 3. God grieves WHEN HE SEES US HURTING “In all their suffering, he (God) suffered too.” Isaiah 63:9 “You, Lord, keep a record of all my sorrows. You’ve collected all my tears in your bottle and list each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8 (NLT) I think it is significant that the first appearance of the resurrected Christ was to someone who was weeping, Mary Magdalene. Mary's weeping was understandable. Christ had done so much for her. I am going to take my tears to an empty tomb. Because an empty tomb is not a place of mourning… an empty tomb

March 17, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms If I've been transformed, then why am I still being tempted? We are subject to time, but our testimony takes time, through own faith We are not God's story, we are a part of God's story, but God is telling His own love story through us. Love is the story of God. Our lives answer whether God's love is enough for us, or do we have to be bribed? The language of Transformation in the New Testament is similar to the language of Promise spoken in the Old Testament: 1. Divinely powered 2. Cultivated by community 3. Faith is intentional 4. Life and faith are tested by time The perfecting of the saints was compared to the development of the body. It has to grow... God loves you enough to get involved in your life, and is willing to stay at your side as you grow.

March 14, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms The will of God is known through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And yet, this is a seeking function, not just a “knowing” or “speaking” function. God has a plan for your life, your ministry. Trust me. The point is to seek, ask, knock… Luke writes in Acts 16: "We took it as from the Lord that this is what God wanted us to do." When the Israelites were in the wilderness, if you had asked one of the Jewish leaders how long they were going to stay there, they would have said, "Look, you think we know how long we'll stay? You see that pillar of fire by night and that cloud by day? When that cloud moves, we'll move; when that cloud stays, we'll camp.  This is totally out of our hands. God doesn't ask for any creative thought from us. He just says, 'Follow the cloud.' But as we follow the cloud, he provides manna for us, and he provides everything that we need." God will do the same for you. He'll do the same for me. Wherever the Lord leads us, he's made a promise: "I will s

March 10, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Genesis 8:22 Like the seasons changes the gloomy to new life, this is how God's Word does for us. Seed is used within the Bible as a symbol for God's Word and grows Spiritual possibility. What kind of ground will our hearts offer the Word of Life? God has chosen His church as to show Himself to the world that He loves. You will come out of your winter season into new life.

March 7, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms The problem of idols is more than just an ethical or moral problem, the idolatry question is – what do you seek? Where do you think your blessing comes from? Where does your protection come from?  The author, Susan Cain, unintentionally does something interesting … describes an idolater in psychological terms:  a person described by psychologists as a “reward-sensitive” person is actually an idolater at heart: “A reward-sensitive person is highly motivated to seek rewards–from a promotion to a lottery jackpot to an enjoyable evening out with friends. Reward sensitivity motivates us to pursue goals like sex and money, social status, and influence. It prompts us to climb ladders and reach for faraway branches in order to gather life’s choicest fruits. “Life’s choicest fruits” like sex, money, relationships, and power are some of the top idols that humans throughout history have served. Being ‘reward-sensitive’ turns a good thing (sex, money, relationships, and power) into

March 03 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Sometimes we are not as intentional of making the day of the Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah as holy and set apart as it should be. Jesus made the law a beginning not a purpose. The group who saw Jesus as a great teacher is quite large, but we who see Jesus as the Son of God is much smaller. The Son of God to monotheistic people, see Him as God incarnated as a man. The submission of the Divine flesh of Jesus, changed everything for all who respond and act to what He did and accomplished. We actually becomes a new beginning and a new identity in Jesus. The Kingdom of God is based upon God becoming flesh and paying a price for us that we couldn't pay for ourselves. It is only when we understand Who Jesus is, can we achieve what God paid the price for us to become.

February 24, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms 1. Remember how much God loves you and He is the one that empowered us for a purpose. 2. Don't fake it trying to be a Spiritual superstar and impressing other people. 3. Remember that this mission is not about us. 4. The real power comes from God, not from us. 5. Use your struggle to help other going through similar difficulties. 6. Though our bodies are tired and dying our spirits are being renewed in God's presence. 7. Staying focus on eternity is more than having an ethical baseline.

February 21, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Spiritual truths often exist at a deeper level than the problems themselves.  This is why spiritual solutions usually heal the person, not the problem.

February 17, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Often times in our lives, we do things wrong and afterwards, deal with shame. Psalm 25 speaks to us about shame. Shame is a part of the human experience. There is a wrongdoer that feels no shame, and is judged by God, and another type of wrongdoer that feels shame for what was done, and be taught by God and led in better paths. The theme of this Psalm asks God, because of Who He is, to forget the wrong we have done, but not to don't forget us.

February 7, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Always remember that although we fight spiritual battles every day, the Spiritual war has already been won by Jesus Christ. During our battles with temptation; which is part of the fallen human experience, keep in mind that: We need a long-term view of our Christian journey... Hebrews 12:1 NLT We cannot quit! Your enemy isn’t going to quit! This means that though we lose a battle, we cannot stop fighting. Proverbs 24:16 It's not a question of whether we will fail, it's a question of how we respond to failure. Without failure, we can't expect to learn. The only way a high jumper can discover his limit is to jump until he misses. That's why Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, says, "Success is a terrible teacher." We cannot, and do not earn our salvation with "doing good". The good that we do simply is a witness to, and reflects our love and worship for the One that saves us.

