Summit Drive Church

Today, we look at what it means to “start,” or to “start, once again,” in our lives of following Jesus. We look at what the gospel is – a message that requires a response – and we look at what it means to respond rightly to the good news.

It’s all too easy to lose our wonder, but “wonderful” is still the right word for what we celebrate at Christmas. When we see with fresh eyes the beauty and truth of what God has done, how he has come to us, and for us, we can sing again “…and wonders of his love.” This Christmas Eve, we’ll look at how to regain our wonder and give ourselves wholly back to God in worship.

Advent calls us to anticipate Jesus’ return and to give ourselves wholly to the work Jesus has called us to in the meantime. In this message, we’ll look at how, like John the Baptist, we are still called to help prepare the way for Jesus’ coming. Like John, our lives are to “point” to Jesus, in deep humility, being clear on who we are, and filled with Joy.

This week we continue our advent series, ‘With Us While We Wait,’ we look at how this time of waiting is to be spent: preparing and investing ourselves in others, all in anticipation of Jesus’ return.

“Advent is not for the faint of heart,” writes Fleming Rutledge. And she’s right. Advent is not just “pre-Christmas” but is a call for us to look at the very reasons why we need Christmas in the first place, and to set our hearts longing for Jesus to return. In our series 'With Us While We Wait,' we are exploring how Advent calls us to watch, wait, witness and wonder. This week, we start by looking at Jesus’ own promise of his coming in Mark 13 – and see how we need to be active in our “watching.”

In our final message in our 'Come and See' series, we’ll look at the most important question – one that Jesus puts to Peter in John 21: “Do you love me?” What does it really mean to love Jesus? We’ll explore that in more depth.

What is faith? Though the question might get answered in a variety of ways, John 20 and Jesus’ encounter with Mary on the day of his resurrection tell us some key parts of it. We’ll see that Christian faith is impossible (without God), is reasonable, and is a work of God’s grace.

The question of Pilate to Jesus in John 18 continues to echo through history and still presses on us today: “What is truth?” In this message, we’ll explore Jesus’ claim to “testify to the truth” and dive deeper into what it means to align ourselves with Jesus, to listen to his voice.

This week, Pastor Ben speaks on how, even as Jesus is being arrested, Jesus is in charge of the whole situation. As the One in charge of everything, he uses his power and authority for the benefit of others. He shows us that we can trust him in each of our lives, no matter what chaos is happening around us.

Grieving – and facing our own death – is a fact of life. But what do with do with that? Where is God in it all? In John 11, we find this encounter with Jesus and three people that he loves – Martha, Mary, and their brother, Lazarus. In this scene, we find out more of who Jesus is, where he is in our grieving, and what ultimate hope he holds out.