Summit Student Ministries

 Advent comes from a Latin word that means "important arrival." In the church context, advent season is pointing towards the arrival of Jesus on the Earth.  We as believers get to look with expectation towards Christmas day. Maybe some of you start the countdown immediately after Christmas from the previous year. Maybe some of you start the countdown after thanksgiving. At most we are one year away from the next Christmas celebration and we get to look forward to celebrating Jesus' advent to earth. Why did Jesus have to be born? Why did Jesus have to forsake heaven, and become human? It says that Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil. What was the devil's work? His most notable work was to cause Adam and Eve to sin, which caused separation from a perfect God and loving Father. The people in the Bible, starting in Genesis after Adam and Eve fell from perfect paradise, had to look forward to the coming Messiah. The one who would set things right. The one who would

 I had this idea that Matt Shelby Joe and I were supposed to pour thankfulness out onto your heads like a bucket full of love and sunshine and goodness. I felt like we were supposed to spread out our thankfulness on you all because you might not hear the truth about your value in our lives and the value you carry in this group enough. I heard God say to me one time that His goodness could never be exaggerated, meaning even if you are internally rolling your eyes while Matt Shelby and I are pouring thankfulness on you, try your best to receive our words as true. So I want you all to put your inner critic, your wall of non-trust in the garbage for 15 minutes. I want you to exercise your trust muscle if you haven't exercised that muscle in a while. I promise that we are not lying to you. I promise we are not trying to get something out of you. I promise that we are only speaking truth and pouring thankfulness out. Receive it. Try to believe it. I think it'll change your life.  SUM

Moms, dads, orphans and crowns. These were the four themes I gravitated to while I was reading through chapter 2.  Here's what it says about Moms. It says that moms care for us, and they not only share the Gospel with us, but they also share their lives.  Here's what it says about Dads. It says that dads are encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God who calls you into his kingdom and glory. Here's what it says about orphans. It uses the word orphaned like a verb. The writers of this letter wanted to be with this church body, but they said that they were orphaned, only in person not in thought. I think this is so applicable to right now. Orphans are left alone, without any protection, family or care. Some of you might feel orphaned mentally, spiritually and maybe emotionally. Like there is not one person to turn to. The Bible gives us a healthy process to follow whenever we feel orphaned. It says in verse 17 that out of their intense longing they ma

Book Study of 1 Thessalonians What would make a group of people worthy of high praise as mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 1:2? What qualities did they carry that Paul boasts so highly of them and says that he always thanks God for them? Do people around you thank Jesus because you are alive? I am genuinely thankful for each person sitting in this room. I am thankful that you are giving Jesus your time and investing in your spiritual health and your spiritual walk with Jesus. No time spent with Jesus is ever wasted time. It is always beneficial, even if it is 2 minutes, or 2 hours. Any time invested with Jesus is always a benefit to your health and well-being. How many of you know what a thesis statement is? It is a sentence in your essay that summarizes the entire point of the paper, and you spend your whole paper proving this one thesis statement. Here is the thesis statement for why Paul is grateful for the church in Thessalonica: We remember your work produced by faith, your labor promp

 Holiness. Not perfect. Set a part. When I hear the word Holy I think of the color white. I think of a perfect heart and a perfect mind and perfect attitudes. It sometimes fills me with shame and guilt because I know that on my own and in my own will I can NOT be holy because let's be honest I suck at being perfect no matter how hard I try.  The verse of the week stated that we are to "be holy as I am holy," and that's Jesus talking. Jesus is a kind loving savior who would never ask us to do something he knew would be impossible for us to do. He doesn't do that. He isn't rude. He isn't mean. He isn't unrealistic. He doesn't want to see us fail. He doesn't ask us to do something that He knows would be impossible for us just to watch us fall on our face and feel horrible about ourselves.  Holiness: the ness of being holy. Holy: dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose, sacred, set a part. Well that's helpful..because now I have

 Jesus is the best example of how to do any thing. We as his children are called to imitate and act and do what He would do. The only way to follow someone's example is to have a relationship with them, walk with them day to day. If you want to know how someone would act in a public, you need to be with them in public. The same is true for Jesus. Unfortunately, he is not actually in human form on the earth right now, so how do we observe him and act the way that he acted while he was on the earth? One way is to read the Bible. Obviously. If you want to know how someone lives and what they do, you can follow them on tiktok, or instagram, or snapchat. If you want to learn more about someone's life you can watch a documentary about them or read books. If you are really close with someone and you have a deep relationship with someone, it is easier to know how that person would act in any given scenario. For example, I am in love with Matt and I feel like I know him pretty well. If

 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 Jesus desires to be near you. He desires to be next to you at all times. He is so kind and so loving that He will not force himself onto you, but will wait until you draw near to him or invite him into your space. Countless times in Scripture we see Jesus being respectful to people's social and emotional boundaries. He stands at the door at knocks. He invites you to come to him. He is running down the street to meet you when you decide to return from your way of prodigal living. Never is there a time when people can say: I searched so hard for Jesus but couldn't find him; or I spent my whole life trying to get close to God but He was no where to be found. It's the opposite actually. Most people say things like: I had spent my entire life running away from God but then I decided to give my life to him and He was right there. Jesus stands and waits for us. He invites us to

