Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday.

If I say that, my Wife and I missed being at Summit Woods the month of December, that would be an understatement. Every time we travel internationally for an extended period of time, part of hearts long and pant for this fellowship. Our Spotify playlists were very helpful. But our souls are usually very famished by the end of the trip.

Of all the questions people ask me, people also ask me about our Church. What Church do you attend? Baptist? What denomination is that? What do they believe? Are they Spirit filled? For which I usually answer yes based on our understanding of Scripture which excites some of them because their understanding of being Spirit filled is different. Some ask me if we have steeple and a bell that calls people to worship as Anglican Churches in England and India still do. I found myself talking about physical things about our church, we have a copper top roof. Our pastor wears a suit every Sunday. We have a guy in our Church who does awesome BBQ.

I had to pull back and realize that I’m not really helping them see who we really are, Scripturally. I paused and explained to them that we do EXPOSITORY preaching and explained what it is and why we are called Baptist because we only allow regenerate membership that shows itself in obedience to Scripture in Baptism and that we also do Church discipline, there were literately audible gasps. I explained to them our discipleship culture, our Church leadership model and how all of it is informed of Scripture.

• When you invite a family member or a friend to our Church or when someone asks you, how do you describe our Church to them?
• Do you as a member or a visitor recognize that Scripture is in the heart of all that we strive to do? To the Triune God alone be all the glory for that!

Many years from now, Summit Woods Baptist Church shouldn’t become a mere relic, a tourist center, an awesome architecture rich building or even just a building built in the 21st century. Men may come and men may go but a Church that is established in Scripture shall serve generations until Christ comes back.

• If that’s true of the Church you are attending by the purest grace of God, shouldn’t that be true of your life too?
• Why are you here? Are you in for the cool trellis or the vine?
• Does Scripture inform your life? How you pray, how you handle God’s word, how you serve in your God given role in various contexts…

(Prayer)

Father God, we praise you for your wonderful love. We thank you for being our shield and defender. We extol your name on high, the Ancient of Days.

We praise that you are our maker, defender, redeemer and of all things that you could have called us by, you called us your friends. We do not deserve that. We are your bondservants. Please help us to live by your word for your word alone endures forever (Isaiah 40:8)

Please help us to live our lives searching Scriptures and applying Scriptures in every area of our lives. May we be known in the heavenly places as the Bereans of our generation, that we may be found holy and blameless in Christ Jesus before you.

Please help Summit Woods Baptist Church’s current and future leadership and as well membership to stay deeply rooted in the word of God that we may serve faithfully our Risen King for generations to come, until He returns or calls us home. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen.