A Personal Focus for the Year
Your personal holiness matters and is the very best thing you can offer the people and communities God has placed you in.
Undone: An Introduction to the Sermon Series
Character matters. In fact, particular kinds of character stand at the heart of God’s purpose for his people.
Where God Guides
“How can we be a part of what is breaking God’s heart as well?” asks Michelle Hamilton. She had no idea that God would call her into schools to minister to students. But God is always working, and she has seen that in her life. Every year, Summit designates the offering collected during Christmas Eve services to go to an organization outside our walls. We are so excited to come alongside Michelle and her volunteers’ work as this year’s offering will be given toward their ministry.
First Drafts
Sometimes trusting God with our stories is the most difficult work we can do. I shy away from conflict, so dealing with my problems and processing through how I’m feeling gets put on the back burner. It’s easy to float through life—right until it isn't. Eventually, the metaphorical deadlines creep up and I have to turn something in. I want to give God the best version of myself, but that’s not what grace asks for.
A Reminder of God’s Grace
November of 2019 marks five years since we’ve been holding church in the women’s side of the 33rd Street Jail. We are so thankful for the volunteers on Team 33rd who make church happen each week and for their heart for serving everyone in God’s kingdom. Here are some words from a few of these awesome women.
It Must Be a Gift
Truth can feel terribly old-fashioned these days. Jesus made use of story to speak difficult truth in a way that could capture the hearts of everyone—the uneducated and those who were too educated for their own good. To both the first-century farmer and the modern businessman, the seed strangled by the weeds of worry is all too relatable. To the Pharisee and to the prejudiced, the good Samaritan exposes the ugliness that might be otherwise be hidden behind 10 dollar words. Children can understand stories. Grown-ups (like me) can endure their truth, which—in another form—I might easily reject. Because even where a story exposes my sin, there is something sweetly healing about the sting.
A Lasting Impact
The FCA students choosing to join Summit for niceSERVE gave us a glimpse of some of the amazing things our local schools have to offer—the relationships that only they can build, the influence that only they can have, and the skills that only they can offer.
He Sees Me
“The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Jesus’ voice rose as he ended his story with a burst of confidence and hope. Even I could feel it.
True Love Shown
Shanon and Alejandro have worked in the arts for many years. When they felt the call to share the love of Jesus through dance at the Fringe Festival, they asked several in their church community to be a part of such a show. Through the hard work and many hours interpreting the story of “The Light Princess,” they knew it was worth the effort because it was a show that glorified God.
Rewriting the Story
How often do we feel ourselves drawn to something bigger, something more, something different? We can all relate to that. But how often do we also find ourselves longing for a sneak peek of our story before taking that first step?
Early Acts: Surprised by Opportunities
People need more than information on screens. They need relationship. They need people willing to take time out of their day to listen without judging. They need people to point them to the hope of Jesus.
Early Acts: The Truth About Lies
Do you know the feeling of having a life-long fear fall away and be proven wrong? Do you know the feeling of someone looking at your secret shame and not walking away? Do you know the peace of sitting with someone who knows the worst of you and having it make your friendship stronger?
Early Acts: Speak Through Me
As I reflect this week about the sermon and the way it made me feel, I am asking God to take away the guilt and shame and inviting him to speak through me. I am asking that my basic desires not be at the forefront of my mind and heart but that I will trust in him and believe the truth of the gospel above all else.
Early Acts: Nothing Like Themselves
Just as they were in the time of the early church, people notice and are drawn to others who fellowship and have genuine relationships with people who are nothing like themselves.
Change in Place and Pace
As much as we have enjoyed traveling and reveled in our truly full summer, we never imagined not returning to our lives and to our church family. Being confident in the life God has given us is what gave us permission to enjoy the change in place and pace that we had during our sabbatical.
Early Acts: Cut to the Heart
God is love; so we were not only made for love, we were made by love. And while our hearts too often settle for lesser love, true love is what we long for. True love is what penetrates the deepest parts of who we are.
This Time is Enough
As the week progressed, this undertone of friendships independent of language or abilities seemed to seep into each and every heart.
The Summer Interns of 2019
As summer comes to an end, so does our time with our four summer interns. It has been a pleasure to have each of them around and we are so thankful for their time and hard work these past few months. But before we say goodbye, we wanted to take some time to check in and see what they did during and what they thought of their internship.
Fish Guts & Gratitude: A Look Back at "Jonah & The Wave Breakers"
As the cast and crew broke down the set, put away props, and hung up costumes for the last time, my head swirled with thoughts. Gratitude for the experience. Love for everyone involved. Amazement at the support the show received... and wonderment at where the time went. The final performance of Jonah & The Wave Breakers marked the end of an almost four-month journey for most of the cast and crew. But for me, it began over two years ago.
Minor Prophets: Where Do They Fit In?
So why in the world are we spending an entire summer studying prophets from thousands of years ago? Hopefully, now that we are halfway through the summer, you aren’t asking that question anymore. If you are, this blog post won’t answer that question. But at this point in our series on the minor prophets, you might have some questions about the historical context for these prophets. So this blog post is my attempt to answer those questions better than Wikipedia would.