 There is another in the fire.  This week has felt almost like someone took the rug from under my feet and ripped it out, leaving me on the floor. Sometimes I feel like there is small hope for change and normalcy, and then I get stopped in my tracks. I want things to be normal, I want things to remain consistent. I desire things to NOT have corona. I desire things to not have MASKS. I desire things to not be constrained. I feel claustrophobic socially. I feel like the sanity of any person at any given time is a ticking time bomb just waiting to erupt or explode on contact because of any small thing. 2020 vision allows us to see reality as it was intended to be seen. 2020 calendar year has been a way for Jesus to reveal things inside of our own minds and our own country that are in need of correcting. Jesus watches us closer than we can even imagine. It says in Scripture that he knows when we rise and when we walk away and he sees every thought and every motivation and every action of e

 Matthew 11:28-30  Shabbat is the Jewish calendar observance of the Sabbath. It is done in remembrance of God resting on the 7th day of creation. It is a observed and practiced as a gift from the Father because He knows that humanity needs a break and was not created or intended to run themselves ragged by constantly working 24/7. God understands our limits better than we understand our own limits sometimes. He is a loving gracious generous Father who wants the best for us in every way. He knows that we are weak and frail and human. God is an eternal being full of life, strength, power. He is all knowing and all present. All of the good things we have ever received come from Him, yet he took a break. If God knew that a break was necessary when He created the universe, we can follow His lead and know that He intends for us to be refreshed, renewed and recharged by observing Sabbath. He says to us in Matthew 11: 28 - 30, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I wil

Prayer It is the most underutilized secret power in the entire universe.  I think people are not skilled in praying because if they knew what their prayers did they would never stop. The enemy does not want you to pray, ever. Here are some things that prayer does: pray slows you down, prayer connects you to the Father, prayer opens your heart and mind to the things of heaven, prayer allows you to get your eyes off of yourself and set your eyes on Jesus, prayer is communicating. Prayer is not a formula. Prayer is not a timed event. Prayer freaks people out. Prayer does not require complete knowledge of the Bible. Prayer does not even have the requirement for being a Christian. Prayer has 1 requirement: knowing how to talk. Which I think the leaders in this room and your teachers would all agree that some of you are excellent at talking. I used to force people to pray. I spent a week as a camp counselor in Michigan and met my campers the 1st day of camp for the very first time. I expecte

Testimony about speaking in Tongues at Spencer Lake in 6th grade. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 Romans 12:3-8 Make a list of gifts from these Bible verses: Wisdom Knowledge Faith Healing Miraculous Powers Prophecy Distinguishing between spirits Speaking in different tongues Interpretation of tongues Prophecy Serving Teaching Exhortation Giving/Contributing Leadership Mercy The father has been described as the Father of Lights who gives good gifts to his children. It goes even further to say that every good and perfect gift is from him. God desires to give his children things. He desires to shower us with good things, with blessing, with love, with hope, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. All things the Father touches is for our good, is for our benefit. He has our best interests in mind. He wants to give us gifts. 1. Read the Bible verses listed and make a list of all the Spiritual Gifts. 2. Go through each gift and disc

The Holy Spirit is God. Equal in power and honor. Equal in fear and respect. Equal in love and devotion. His presence on the earth is better than having Jesus as a man walking the earth. The Holy Spirit is what binds all Christian Believers together. He gives us power. He gives us wisdom. He is the small voice inside of us telling us we shouldn't do something. He is the fruit that we operate in when we are showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Without the Holy Spirit we would not be able to read the Bible and receive the true LIFE that flows from Scripture. The Holy Spirit in my life is my best friend. He is closer than a brother, he walks with me, he never leaves me, he tells me the truth when I want to believe other things, he shows me what to do when I feel clueless, he shows me amazing secret adventures with the Lord that I could never have done by myself. He is like the TV in my mind when I am praying for people. He give me vi

Following Jesus. The biblical definition of "following" and the expectation that Jesus had when he commanded people to "follow" him has a different definition than what is seen today. To "follow" someone now is so shallow. Click subscribe, click like, scroll through their page, watch their lives through the obscurity and privacy of your own device in the comfort of your own home. You can follow someone in secret without any requirement of your own will, without any requirement of disturbing your own way of living. You can follow someone for a while, and then stop following when you lose interest. You can follow someone until they offend you or disturb you or hurt you and then you can un-follow and just like that you're done. You can follow anything, anyone, for any reason, for any purpose without any work on your end. You get to sit by and watch without any effort without any motivation without any desire to actively participate. You are able to fol

Verses:  Deuteronomy 10:12 Psalm 33:8 Ecclesiastes 8:13 Ecclesiastes 12:13 Isaiah 33:6 Acts 9:31 1 Peter 2:17 Revelation 14:7 SMALL GROUP: 1. Pick three or four verses to read as a group from the list above. 2. In scripture it says we are to Fear God. How is that possible, if God is a god of love? 3. What do you think the Bible really means when it comes to "fearing God?" 4. Discuss thoughts/ideas/questions/comments from the video.  5. Why does God want us to fear Him? 6. On the whiteboard, write down words to define the "fear" that God is talking about. Show and tell with the large group! 7. Prayer