Summit Drive Church

This week, we will hear from our children as they tell the Christmas story by putting on a play ‘Our Beautiful Christmas Tree.’ This play is about a family that tells the Christmas story as they put ornaments on their Christmas tree, reminding us that Christmas is about Jesus coming for you and me.

The story of Jesus’ coming, as explored from Joseph’s experience, shows us what it means to live with faith "in the dark," and faith that is enacted. We see how God asks Joseph to take on a very specific job–one that will lead to misunderstanding and criticism. And we see the faithfulness of Joseph in response, a portrait for us of what it looks like to give our "yes" to God in difficult situations.

Expectations often breed disappointments, even in faith. This week, we will learn from Mary about letting the story of God recorded in the Scriptures shape our expectations of God.

The phrase “God’s Judgment” probably doesn’t have a very positive vibe in most people’s minds, but, in this message, we’ll see how God’s just judgment is ultimately very good news. Believing in God’s final judgment enables us to pursue justice without resorting to violence and assures us that, as we join God’s mission, what we do in life really matters. And that is good news.

We all wonder at some point: Why doesn’t God do something about the evil and injustice of the world? The answer that the Bible gives us is: He has. God gives us, not a philosophical answer, but himself. These week, we will look at the trial of Jesus before Pilate in John 18:28-19:7, and the meaning of the cross.

This week, we will explore how the Sabbath is a command given to promote justice by keeping us from being slaves. We'll also see how Sabbath keeping can keep us from enslaving ourselves anew to the good things we think we should be doing.

In this message, our BCBA Executive Minister, Dave Mohr, reminds us that a life with God is a life of sacrifice, a living one! Because of God’s mercy, we are transformed and now participate in his ministry of mercy in the world.

As we explore God’s call on his people to “do justly,” we inevitably bump up against the question of the relationship between God’s authority and human ‘authorities’, that is, the political realm. We will be exploring the relationship that Christians are to have with the state and discern what it looks like to pursue justice in reference to the public sphere.

There is a tight, never-ending connection in the Bible between the true worship of the Living God and true justice. As we look at the prophet Amos, and then the work of Jesus, we’ll see how all injustice is ultimately about worship—about loving something other than God. We’ll then see how all true worship must be accompanied by actions of justice in the real world.

Our fragmented lives can find holistic flourishing when we are wholly devoted to a holy God. This is the message of the book of Leviticus, which calls us to be holy as God is holy—a holiness that is being distinct, pure, and just.