Each week the team prepared a different Beatles song and I tied the lyric into our life and the events surrounding the birth of Jesus.  Often our culture is willing to bring up tough issues and ask really good questions, especially in music and media. However, culture doesn’t always provide us with the answers to those questions. That is where we as Christians look to the Bible for those answers.

Last Sunday the band at Hope Summit sang “Let It Be”, written by Paul McCartney in 1969.

The popular lyric says,

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom let it be.

Until a short while ago, I always thought mother Mary was referring to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Actually the Mary that McCartney is speaking of is his own mother, her name was Mary and the night before he wrote the song she appeared to him in a dream.  Apparently the timing of the dream was a stressful time for the band, and Mary died when McCartney was very young.  The dream gave him great comfort and inspired him to write the song.

The lyric goes on to say,

Yeah, there will be an answer, let it be.

There are many challenges we face in life, and there is great suffering in our world. The responsibility we have as people of faith is to let others around us know that there already is an answer! We have to show others around us that Jesus is that answer.  When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the temple Simeon immediately recognized the identity of this special child, Luke 2:28-32:

²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹ which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”

Simeon immediately recognized God at work. He knew it was beyond his desire for a Messiah to return and saw that Jesus was also for the Gentiles. Take some time to recognize God at work in your life, and share that message with others this Christmas. There already is answer!

There are three key elements that go into every Summit Kids event: Faith, Friends, and Fun.  Exactly that happened at Kids’ Camp this year.  Our kids sang some great songs learning about God and heard from the Bible each day as Mandy and Jeff taught our lessons as the story of Jonah came to life with the sea creatures in our drama. Adults and Children made new friends each day as we laughed, played games and served together and as you can see in the video below it was TONS OF FUN! Special thanks to all our volunteers that made it happen!

1. Reaching The Community

First, people hear the message of Jesus.  There were so many new faces that showed up this weekend, friends that were invited, families visiting town, plus those that found us on the web, radio, and newspaper.  I heard one story about a mom who lost her son when he was hit by a car this winter.  She was invited by a close friend to the family thant knew it has been months since she’s left her home due to the loss.  Hopefully, the experience this weekend gave her hope but one thing we know for sure… she came because she was invited.

2. Creating A Community

The second benefit is events like this create community.  There were about 50 people in the cast and crew this weekend.  50 wonderful people that laughed, cried, and worked together for months to pull off this production as a service to our church and community.  But while it may serve our community it also creates community.  There were many new friendships developed and old friendships strengthend as a result of the experience.  Creating short term volunteer opportunities in the church are also great for helping new Christians meet seasoned vets.  I spoke with one volunteer who had only been attending Hope Summit for about a year.  They were so grateful for the experience because of all the new relationships they’d formed during rehersals.

We need to be strategic with our church calendars so we reach and create community.

Here are a few photos from Alive Forever 2011

One simple thing will make a big difference in the life of an at-risk child: One-on-one, positive attention from a responsible, caring adult. Kids Hope USA is the catalyst for an expanding network of church/school partnerships. These partnerships take on the enormous challenge of kids at risk—One Child, One Hour, One Church, One School at a time—through one-on-one mentoring relationships.

Our Kids Hope Director (Jeff Nordrum) here at Hope Summit recently passed on an email from Becky, she’s one of our volunteer mentors…

When I agreed to be a Kids Hope mentor, I was trying to give back to God. I was being authentic when I decided to be a mentor. I had been a public school teacher in the primary grades and also an in-school suspension teacher for the upper elementary grades. I thought this was an area I could help someone. Little did I know that God had plans for me.

I went throught the training and met with the teacher for the first grade. Our meeting was positive and we agreed on the goals we would work on. Next on the agenda was the meeting with the student. I finally met Adam—my first time seeing the young boy was in a busy noisy classroom. He was kneeling in his chair, bending over the table reaching across to the other side telling the others how to do the assignment(which was a no-no). His shoes were nowhere to be found, one sock was on and the other was stuffed into the lost shoe. My first goal was to get Adam to keep his shoes on for most of the day. Coming from the mountains in the south, I totally understood that some people learn better with their shoes off but I dauntingly approached my task with care and enthusiasm.

