Posts by Mark Krystyniak

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Each of us will inevitably struggle many times, and in many ways throughout our lives on earth. Even as we gather today, we know that is true. But no matter our circumstances, as Paul, who was imprisoned for Christ, reminds us that "Christ dwells in our hearts". Listen to his words of encouragement in E...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Our prayer today is from the Valley of Vision Prayer book and is entitled "A Converts First Prayer". Bow with me as we go to the Lord in prayer echoing the words of one of our Puritan brothers in Christ. Pray with me: I could never have sought my happiness in your love, unless you had loved me first. ...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. In Romans 8, Paul speaks of the assurance we have in the everlasting love of our Lord, and of the knowledge that the one who created everything and upholds the universe, is the one who guarantees he will complete the work he began in each of us who have trusted him as Lord and Savior. Let's consider thi...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Lord, what a privilege it is to witness Blake's baptism this morning as he obeys Christ's commandment to his church to publicly profess our faith. Just as our Lord was baptized, each of us is called to follow his example as an indication of our faith. A faith that is characterized by genuine repentanc...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Listen to the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 95 as he calls us who are his sheep, to worship the Lord with Thanksgiving. Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;let us make a joyful noise to him with song...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. On the other side of the Cross, long before our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to redeem us from our sins, toward the end of King David's reign, David gathered the people of Israel together for the purpose of addressing them concerning the building of a temple. It had been his desire to build a temple...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday As Christians, we regularly call out to God for his grace. We pray for each other's needs and for our own-both physical and spiritual. He alone is God and knows all our needs-yet we are called to bring all things to him, as the apostle Paul states, through prayer and supplication-with thanksgiving. Let'...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday In a conversation this week with a fellow Summit Woods member, he reminded me that the proper perspective we are called to as Christians concerning our earthly possessions is one of open-handedness. We are to hold loosely to things that are in the palms of our open hands. But, what happens when we begin...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday One of the challenges of living as human beings on this earth is that we all are inherently selfish. We have a tendency to want what we want when we want it and that can make for some messy relationships and circumstances, wouldn't you agree? Not just with each other, but especially with God, who is the ...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday Not only should that song enliven our spirits, because, at least in my estimation, it is a great tune, but more importantly, we should be enlivened because it speaks to the assurance we have in Christ. The song reminds us that our sovereign God directs all the paths of our lives, all our ways, all our c...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. As we wrap up this Thanksgiving holiday, I thought it might be appropriate that we be reminded of the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Thess 5, beginning in v16 where he tells Christians that we are to - Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of ...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. In the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesian church, the apostle Paul tells them he has heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints. He says, therefore that he does not cease to give thanks for them, always remembering them in his prayers. Beginning in verse 17 as he ...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. What is the Gospel? As Paul states in Romans 1, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, Titus 3:5God saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. In verse 3 of that passage, Paul reminds us that weeveryone of usneeds to be saved. W...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. We just sang praise to the Lord because, as the song says in verse 2, God's love is seen in Christ the Son, the Servant King, who left behind his glorious throne to pay the ransom for His own. I have to believe that when Horatius Bonar penned that verse back in the 1800's he must have had in mind, amon...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. What causes us to sometimes doubt God? We live in a world that, according to the 24 hour news cycle, is increasingly perilous. And we may certainly struggle in our personal lives with health issues or financial or relationship problems. There is no doubt that life in this world can be challenging and...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Today is what we recognize as Father's Day and I find it interesting that later in the service we will be examining yet another genealogy in our text in Genesis, which of course, would mean there are fathers involved. I am not trying to spiritualize that, but studying genealogies and celebrating Father...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. As we just sang, God is Holy. God is most high and He is most worthy-He alone is above all things. Why then do we sinful men so often seek to supplant him by attempting to claim his sovereign wisdom and authority for ourselves? This is nothing new. The story is as old as creation, when Adam and Eve sou...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Father thank you for the privilege of witnessing the ordinance of baptism. Each time we do we are reminded of the gift of saving faith you give to us through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. As your word tells us it is by your grace we have been saved--and not only savedbut increasingly conformed to H...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Father thank you for the gift of saving faith. As your Word tells us, it is by your grace we have been saved. And because of your grace, when we come to know you as Lord and Savior, there is a transformation that causes us to increasingly desire to obey you and to submit our lives to your will. And one...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Assurance (affirmation of God's provision of grace),Listen to the words of the psalmist, David in Psalm 103 as he describes a believer's relationship with God and the assurance that is found in him.8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. [...] 10 He does not d...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. Thanksgiving (expression of gratitude for God's grace) Who among us is not tempted to stand on our own perceived righteousness and good deeds? In many ways that is what our culture teaches us to value. We are taught we do things by our own strength, or to live for ourselves; pursuing earthly happiness a...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. If you are familiar with Chapter 1 of Isaiah, you know that it opens with a scathing rebuke of Judah because of its wickedness. Speaking on behalf of the Lord, Isaiah calls them a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity- who have forsaken the Lord. He attacks their worship- he says, "my soul hates...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. As we approach the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation-recognized to be this coming Tuesday-October 31-I want to draw our attention to a particular verse, that, for at least one reformer, became the hinge by which he came to truly understand God's gift of salvation.The reformer was Martin Lu...

Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday. A little later in the service I will be introducing our guest pastor for this morning, Mike Summers. Having heard him preach previously, I can tell I'm very much looking forward to hearing from him again. Now it's not Mike's fault, but the fact that Mike is here is a reminder that several men, including...