Summit Ridge Church

What does it mean to live in the Spirit? How does it look when a believer has been so captured by Christ love? This morning, Pastor John Flint opens up Paul's letter to the Galatians and explores what the Bible says about life in the Spirit. This life reflects the Spirit's fruit, rejects the deeds of the flesh and remains consistent with Spirit's work in our lives.

Ezekiel 16 is perhaps the most uncomfortable chapter in the entire Bible. In it, we read the longest and most scathing rebuke God ever gave to His people. The imagery is such that most would never discuss it in polite company. The LORD casts His people as a whoring bride who gave herself to everyone and everything except her faithful husband. Pastor John asks, "Does God really look at sin this way? Is it really THAT bad?" In this chapter, God shows that even though He is utterly disgusted by how His people acted, He is resolved in His love to save us, cover us, cleanse us and love us amid our betrayal of Him.

What does it mean to have freedom in Christ? What does it look like to have a new life by grace through faith? Often, Christians complicate the answers to these questions by thinking there is some hidden truth or action or way to fulfill their life as an adequate follower of Christ. Pastor John Flint delivers a gospel message in which he reminds us to keep the main thing, the main thing - which is Christ crucified and resurrected. It is in this gospel hope that we find our life and freedom.

The first 32 chapters of Ezekiel show God's increasing judgement upon his wayward people and the nations that surround Israel. In chapters 8-11, God's spirit is shown to depart the temple and move far away from His people. The abominations among his own were so great that it that He could no longer inhabit the temple. While this happened in ancient Israel, what of today? Is the church any different? Have we set up idols that cause God to cringe and withdraw? If the Spirit left us, would we even notice? Pastor John preaches a sobering message that centers on the idolatry of our hearts, urging us to repent and turn again to the founder and perfecter of our faith - The Lord Jesus Christ.

The book of Ezekiel is wrought with God's pronouncement of judgement against His people. The words are striking and the metaphors, arresting. Where does this judgement come from? Is it fair? How can a God who claims to be loving promise impending doom and destruction to the very people he says he loves? Pastor John walks us through Ezekiel 4-5, pointing to God's jealous love for his people. This judgement is then fully realized in the giving of Himself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Few will venture into the book of Ezekiel. As one of the longest books of the Bible and buried deep in the Old Testament prophets, it can feel antiquated and irrelevant to our culture and personal needs today. But the book of Ezekiel is indeed for us today! A book that covers themes of: God’s glory and His sovereignty, man’s sinfulness, the certainty of judgment, as well as the promise of mercy and hope for the future.

Ezekiel is a book for the imagination. Its visions are sometimes thrilling, other times frightening. Its words of judgment are strong, but its language of hope is even stronger.

Ezekiel is a book that reminds us of God’s holiness and His heart for His people. It is a book that exposes our “loves”. We see God in His majesty and are to worship Him with our whole beings – with everything! No religiosity, no pretense – but true wholehearted worship for our great God! We get a deep dose of His heart for our lives today.

Our study in Ezekiel will draw us to the Lord where we will find His grace is indeed magnificent and just what we need to navigate our days as we await heaven.

Christmas marks the birth of our Savior - Jesus Christ. Pastor John takes us through Luke 2:25-38, showing how two relatively unknown figures in the Advent play a crucial role in understanding who Jesus is, why he came, and how the he remains the greatest consolation of a fallen world.

What do you do when your suffering, anxiety and stress don't relent? You've prayed. You've repented. You've sought out help from a brother or sister and still... it persists. The Psalms give us the answer. Listen to Pastor John as he preached for one the Psalms of lament, encouraging and challenging us to yet again to take it to the throne of grace.

Anxiety can produce a significant amount of doubt and confusion. One may start to wonder: "Is God good? Will he take care of me? The pressures of my life are insurmountable and I cannot free myself of worry." In the gospel of Luke, Jesus answers these questions directly and personally. Listen as Pastor John preaches on how the Lord will not only meet us in our need but provide us more than we need to endure and enjoy him.

We live in a culture that seeks to heal the anxious in a myriad of ways: diets, exercise routines, therapy, medication and ridding our lives of toxic people. While some of these things might help in our pursuit to live a less anxious life, the world fails to deliver on its promise. More than this, the world ignores one major aspect of anxiety that Scripture speaks on - unrepentant sin. While the experience of anxiety is not sin, people can still sin in their anxiety. More than this, our anxiety can be caused by our own sin. In consideration Psalm 31 & 32, Pastor John exhorts us to be honest before our Lord, confess and repent of the sins that have hindered us from experiencing true union with Christ.