Adam and I went to the library after spending a half an hour of our hour time looking for his shoes with half his group helping us which happened for about the first six to eight weeks. It only took me most of a year to get Adam to keep his shoes on during school.

After we made it to the library I found a young man that was polite, excited about school and learning—especially reading. I didn’t expect a first grader to be reading with comprehension the books Adam was enjoying. We started in on chapter books about the magic schoolbus and Adam read them in one sitting. He advanced quickly and really understood each book he read. During the next 5 years we progressed to historical books about the revolutionary war period and Adam was engrossed with some of the people he met while reading.

As each year progressed, I learned that Adam enjoys games like Connect Four, Scrabble (which he tried to cheat at but as he grew older I stopped letting him), and any others I would challenge him with. It got to the point I was always losing.

Adam and his family were very positive and excited to be involved with Kids Hope. Adam and his siblings came to the parties that Hope Summit would have for the Kids Hope Kids always having a great time. During a couple of the summers, Scott and I would take him to the little league games to watch Spencer Carey play. He and Spencer’s brother, Jeremy, would shag balls. Adam had never learned to catch a ball with a mitt. Jeremy worked with him to learn this skill. Adam enjoyed going to the little league games and to the movies.

He turned into a young man I can be proud of. I still see Adam occassionally when we are out and about the city of Rochester. Adam carefully selects his friendships, cares about his grades and has set life goals he wishes to achieve.

I went into Kids Hope trying to give back; and God and Adam turned the tables on me. Adam continuously keeps giving back to me. When I am down, God puts Adam back into my life for a boost and I sail again for a while. Hopefully, Adam feels the same about me. He will always be a friend to me that I will cherish for as long as I am able to remember each of our moments. This was a effort of love that I will always be so glad that I was able to participate in. There is never any regret–Adam is a young man I am so proud of. Too bad he had to grow up!

If you attend Hope Summit and you’d like to be a mentor contact us at the church office here.

If you are a pastor and interested in partnering with Kids Hope USA in your city you can visit their website here.

“In today’s world, more information is available at our fingertips than ever before. Instant messaging, texting, internet searches, emails and podcasts are the norm. In our fast-paced, information driven society, there are still many questions that remain unanswered. But what if you could Google God? What if you could ask God any question and you knew He would give you an answer? In our next series of teachings we are going to attempt to answer your questions.  On the card write down your questions and the top three asked questions will be what we teach on the next three weeks!”

We collected the cards and our top three questions were as follows:

1. How do I know the Bible is true?
2. Why do bad things happen to good people?
3. What will heaven be like?

Below I will upload MP3s of each sermon, my sermon notes, and graphics for you to use.  Enjoy!

Graphics

Our graphics here at Hope Summit were done by designer, Laura Spaar, she’s done most of our design work here at Hope Summit.  Feel free to contact her if you’d like hire her for work with your church. Click on each image below to get the larger file.

Logo/series slide:

Week 1: How do I know the Bible is true?

Week 2: Why do bad things happen to good people?

Week 3: What will heaven be like?

Banner for bulletin/program (I use this for a note sheet we provide weekly):

CD’s available slide:

Sermons:

Below are the sermons.  You can download the mp3 and listen or also download the sermon notes I preach from.

• Week 1: How do I know the Bible is true?
  • Mp3 – Sermon Notes
• Week 2: Why do bad things happen to good people?
  • Mp3 – Sermon Notes
• Week 3: What will heaven be like?
  • Mp3 – Sermon Notes

I just got back from working with the Cumulus team in downtown Rochester and they were awesome to hang out with. We’ve decided to put a Christmas Eve invitation on the radio and ask our community to spend the evening with us at Hope Summit.  We’re looking at running the clip 10-14 days before Christmas Eve on Y-105 in hopes that listeners with start a new tradition with us this year.

The crew there was friendly and the audio tech, Desi, is a pro when it comes to editing.  After he got finished with fixing up the clip, it made me sound like a real pro on the radio.  Click below to listen to the clip…

Hope Summit Church – Christmas 2010 – 30

Away from the day to day grind and brought me to a place where I had no choice but to encounter God.  It was also a great time for me to build new friendships and make old ones even stronger.  I’m sure that happened for our students that went, plus they got the chance to serve others as they aided with flood relief efforts in the area.

