Perseverance

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense.” (Winston Churchill, 1941 speech to the Harrow School)

I love that quote from Winston Churchill as he stood strong in the middle of World War II. It is inspiring to see strong leadership in times of great challenge. Perseverance is needed when a country is facing tough times, and that is true across all other areas of life as well.

As a pastor, I see on a weekly basis how people are looking for strength—and finding strength in Christ—to persevere. It’s why this past weekend I shared from Hebrews 10 about holding on to the confidence and promise for the future we have in him.

We’re in the middle of a series on “The Bible According to Disney”. This week we saw a clip from the movie UP and then jumped into what God’s Word says about perseverance. It’s a fun summer series – and one that is opening up spiritual conversations in everyday life. We’re encouraging parents/grandparents to have a family movie night each week and use it as an opportunity to discuss faith questions together.

If you are out of the area and can’t join us for worship, feel free to email office@summitcc.org for the discussion questions tied to the movie of the week. Whenever faith and everyday life come together… it’s something we celebrate at Summit!

Pastor Nate

Vacation Bible School - High Seas Adventure!

Vacation Bible School was a BLAST. Check out the great time had by both kids AND adults:

Secret Prayer Box

A few of our Youth Group girls found something special in the woods at youth retreat this year. Check it out!

Take A Stand

Check out our youth as they talk about how they plan on "taking a stand for Jesus," from their Spring retreat in Prescott, AZ.

National Day of Prayer.

Today our nation marks what could end up being our last National Day of Prayer, after a ruling last month by a Federal U.S. District Court judge. My hope is that our government continues to celebrate the importance of prayer. But whatever is decided by judges and courts, the truth is that prayer and God’s guidance will be as powerful as ever.

In fact, I hope that rulings like this stir Christians to more prayer, not less. We can be granted the official blessing to celebrate a national day like this or pray in schools – but it doesn’t make a difference if few people pray. If we instead rise up together to humbly and honestly pray for God’s kingdom to come, people and governments will be moved.

So let’s commit ourselves to pray today for rulers and authorities, as God reminds us in 1 Timothy 2:1-2. It is an honor to do that privately, but I am excited to still be able to do so publicly in the West Valley. I was given the opportunity to offer the invocation at our Buckeye Town Council meeting on Tuesday, and I will be praying for our Chamber of Commerce award banquet tomorrow night.

God’s wisdom and discernment are needed more than ever in these challenging economic times! That’s why I prayed over our local leaders Proverbs 15:21-23, asking that the Lord unite our leadership together in making wise choices for the good of all in our community.

Regardless of what happens on the national stage, it is still good to be able to pray in Jesus’ name at the local level!

Pastor Nate

"I Wasn't Sure If I'd Be Welcome Here."

I’ve had several conversations with people lately who’ve shared the exact same thing about Summit. The words they used were different, but their message came across the same way:

“I love the fact that I can ask questions and be myself at Summit. I didn’t know much about the Bible when I first came, and I had always worried that people would look down on me for it. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one with questions! Thank you for sharing about the Bible in a way that connects with everyday life and finally makes sense to me.”

We’ve striven as staff and leaders here at Summit to create an environment where people can be themselves … ask questions … and discover that you don’t have to be perfect to be a Christian. We all need Jesus and his forgiveness.

But far too often churches give the impression that you have to look a certain way … or know enough stuff … or fit the right mold before you are welcome. That makes me angry. Jesus fought the same battle with religious leaders who thought that the tax collectors and “sinners” weren’t good enough for God.

Honesty about our need for God and his forgiveness is disarming. It puts everyone on a level playing field. And I love that many of the people I quoted above invite their friends to Summit because they know they’ll be welcome here too.

If you are honestly searching and want to learn what it means to follow Christ—you’re always welcome to join us in that journey!

Pastor Nate

Homeless Youth Project Update 2

Check out this additional update on Summit's involvement in the Homeless Youth Project.

Homeless Youth Project Update

Tia's Story

As always, please send in your stories to myfaithstory@summitcc.org.

Serving Homeless Youth in Our Community.

An amazing partnership between Summit and the local Rotary.

My Top 10 Bible Verses about Business and Work.

In the past couple weeks, I met with someone starting a new business. It was fun to pray for that new venture and talk about what the future would hold.

