Post Category: Resources

This past weekend we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of our first gathering as a church body, March 4, 1998. We praise God for his faithfulness and give Him all the the glory! Short 20th Anniversary Slideshow ...

On Sunday, March 26, 2017, we examined scripture together in our sermon: Homosexuality, the Bible and Us. To provide you with further resources in learning how to respond biblically, and engage our culture faithfully in regard to the issue of homosexuality, here are some helpful resources you may want to make use of: "50 Resources for Equipping the Church on Homosexualit...

Morning Gathering Cancelled, Jan 15 In anticipation of increased freezing rain through the morning, frozen walkways, and taking an abundance of caution for those who travel from outside the immediate area, our morning gathering is cancelled for Sunday, January 15, 2017....

Revised Sunday Schedule for January 15, 2017 Due to the expected icing and winter weather, the Sunday morning schedule for tomorrow is being revised. Sunday School and Equipping classes will be cancelled tomorrow morning. The main gathering is scheduled to continue at the normal time of 10:30 am. An update with any changes will be provided at 7:00 am through web, FB, Twi...

New equipping classes for January through May begin this Sunday, January 8.The aim of our weekly Equipping Classes is to prepare members for effectively living out and serving others with the gospel. This Winter and Spring, we are excited to take some concentrated time to equip our members in five key areas: Bible Study, Sermon Study, Foundations, Christian Living and Theo...

Corporate worship is the external display of God's worth when the church gathers. The focus of all worship, whether private or corporate, is on our internal delight in God's worth rather than any outward forms. Our music in our main Sunday gatherings, therefore, will emphasize the worthiness of God; as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, appreciated through the gospel...

This past Sunday morning, the worship team introduced a new song for our corporate gatherings, Grace Alone. Based upon Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, may this song strengthen our understanding of the grace by which we were saved, the mercy we experience, and the salvation we have in Christ! And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, fo...

During our morning gathering this past Sunday, we introduced a new song to Summit Woods; Come and Stand Before Your Maker. This song of exaltation centers upon the call to worship; especially a believers response to rejoice in God in all circumstances. It is an echo to the psalmist's call in 2:11 "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (ESV), and Paul in Ph...

This past summer we had a number of baptisms, and would like to present the video testimonies which accompanied each baptism in a series of blog posts over the next several weeks. We have received a number of comments of how encouraging and helpful these testimonies of God's grace have been to our membership, and pray that you will see the greatness of God in how he saves ...

We are very excited to introduce a new approach to providing meals for those in our body who are in need. All in our body are encouraged to pick one month of the year to sign up to provide meals. Please pick a month that will work best for your schedule. If you would like to pick more than one month, feel free to sign up more than once. You will be "on-call" for your chos...

This past summer, Pastor Bret has continued our summer schedule of preaching through the Old Testament. These sermons serve as overviews of these books; and seek to capture the theme, purpose, and context of each book as a whole. This years sermons covered the wisdom and poetic books of the Old Testament; sweeping from Psalms to capping off this past week with the closing ...

This morning, in our final message on the book of Psalms, I mentioned a sermon by Jonathan Edwards that illustrated his ability to detail God's beauty and hell's terrors in unparalleled fashion. HERE is the link to his sermon, entitled, "God's Excellencies." Set aside some time to sit down and thoughtfully read through it. Your heart should be encouraged as you meditate o...

For those who are a part of our Wednesday evening discussion through John Piper's book,Desiring God, you may have noticed references to a few or recommended articles. On page 60, Piper quotes at length from Jonathan Edwards' sermon, "The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners." Click the link to read the whole sermon. On page 65, Piper recommends an article by Samuel...

This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Advent, and our anticipation, personally and corporately, begins to look forward to our celebration of Christmas. Christmas, more than any other annual celebration in the Christian calendar, has such a rich tradition of corporate and family singing. Singing Christmas carols and hymns can evoke such wonderful memories of our time togeth...

In 2007, Summit Woods Baptist Church adopted a new Constitution and By-Laws which implemented an elder-led form of church polity. In 2009, the first elders were chosen by the congregation and began serving. Building on this necessary and biblical approach to church polity is a constant prayerful mindset and quest for the existing elders. One of the most important prioritie...

