Summit Drive Church

God does not save us apart from others, but into his people, the community of God, the Church. And the Christian community is the context for change. The Christian community, a local church, this is the place where that change, and growth occur; particularly in the call to learn to love those who are very different than us.

In His Wisdom, God has given us His story through the Bible as a primary means of shaping our mind, hearts, strength, and souls.

God’s plan, his great goal for us, is to form us so that we look – in our character, our habits, our priorities, our focus in life – just like his Son, Jesus. But this is only possible through his empowering presence, through the work of God the Holy Spirit. How do we posture ourselves to experience this transformation? We’ll begin our new series, “God At Our Side: How the Living God Transforms Us,” with this message that focuses on how God the Spirit is working in us.

As we approach the New Year, Jesus' teaching on the health of our eyes (Luke 11:34-36) will invite us to examine how we are spending our most valuable commodity: our attention.

As we gather to celebrate this Christmas Eve, we hear the words of the heavenly messengers expressing their praise to the baby Jesus born that night: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.” As the shepherds pass on this message, we find that Mary “ponders” these words in her heart. And now, it’s our turn to ponder all that we are learning about Jesus in this text, including what we hear the prophet Simeon sing in the next section – that Jesus himself is our salvation. That God’s rescue is not just something we experience, but a Person.

Zechariah's song rises out of silence. Sometimes, God calls us to wait, watch, and listen for His action.

Step into the story with Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she shares how our lives and hers are woven together in a divine story. Like Mary, we live in dark and violent times that cause us to long again for the coming of the Messiah. Like her, we discover that Jesus disrupts our lives and invites a response. And as Mary, filled with the Holy Spirit, burst forth in song, so the Spirit now longs to birth new things in and through us today.

Disappointment: with life, ourselves, with God. And joy: In our relationships, in our own hearts, in God. These are two of the most poignant realities in life. And both are at the forefront as we look at Elizabeth’s role in the unfolding Christmas story. How do we deal with disappointment? And how do we know the joy that Jesus brings? We’ll look into both this week.

In our Advent series, “The One Who Set the World Singing,” we’ll see how God’s big “drama of salvation” comes to its climax when Jesus – God the Son – steps onto the stage. But like any good production, there is a lot of work to do in preparation. Isaiah 9 speaks of the reality of the darkness that our world faces but is also filled with hope: for a light that is dawning. The main “Actor” in God’s salvation story is coming, and this text prepares us to meet the One who brings life, truth, and beauty. We find that this One is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And he is that for all of us.

Today, we wrap up our series looking at the story of the rich young ruler and his interaction with Jesus. As we do, we discover that a great reversal takes place with God's coming kingdom. We look at the benefits that come from following Jesus and explore what it means to become "last."