After our time together I decided to build a list of my top 10 Bible passages that relate to work and business. Most people will spend more time doing work-related stuff than anything else in their lifetime. With that in mind, it is exceptionally important to know the wisdom and promises God’s Word has to offer!

These are my top 10, but there is no shortage of great Bible passages that deal with the topic. Feel free to post one of your favorites in the comments below!

- Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

- They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed." But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands." Nehemiah 6:9 (NIV)

- It is well with the man who deals generously and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice. Psalm 112:5 (ESV)

- Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4 (NIV)

- Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. Proverbs 13:11 (NIV)

- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

- No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24 (NLT)

- Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Luke 16:10 (NIV)

- I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

- Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men… Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

Pastor Nate

Doug's Story, Parts 1 & 2.

As always, please send in your stories to myfaithstory@summitcc.org.

Spiritual Flatline?

Flat and insipid? Can your connection with God really get that way? You didn’t used to think so, but now you find it is. How did it get that way? Could it be you’re walk with Him has ground to a halt or gotten sidetracked by goals and ambitions that don’t include Him? Could it be that those same goals and ambitions are even at odds with maintaining a healthy and growing connection to Him?

There’s no way to build and develop a real, relevant relationship with God if you don’t devote serious face time with Him. Think about it. How close could you be to your spouse, your child, or friends if you only connected with them once or twice a week for a few minutes? You couldn’t really call it a meaningful relationship. How can you be close to God when you’re off wandering around and doing things that keep you from Him? Answer’s obvious – you can’t.

It’s time to spiritually “man-up.” If you want closeness and connection with God, you’re going to have to give more of yourself and your time to Him. It’s not rocket science - James shares this simple spiritual principle to those who found that their relationship with God had become flat and insipid: “Come close to God, and God will come close to you (James 4.8a).” Pretty straightforward!

In every relationship, you get what you put into it. Give a little - and get a little back! Most people will drop out of your life if you’re not “there.” Sometimes we discover this too late, usually after we’ve lost a spouse, a child, or a great friend. Rebuilding those bridges may take years … maybe never!

Good thing God isn’t like us. He doesn’t get hurt or pull away. He’s always standing by an open door waiting for you to realize what you’ve been missing. He uses the emptiness and “blah-ness” of your spiritual life to let you know your “God-meter” is tanking out and that you’re running on fumes. Something essential is missing and it’s time to honestly evaluate where things are going with you and Him. At this point, that’s usually nowhere.

So where to begin? How about that “face time” we talked about? Remember when you first hooked up with God? How you couldn’t get enough of Him; how you loved talking to Him; how you couldn’t wait to act on His promptings; how you hungrily ate up all you could know about Him; how you looked forward to spending time just hanging out with Him and other Christians who were just as excited as you? You can get it back by investing your self, your time, your energy, and your passion.

How? Get real with God and take responsibility for letting the connection grow cold. Don’t blow past it as though it never happened. That’s kind of insulting and it leaves a lot of awkwardness in the friendship until it gets dealt with. The great thing is God won’t hold it against you. Knowing how you feel and that you want to make it better, He’ll say, “It’s okay, let’s move on and work at making our friendship even tighter.”

Spend time talking with God on a regular basis. Get real with Him and He’ll be real with you. The more time chatting with God and getting His advice and direction the more you’ll find that old feeling of “I feel good with God.”

Get reacquainted by spending time in the Bible and discovering more about what God has to say and how that’s worked itself out in the lives of other people just like you.

Rediscover God’s plan to work through you to grab the world. Use those gifts, abilities and skills. He’s turned over to you to use for Him! Make a real difference in the lives of others.

Hook back up with other Christians if you’ve “dropped out” for awhile. Spend time worshipping God and hear what He specifically has to say to you in the pastor’s message, pray for others, and connect with a growth group where you can combine your experiences, efforts, and abilities to achieve great things for God’s kingdom.

There’s no shortcuts, no silver “spiritual” bullets to give you a great connection with God. Just give what you find most difficult to give in your busy life - your time and your self. But what you’ll gain is a powerful and vibrant connection with God in return. Then hold on!

- Jim Swinford

Walk Across the Room Videos

In case you missed either of them, here are the videos that aired during our services. If you've got a story to share, please send in to myfaithstory@summitcc.org.

Mexico Mission Trip 2009 Video