Summit Student Ministries

 In Matthew 28, we hear about the section in Scripture where Jesus gives what now has been named The Great Commission to his disciples. Most Christians can probably quote this verse from memory without any prompting: Go into all the world, and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, .and so on. What was the precursor to this bold statement and final command? It may not be what you might think. The precursor to Jesus giving this bold command to his disciples is interesting. The disciples were on the mountain where Jesus told them to meet him, and it says in the verses leading up to the Great Commission that the disciples were worshiping, AND SOME DOUBTED. Some of the disciples doubted. The disciples were EYE TO EYE with Jesus. They could touch Jesus. They are the literal first hand witnesses to Jesus's life and ministry. They saw EVERYTHING that Jesus did while on earth, and it says that some of them DOUBTED. It is so enco

 Evangelism circle: God's Heart, Faith, Healing, Cost, Storms and Rejection. Matthew 8 gives an explicitly detailed trajectory and cycle of evangelism that I believe is important to read and understand as you become more confident in evangelizing. Here are some prompting questions to help dig deeper into Matthew 8. Read Matthew 8:1-4. Talk about what these verses show us about the heart of God. Read Matthew 8:5-13 What does Jesus say about the faith of the centurion? Read Matthew 8:14-17 Who does Jesus heal in this section? Read Matthew 8:18-22 What is the cost of following Jesus? Do you think Jesus is being too harsh in verse 22? Read Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus has power over the storm. Has Jesus calmed any storms in your personal life? Are there any storms you need him to calm right now? Read Matthew 8:28-34 Jesus performed a miracle for these people and they rejected him. What does that tell us about what could happen in our own life when we share the good news with people? How is he

 Jesus was the first and greatest evangelist of our time. He was the first embodiment of the God of scripture. He pointed people to God the Father and was always bringing the good news everywhere he walked and everywhere he taught. There wasn't a place that he wasn't sharing the good news of the Gospel. He was the walking Gospel. His goal was to point people back to their creator, and back to the God of heaven. Preaching the good news and bringing the hope of Jesus to the lost is the greatest gift we can give the world. Another way to bring the good news to the world  is through signs and wonders.  Jesus was in the habit of feeding, healing, raising, and loving the lost so well that people were turned to God the father and the truth of the Gospel. Signs and wonders are some of the greatest tools that God wants us as believers to use in order to spread the Gospel and evangelize. 

 Something beneficial that he Lord tells us to do with his Word, is a phrase that he calls "hiding the word in our heart, so that we might not sin against him." Jesus called out religious leaders of his time in Matthew 23 and had a whole slew of things that the religious leaders were doing incorrectly. Jesus let them have it. He listed out woes against them. He called them names including hypocrite and brood of vipers. The religious leaders of the day were the most well versed human beings in the things of Scripture. Some of them had been studying the Torah since they were 3 years old, and it is said that some of them had memorized the entire Torah.  However, what is the point of Scripture if you have it inside your mind but Jesus is still calling you a hypocrite? Jesus is not concerned about how many words you can fit into your mind with attached book chapter and verse. He cares that the life changing power of those words are making themselves known through our lives! God

 Matthew 6:6 talks about going into your room and shutting the door to pray to your Father who is in secret. Christianity has created the term the "secret place" to refer to this room that Jesus talks about in Matthew 6.  Countless times in scripture it talks about Jesus retreating to a secret area to pray. It mentions in scripture that Jesus would pray early in the morning and would go away to the mountainside so that he could be alone. This would be a great example of Jesus going into the secret place.  Matthew 14:23 Mark 6:46 Luke 6:12 Mark 1:35 Luke 5:16 We are called to constantly strive to be like Jesus, and thankfully we don't have to attempt to be like Jesus without any help. Jesus is actually going to help us become more like Him in every way, if we ask him too. The secret place does not have to be a location necessarily, but if you are new to praying and entering into communion and fellowship with Jesus on your own, I highly suggest creating a place that is dedi

Spiritual Disciplines require dedication and commitment and that you show up.  Reading the Bible is as easy as it sounds, but the only way that you will have a closer relationship with God is by actually reading the Bible. There is no way to get better at reading the Bible than to decide to actually do it.  Reading the Bible is not the same thing as reading a text book, or a book for leisure. The Bible is the only book in history that is alive. Here are some verses in Scripture that describe the Bible itself. 1 Peter 1:25 Enduring forever Ephesians 6:17 Sword of the Spirit - aka the Word of God Hebrews 4:12 Sharper than any double-edged sword John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. John 5:39  John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth. Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so that they could understand the Scripture (this show me that people can read the Bible and get it wrong because they have closed minds) Matthew 4:4 Man shall not live on bread al