The Summit Church

At the most basic level, what does it take to be a fruitful Christian?

The fruit of the Spirit is not about achieving something, because you can’t anyways. Rather, it is about knowing someone, and his name is Jesus.

In this message, Pastor Will Toburen shares five characteristics of faithful evangelism that we see from the encounter Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at the well.

One of the greatest misconceptions about the church is that we don't sin very much. We often live superficial lives of fake smiles. Sadly, over time God's people have learned to hide sin and sorrow. But the church is not a showcase of Colgate smiles. It's a hospital for sinners.

In Malachi we see how the cycle of Israel’s persistent unfaithfulness is mirrored in many people’s lives today. Though they keep trying harder and doing more religious things, Malachi reminds them—and us—that we cannot do more to make a way for our reconciliation with God but that he would send someone who would do it for us.

Can you think of a more common question being cried out in the midst of a difficult season of life than “How am I going to make it through this?” Maybe that’s the cry of your heart today. Or maybe you’re wondering where God is in your pain or how what you’re going through is fair. We’ve all asked these questions at some point in our lives.As you read through Habakkuk, consider this: Habakkuk’s hope came from remembering what God had done for Israel in the past and repeating what he knew to be true about God. Where does your hope come from?

If Amos were a modern-day prophet, he would be equally unpopular in our midst, because he could point out the same truths about our culture and even some uncomfortable truths about the church. But we’ll learn from this Minor Prophet that when we start treating sin lightly, we don’t take God seriously. And if we don’t start taking sin seriously, we’ll never experience the presence of God in our lives.

The book of Joel has some pretty vivid imagery that helps us picture how devastating the power of sin is and yet how life-giving God’s law is when it takes root in our hearts. We discover that, like the Israelites, the locusts eating away at our lives are actually God’s mercy. He wants us back, and he’ll bring us to the end of ourselves if that’s what it takes for us to turn from sin and be restored to him.