The Summit Church

If there's one myth surrounding marriage that has been perpetuated by our society, it's that marriage is what completes you. Of course, Jesus refuted this idea over and over in his teachings. In this week's message from Mark and Luke, Pastor J.D. shows us the importance and implications of considering the church as family. When we take this seriously, we will realize that faithfully investing in this family will yield a harvest far beyond what we could ever imagine.

In this message from Exodus 35, Pastor J.D. invites us to rediscover God’s purposes for our church. Like the Old Testament people of God, we are living in a moment of new beginnings; and we believe God wants to write a new chapter through the Summit. God has done great things for us, liberating us from the slavery of sin. Now he invites us to become a part of his rescue plan for our neighbors and the nations.

For many of us, we think of money in terms of practicality—it's what we need to be able to buy things such as food, cars, houses, etc. But for Jesus, money was a matter of the heart, and the way we relate to it has a lot to say about where our loyalties lie. In this week's message from Matthew 6, Pastor J.D. helps us see that more than anything else, money is the primary competitor to God in our lives. If used wisely, it can be an amazing tool to help advance the kingdom of God. But if made into an idol, it becomes incredibly dangerous, distorting our vision and affecting every part of our lives.

Ask 10 different people what kind of church they want to be a part of, and you’ll likely get 10 different answers. For some, a church devoted to preaching theologically rich sermons is a high priority. For others, it’s a church where they feel part of a family. For still others, it’s a church focused on missions and evangelism. The better question, however, is what kind of church God wants to be a part of. In this week’s message from Acts 11 and 13, Pastor J.D. invites us to consider this question in light of the story of the church at Antioch—not a church of “super Christians,” but a church filled with ordinary people on an extraordinary mission: to advance the gospel far and wide.