SummitPA Sermon Audio

In the fifth week of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel conducts an interview with our special guests Aaron and Jaimie Smith. Aaron Smith is a former professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Smiths talk about what life was like leading up to the NFL, how they met, and a little about Aaron's upbringing. They discuss the temptation of creating false gods out of success and control. Aaron and Jaimie recount the harrowing story of their son being diagnosed with leukemia at four years old. For several years they experienced challenges and gut-wrenching pain as they watched their son go through chemotherapy. The Smiths talk about how they relied on their faith in Jesus to carry them through. Their son Elijah made a full recovery and is cancer-free today.

In the fourth message of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel explains the dangers associated with idolizing dreams. This is in reference to ambitions, not dreams you have when you sleep. Preaching through Genesis 22, Mel highlights how the story of Abraham taking Isaac to be sacrificed foreshadows the gospel of Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross. Abraham had always hoped and dreamed for a son and so Isaac represented a threat of idolatry for Abraham. Once God showed Abraham the wisdom of fearing Him instead of idolizing Isaac, God provided a sacrifice to stand in the place of Isaac, saving him and redeeming him for Abraham. It's good to embrace your loved ones and have aspirations for your future, but these things can become idols if we fail to subordinate them to God.

In the third message of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel details the dangers of idolizing success itself. Part of the key to this message is understanding you don't need to actually be a successful person to be guilty of idolizing success. Anyone who views success or achievement as the ultimate thing holds success as a counterfeit god. Mel preaches through the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 to explain how the commander had faith in his own success to solve an unrelated problem like leprosy. Drawing a juxtaposition between the prophet Elisha and commander Naaman, Mel shows us the differences between a person who trusts in success over against a person who trusts in God.

In the second message of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel preaches about the dangers of idolizing love. Idolatry is making anything other than God the "ultimate" thing. If we look to love or romantic relationships as the thing that will make us feel whole, then we know we have idolized love. No person or relationship was designed to bear the weight of standing in for God. We're comfortable with being loved but not known, and being known but not loved is one of our greatest fears. To be fully known and truly loved is what it's like to be loved by God. Mel preaches through Genesis 29 and makes the case that Jacob's brokenness made him vulnerable to the idolatry of love.

In the first message of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel gives a detailed teaching on idolatry and why it's so dangerous. As human beings, nearly all of our sin is rooted in some form of idolatry. Idolatry is when we make anything other than God the "ultimate" thing in our lives. Tim Keller said, "We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case. The greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life." Scripture uses three basic metaphors to describe how we relate to idols in our hearts: we love them, we trust them, and we obey them. Idols enslave us because we believe life without them is meaningless.

In the fourth message of our series called Kingdom Builders, Pastor John Nuzzo teaches what it means for a Christian to be recklessly generous. He begins by explaining how Jesus Himself modeled reckless generosity. It's impossible to be a follower or disciple of Christ without being generous. The humiliation of Christ, His voluntary descent into humanity, His suffering, and His death all exemplify generosity. John unpacks why the principle of the tithe is about faith more than it is about money. Financial generosity is a training ground that reveals whether or not you will trust God with the greater things like marriage, loss, and advancing God's kingdom.

In the third message of our series called Kingdom Builders, Pastor Mel explains the importance of missions. Jesus Christ is missionary in character and His Church is a missionary society. Mel articulates the support for missionaries as threefold: why we pray, why we give, and why we go. The harvest is great but the workers are few, so we pray to the Lord of the harvest and ask Him to send more workers into His field. We give to support missionaries so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth. We go because Jesus, who has all authority in Heaven and on Earth said, "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." This message also features an interview with Pastor Brian Kelly from Hope Centre in Ireland.

In the second message of our series called Kingdom Builders, Pastor Mel explains what the tithe is and why we should be faithful to do it. At Summit Church one of our core values is radical generosity. We believe God is radically generous and we want the world to see that in how we live and how we give. In a most general sense, scripture recognizes two types of giving: tithes and offerings. Tithing is a principle, not a law, and the tithe is made up of your first 10% of income. Offerings are above and beyond your tithe and are your response when God prompts you to give. Mel preaches through selected scriptures and shows us why the tithe is for today. We should tithe because God says the tithe is important, the tithe teaches us to honor God, and the tithe teaches us to trust God.

In the first message of our series called Kingdom Builders, Pastor Mel explains what we know about the character of God's kingdom. God's kingdom is not of this world and it is mysterious. Despite the mystery, there are certain things we can know about the kingdom because the kingdom is also principled. We know the order of God's kingdom is unshakable. Scripture also teaches us the kingdom demands obedience, affection, and multiplication. John Stott said, “We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.” We should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and depend on Him for everything we need.

In the fourth and final message of our series called Inevitable, Pastor Mel explains the best way to leave a church. Two common reasons why a person chooses to leave a church are misunderstandings and misalignments. Misunderstandings occur when two or more people fail to have proper "Matthew 18 conversations" aimed at reconciliation. Mel points out how we see what we look for: if we look for the best in a church we will see the best, and if we look for the worst we will see the worst. Misalignments are untrue because all churches share a common vision: to honor God and reach people for Christ. This message culminates in Mel giving a step-by-step process for how to leave a church properly.