Summit Student Ministries

 Joy is an emotion most commonly understood synonymously with happiness, sunshine, positivity, good vibes, and smiley face emojis.  Is joy just sunshine? How does Joy affect all 3 parts of the human being? Joy releases serotonin into the body, and serotonin helps to boost mood. How joy affects the heart : Proverbs 15:13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.  How joy affects the soul : Philippians 4:8 Think on these things Studies and research show that thinking about a good memory, or a time in your life when you felt joy can boost your mood and actually release serotonin into your physical body. It sounds like God already knew this, so he commanded us to think about good things as listed in this Bible verse Philippians 4:8. Ways to help release serotonin into your body include exercise, sunshine and foods rich in tryptophan (because tryptophan gets converted into serotonin). How joy affects the mind : Frontal Lobe monitors your emotiona...

3 Ways to Better Understand Your emotions 1. Expand your emotional vocabulary.  2. Rate the intensity of your emotion. 1-10 3. Write it out. / 20 minutes, without a filter or need for perfectly crafted sentences, then throw it in the garbage. 4. Bring God into that memory and ask Him where He was. Using your emotions Colossians 3:1-17 Managing your emotions Thankfulness. 

  Read Matthew 22:36-40 What is the greatest commandment, according to Jesus? How would you define the word “commandment?” Jesus breaks this down to three parts: heart, soul and mind.  How do we love God with our heart? How do we love God with our soul? How do we love God with our mind? What is the second greatest commandment? Jesus says we need to love others how we love ourselves. What happens if we don’t love ourselves well, how does that affect how we love others? Jesus wants us to love ourselves well, so that we can love others better. What is a way to love yourself better? How can you love others better? Bible reading this week / Worship song(s) / Prayer requests

God made the human brain. He made everything actually. He knows what we need. He knows what helps us. He understands Science. The act of being thankful has been shown to improve mood, and actually bring health to our physical bodies.  Being thankful is more than just an idea, it is a conscious decision. It is a decisive act. It is something you do on purpose with your own will power and volition. It is something you do that can actually shift your mood and your mindset. I would compare it to working out. Being thankful releases endorphins in your brain and helps you feel better.  https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain  What does the Bible say about being thankful? 2 Chronicles 5:13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good, His love endures forever." T...

 Hee-Haw Jesus rode into town on a donkey, the week before he was to be crucified and set all of humanity free from death and destruction and the grave. He rode in a donkey. We have heard this story one million times, but this time reading it through hit me differently. Jesus was perfect. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sin because he had no sin. He carried perfection, holiness and purity in every step. His heart was never polluted with any hateful thought or bitter feeling or jealous strain. His mind never thought one sinful thought. His mouth said nothing unholy. I am in awe of this fact. I am overwhelmed in thinking that Jesus walked this earth for me, so that I could have eternity with Him. Everything Jesus did here on earth points to God and has fulfilled some epic prophecy. Jesus was mentioned and foretold to be born in Bethlehem. He fulfilled a prophecy that he would die and live again. Amazingly, this has never happened to me. I did not have my birth foretold. I ha...

Mary came from family with three children. She was the youngest. She had an older sister Martha, and a brother Lazarus. Lazarus became ill and died. Jesus steppe into the scene and raised Lazarus from the dead! Lazarus is obviously grateful and is a legend in an of himself. Mary thought her life with her brother was done. She had to say goodbye to him and grieve his life. When Lazarus was returned to her and brought back to life, her only response was gratefulness and pure unadulterated worship. She forgot about the cost of things. She poured her most expensive and valuable item on the feet of Jesus.  When you walk through death and the trauma and grief that accompany death, only to have the Lord restore all that was lost, your perspective and values shift. They shift unexplainably. People who have not walked through the valley of the shadow of death or have not experienced what you have experienced will see your act of worship as foolish. Judas accused this pure hearted worship an...

 Jesus raised Lazarus back to life by saying 3 words: Lazarus, come forth. We do not need to complicate our prayers or elongate our prayers to help entice God to answer us. God hears every word we say and desires to answer us in the way we need Him to answer. God's answer is always better than our answer. He has better ideas than we every could. Martha ran out to meet Jesus after her brother had died. Jesus said to roll the stone away. Martha did not have instant faith. Instead she had a human, passive aggressive response. She told Jesus (who knows everything) that if they rolled the stone away, there would be an odor because Lazarus had been in the grave for 4 days. Jesus knew Lazarus was in there for 4 days. Jesus knows everything. Martha wanted to remind Jesus that he was late to the miracle. Martha wanted to remind Jesus that he was late to answer her prayer. Martha wanted to let Jesus know that she was mad and upset that Jesus hadn't come sooner to answer her prayer in the...