Summit Student Ministries

 Chapter 1 :  Jesus is the light of the World  1. Read John 1: 19-28. 2. What do you notice about John the Baptist? 3. Read John 1:35-42 4. John the Baptists lost disciples to Jesus. Why did that not bother John? 5. What new name did Jesus give to Simon? 6. Read John 1:48-51 7. Jesus had a prophetic vision and saw Nathanael without physically being there. How did Jesus do this? 8. Bible Reading 9. Prayer Needs Chapter 2 : Wine Miracle / Cleansing the house 1. What stood out to you in this episode 2. Read John 2:1-12 3. How did Jesus treat his mother? 4. This was His first miracle. Why did he do it? (verse 11) 5. Read John 2:13-25 6. It says zeal for His Father's house will consume him. What other time was Jesus at his Father's house? 7. Verse 19 Jesus is speaking prophetically about what? 8. Verse 24 and 25 speak about Jesus and people's opinion of him. Did Jesus need people's approval? Chapter 3 :  Nicodemus Questioning Jesus / John the Baptist pointing to Jesus for...

The Pharisees were fans of Grumbling. Jesus made one of the most audacious claims - He claimed to be the Bread of Life that has come down from heaven. *insert massive Pharisee eye roll. The facts they knew about Jesus were somehow contradicting the words Jesus was speaking before them. Here were the facts: Jesus was from Nazareth. Jesus had a mother Mary. Jesus had a father Joseph. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Yet...Jesus is saying that He came down from Heaven...ok. Pharisees assume Jesus is from the loony bin. Jesus regains some logical coherency with the Pharisees in verse 43 - 51. He starts describing the benefits of eating and partaking in the Bread of Life and eternal life. This sounds like a great deal! What a reward. I would love to eat bread and never hunger again. I would love to have all my needs met through eating delicious bread. I picture the Pharisees mentally coming back around after Jesus has spoken some of these persuasive and encouraging words. Jesus is leading them ...

 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.  SU...

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 ...