February 3, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Although it is difficult to understand the spiritual realm & easy to mistakenly believe that the spiritual war isn't real, we should not live in fear of it & give our spiritual enemies more power against us, by being ignorant of the devices of demons. 1. The enemy of our souls wants us to be ignorant of God's desire for us and wants us to misapply it. The Word of God tells us what God's will is for us. We should strive to rightfully divide, (understand) the Word of God & understand the heart of God. 2. The enemy of our souls wants us to become impatient with waiting for God's will for us. Remember that God wants ever human to be saved. Even when something happens in our lives that can be physically explained, there may be a spiritual reason behind it. 3. The enemy of our souls wants us to become independent of God' will for us. The temptation is to do what is right in our own eyes and ignore what God says about the matter. The Bible tells us the type of lives we shou

January 31, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms So, How's That Working For You? | Part 4 “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Romans 12:2 (NLT) WHY I MUST MANAGE MY MIND? • BECAUSE my thoughts control my life! Proverbs 4:23 (TEV) • BECAUSE my mind is the battleground for sin Romans 7:22-23 (LB) • BECAUSE it’s the key to peace and happiness Romans 8:6 (NLT) 3 DAILY CHOICES I MUST MAKE TO MANAGE MY MIND 1) I MUST FEED MY MIND WITH TRUTH Matthew 4:4 (NLT) WHEN SHOULD I FEED MY MIND WITH GOD’S TRUTH? - ALL THE TIME! Psalm 119:147 (NLT) Psalm 119:97 Psalm 16:7(CEV) Psalm 119:95 (NLT) 2) I MUST FREE MY MIND FROM DESTRUCTIVE THOUGHTS 3 Enemies battle against the truth & my best intentions: • THE 1ST ENEMY OF MY MIND: MY OLD NATURE Romans 7:23 (NAB) Romans 8:5 (NLT) • THE 2ND ENEMY OF MY MIND: SATAN 2 Corinthians 2:11 • THE 3RD ENEMY OF MY MIND: THE WORLD’S VALUES 1 John 2:16 (KJV) How to Fight: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 A “STRO

January 27, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms One of the final tests of discipleship with Jesus Christ is simply being Spiritually awake.

January 24, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms So since we understand the problem, let’s agree that a wrong view of God will cause us to ask amiss. A wrong view of God will lead to a wrong relationship with God. Our own wisdom is insufficient to understand God 6 foundational, biblical truths that you need to know about God! 1- God loves you 2- He is HOLY 3- We must trust His JUDGMENT because ours is limited. 4- We must trust HIS TIMING 5- We must RESPECT HIS STRENGTH 6- We must seek HIS PRESENCE Now that we have been given, by divine gift, insight into God... How do we implement this understanding... CONFORM: to fit into a mold; make or become the same; to behave in a conventional way by accepting without question the customs, traditions and prevailing opinions of others. TRANSFORM: to change the nature, character or personality. Repent: metanoia = change the way you think Confess: homologeo = say the same thing Q: HOW DO WE THINK LIKE GOD? WHEN I SAY WHAT GOD SAYS, I BEGIN TO THINK LIKE GOD THINKS God isn’t

January 20 2021 | Rev Lisa Epinette How do we overcome the fear of the day? With an encounter with the Lord, Who is the bringer of true peace. Allow the Word of God be a light unto our path. The Lord came to heal our broken hearts and heal us of so much pain.

January 17, 2021 | Bishop David Elms Worship draws God to us. The one true living God Who created all things in the heavens and the Earth. The everyday cares of life can strip us our love for God our Savior. Judgment is coming to those who ignore God and this great salvation. It is time to understand what is presently happening to repent and turn to God. The Lord and all of Heaven loves and rejoices when someone repents and turns to God. Do everything in Jesus name! Let us renew our first love for Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful truth to know the Lord and fellowship with Him. Emmanuel literally means, "God with us", and will go with you anywhere you go. It is good to know Who Jesus is. This understanding allows us to reflect the love of God to our world. Faith in Jesus, repentance, baptism in Jesus name and the in filling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, as it happened in the Book of Acts. When we love and respect people, we can exemplify Jesus and teach of This so great salvation

January 13, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Matthew 23:11-12 If Jesus was here in the flesh, what would He do? WWJD Would He go to churches, or would He minister and serve wherever He was? Wherever He chose to go, He would be serving others. Serving others promotes unity because it makes those serving less likely to speak against other people. Serving promotes teamwork; which is the expression and the language of grace. Join your abilities & talents with others in a church, and witness to everyone around you of the Savior, Jesus Christ by serving those around you.

January 10, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms Spirituality is a slippery term but the phenomenon itself is not new. Christian spirituality is nothing other than life in Christ by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit: being conformed to the person of Christ, and being united in communion with God and with others. Spirituality is not an aspect of Christian life, it is the Christian life. As those following Jesus Christ, we should learn to think like Jesus. How did Jesus think? 1. Jesus modeled spiritual clarity for His life, and spoke it! 2. Jesus modeled spiritual purpose for His life, and spoke it! 3. Jesus modeled a pursuit of God. 4. Jesus modeled submission to God’s Words. 5. Jesus modeled complete focus. 6. Jesus modeled complete surrender. 7. Jesus modeled mercy towards others. 8. Jesus modeled a life of sacrifice for others. 9. Jesus modeled the surrender of his wants 10. Jesus modeled a focus upon eternity.

January 6, 2021 | Pastor Nathan Elms If Jesus visited a modern church as a physical person, what kind of church would He visit, and be comfortable in? It would probably be a church containing humble believers, who are surrounded by broken people, who want help, and hope for their lives. Broken people who know that they need a Savior. A church of formerly broken people who welcome the broken.