We could ask the question of everyone, "How has your summer been?" And we all would probably have similar stories to tell, "It was so busy!" Or, "Some really unexpected things happened that I was not planning for." We all do this — we have these packed, insane summers, and we look up, and suddenly it's fall. And then of course, we have a packed fall, we look up, and suddenly it's Christmas, and we do it again, and again, and again as the cycle repeats itself. We do this so often, we often miss everything that's going on right before our eyes. Today, we're going to slow down and "Look Up."

Today we walk through a story in the life of Jesus, a story that might confront some of your ideas about Jesus. And if you're walking through circumstances that are particularly complicated, this story is for you. If you're in a position where you've got more questions than answers, this story has very real application for you. If you find yourself on the fence of Christianity, like you believe with your heart, but you're struggling to really lean into what you believe and let it make a difference, then this story is for you.

This story is about Jesus. But it's a story about Jesus that may challenge how you think about Jesus and what it means to be one of his followers.

As we read the New Testament, we see a theme of transformation... of growth and change, woven throughout. A foundational truth of following Jesus, according to the Bible, is that we can't truly follow Him and remain the same, we continually transform by Christ's presence in us. But, how do we really do that every day? How do we really go after and continue to change?

Listen along to this stand alone message from one of Summit's Associate Pastors, Seth Battista.

The Kingdom is not a far off possibility that we enter into when we've breathed our last breath, but it is an ever present reality. The Lord's Prayer says, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." This is how we are to pray. We are invited into being active participants in the Kingdom of God advancing on Earth.

Today's message title can be taken several different ways. It can be a response to when someone says or does something that's out of line or rude, "Who do you think you are?" But the meaning for us in today's message is more literal, it's an identity question, "WHO do you think you are?"

Summit Teaching Team member, Jon Pemberton, teaches from John 9, the story of Jesus healing the blind man. There are many difficult things that go on in our world, we have a hard time understanding why bad and unfair things happen. The blind man didn't have all the answers, but what he did know was once he was blind but after an encounter with Jesus, he could then see. When we encounter Jesus, He opens our eyes to truly see.

"To follow Jesus is to invite controversy in our lives. We need the compassion of Jesus and we need to embrace the controversy."

Listen along to the series conclusion of Cruciformity: The Spirituality of the Cross. This series has been dedicated to learning how to live the spirituality of Jesus. We're looked at how we understand ourselves, how we live toward God, how we live toward others, and how we live in culture and creation.

We've been talking about how the cross changes how we understand our identity in how we live toward God, others, and how we live toward creation. We're focusing on the last item in that list today, creation. How do we live toward and live IN creation? Which, for many people brings up a secondary question, that deserves to be answered.

What does Cruciformity have to do with creation? Join us as we unpack these questions today.

What does the way of Jesus, the spirituality of Jesus, have to do with creation; this planet on which we live?

Do we shape the culture, or does the culture shape us?