This Sunday morning, the worship team will introduce a new song for our corporate gatherings. One of the values that drive the selection, arrangement, and production of our music, is that what we sing will be scripturally driven. This emphasis was behind the writing ofBut God, by Michael Bleecker, as he puts Ephesians 2:4-7 and 1 Peter 2:9 to verse and melody. May this son...

In studying God's Word with others, what are the most helpful questions to ask? How can we facilitate better discussion over scripture with our families? The following is an exerpt from our Growth Group Leader training manual, and would be helpful for leading a biblical discussion in a group or personal discipleship setting. Asking questions We do not want any of our gro...

In 2007, Summit Woods Baptist Church adopted a new Constitution and By-Laws which implemented an elder-led form of church polity. In 2009, the first elders were chosen by the congregation and began serving. Building on this necessary and biblical approach to church polity is a constant prayerful mindset and quest for the existing elders. One of the most important prioritie...

Over the last few months we have been introducing a few new songs for singing together in our corporate worship gatherings. This week, the choir will sing, and we will sing together in our Morning Gathering,Not In Me.This song is from a larger project called,Songs for the Book of Luke,and coordinated by The Gospel Coalition. From the album's song description: What wou...

This week, we will sing together in our Morning Gathering,Man of Sorrows.With it's simple lyric and memorable chorus, this meditation on the passion of Christ and the gospel will serve us well in our corporate gatherings and in our homes as we reflect on Christ's work on the cross. Man of Sorrow Purchase MP3 Video Lyrics VERSEMan of sorrows Lamb of GodBy His own betra...

This week, we will sing together in our Morning Gathering,Our Only Hope Is You. This song is based on Romans 3:9-26, declaring the depravity of the soul shackled to sin and a complete dependence upon God to save the lost by the gracious work of His Son, Jesus Christ. May this song be a means of helping your family to express continued dependence on Christ, and encourage yo...

This past Sunday evening, the worship team introduced 3 new songs for our corporate gatherings. Over the next few months, these songs will be incorporated into our song selections. As each song is introduced, a blog post will be posted with lyrics, link to purchase and view the song, and a brief synopsis. We hope these resources will not only assist our gatherings, but can...

This past Sunday evening, during our Evening Gathering, our focus centered upon Family Worship. Pastor Bret spoke on the practicalities of meeting together as a family to read scripture, sing, and pray; fitting within the greater purpose of instructing our families to love God with all their hearts, minds, and souls. Included below are the audio to that message, and a link...

Dinner for Six provides an opportunity to get to know other people within the church. Meet and form friendships with people in our church by hosting and attending three dinners together over a nine month period. The host provides the main course and the others in the group contribute the rest of the meal. The meals can be simple or fancy, pot luck or themed. The choice is ...

This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Advent, and our anticipation, personally and corporately, begins to look forward to our celebration of Christmas. Christmas, more than any other annual celebration in the Christian calendar, has such a rich tradition of corporate and family singing. Singing Christmas carols and hymns can evoke such wonderful memories of our time togeth...

In the Morning Gathering this Sunday, we will take together the Lord's Supper. Each time we take the elements together, we sing hymns and songs that serve to focus our thoughts and attention to the cross. This time of singing has become a rich opportunity for us, as the body of Christ, to express together the extent, sufficiency, and wonder of the atonement and our anticip...

O Holy Night has become a staple for many churches at Christmas time. The familiar melody and soaring chorus are at once recognizable. A few years ago I stumbled upon alternate words for this great song (unattributed), and we have used them in our Christmas Eve service ever since. They capture well the birth narrative, a humble response of praise, and a right anticipation ...

In Bret's ongoing exposition through the gospel of Matthew, we have, for several weeks, been steeped in Christ's sermon on the mount. In teaching of those priorities that mark a Kingdom-Kind of people, we have examined those values of ultimate satisfaction (Beatitudes), the influence of kingdom people, the lasting value of God's law and getting to the heart of its intentio...

Over the past several weeks, we have been corporately singing an old hymn by Samuel Crossman. Written in 1664, My Song is Love Unknownis a personal reflection upon the unsurpassed mercy of God in Christ's death and it's implications for sinful man. Much of the subtle simplicity of these gospel reflections, with its17th century english word order and poetic nuance, can be d...

A helpful resource to assist you in regularly praying for state and national leaders....