Todd, and all our Student Body volunteers, thanks for serving our teens!  For more information about our church you can visit our website: http://www.hopesummitchurch.com

As I connect with leaders and volunteers at Hope Summit, I love it when people catch the vision for evangelism.  It isn’t easy to change direction and do something differently when you’ve been doing it the same way for years.  I had the privilege of meeting with our Arts Team and began to cast vision for our new direction.  People are being stretched and challenged to grow in new ways as we implement a new philosophy of ministry in our church.

However challenging it is, I know its worth it when a teenage girl approaches me after the meeting and says, “I’m the only one in my family that comes to church, and if we actually do this, my mom just might come with me!”

I’ve had numerous conversations like that one, and I also love it when I get emails like this:

Sitting in the Worship team meeting tonight was exciting. It is so exciting when you begin a new family and can see the babes come and add to the family. Each new growth adds a different personality. Tonight I saw Hope Summit working on enlarging and adding to the family. It is exciting and scary as well exhilarating all at the same time.

When we are doing 1st Impressions, we are usually in the back and watch the people closer to the back of the church. Several of the young men are there and come in together and leave together. They want to be friends and have even opened opportunities to communicate with others. They only get so deep in conversations–although I am unsure who stymies the conversation. It will be exciting to see them more comfortable and accepting the message if delivered in a way that is familiar to them, and they won’t have to work so hard to translate it into their lives. Make it easier for people and they will be open to learn.

Thank you, for having courage.

As we continue to move forward I am confident there will be more challenges.  But when we see results in the hearts and lives of the people we serve, we can stay motivated to press on. For leaders, consistent vision casting is key in capturing the imaginations of those we lead.

Confession time. Sometimes when pastors preach, we feel like we are on an island and there is no one actually listening.  We get little or no response from the church, and we can almsot feel like what we’re doing is pointless.  It kind of feels like we are stranded on an island in the middle of a lake.  We can see people on the far shore all around us, but for some reason it doesn’t seem like they can hear what we’re saying.  I’ve seen pastors try to fix this problem a number of different ways:

• They scream louder – if I can preach screaming louder maybe they will hear me and actually listen! (This actually scares people away from the shore, especially the new people who need to hear the message the most.)
• They change the message – if I can tell them something they want to hear maybe they will listen? (When this happens it’s a catastrophy.  God already provided the message through the scriptures and He doesn’t want us to change it.  We can change our methods but NOT the message.)
• They try to be someone they’re not – if I preach like John Ortberg (or insert preacher’s name here) people will listen.  (God created me to be who I am and wired me with different passions and skills than John Ortberg.  Find a passage of scripture you’re passionate about, put in the hours of study needed and teach the congregation what God shows you through your hard work. It doesn’t mean you  can’t use John or other great preachers you admire for inspiration, but don’t try to be someone you’re not.)

I think we often find ourselves wanting to blame the listener when in reality we need to look in the mirror. There are a few key ingredients that I attempt to focus on when crafting a sermon:

1. Personal Connection: As a speaker I need to utilize my own experiences and be willing to be authentic with those that show up on Sunday.  God selected YOU to be a preacher for a reason, that means He believes you have something to offer that is unique.  Use your life and everyday experiences to help tell God’s story.

2. Biblical Truth: The Bible is the source of our teaching.  It needs to be our go-to book for truth, not the opinion page in the New York Times, or a talking head on Fox News or CNN.  Sometimes as preachers we can get so caught up in storytelling that we neglect staying focused on the scripture.

3. Relevance: I can’t tell you how many sermons that I’ve heard that sounded more like a list of scripture references from a topical Bible instead of a well-crafted teaching that provides the listener with something that they didn’t have prior to walking through the door.  As preachers we need to do our best to think of who might actually be sitting in the seat on Sunday morning.  Every time I sit down to write I think of two people.  First, I think of the believer, what can I present about this passage that will provide the seasoned Christian with something they didn’t know before?  Second, I think of the non-Christian, what can I say that will help them get one step closer to Jesus?

I don’t think preaching will ever become an easy task, and I’m not expecting it to be simple.  However, as I continue to pray and seek God in writing I hope to remain fresh, consistent, relevant, and most of all true to scripture.