Cross Section from the Summit View Church of Christ

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — As we live as witnesses for Jesus, our speech and conduct must be always full of prayer and grace. Paul urges the church to pray all the time, including for his ministry, even while he's a prisoner—for we are witnesses for Jesus all the time, in every situation. Then he calls the believers to conduct themselves wisely among outsiders, and to always let their con...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Incarnational ministry is taking on some of the identity of the people we want to reach for God in order to make it as easy as possible for them to receive our message about Jesus. It's modeled after what Jesus did for us when he stepped out of heavenly glory, took on human form, became the Son of God in human form (God incarnate), and lived among human beings i...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — When believers in the young church in Corinth argued over which great Christian leader they followed (Paul, Apollos, Peter, Christ), Paul reminded them how he and Apollos  had ministered to that church: Paul planted the seed of the gospel there and Apollos watered it—but God made it grow. Paul and Apollos, in their common work for the good of the church, always poin...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — In his Great Commission, Jesus commanded his followers to go and make disciples of all nations—yet for a while, they stayed together in Jerusalem and did not go. But when persecution arose there, God used that terrible event to send Christians out into the world, and as a result the gospel message has spread around the world and to us today. We too are called to go—...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — In this new series on letting our light shine to others, we begin to explore biblical tips and techniques for being excellent witnesses for Jesus, drawing others to faith in him. We start with Jesus' own instruction: let your light shine before others by doing good deeds that they will see and respond to by glorifying our Father in heaven. This is what the early...

Sunday Sermon by Walt Ranta — Persevering through trials, listening more than speaking, doing what God's Word says, loving your neighbor—James calls us to these actions as he reminds us how to live for God. His instructions give us good guidance for the new year, just as they were good guidance for the very early church. Text: selections from James

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Was there anything better in the story of Jesus' birth than the glorious appearances of the angels? As wonderful as they were, yes, there was one thing even more glorious: the birth of the Son of God himself. Jesus is superior even to the angels, and in all the distractions of life we do well to keep our focus on him. Texts: Luke 2:1-20, Hebrews 1, and other sel...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — To close his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us of how good God is to us: God gives good things to us when we ask. Then, as Moses did with the Israelites in much earlier times, Jesus calls his listeners to decide whether we will truly seek God—whether we will walk the narrow road, bear good fruit in our lives, do the will of our Father, and build our lives...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — As he continues his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches not to judge—or does he? His teaching on this topic seems contradictory: first he says, "Do not judge," but then he calls us to judge the character of others. This seeming contradiction points us to the complexity of judging wisely and our need to judge ourselves before we humbly judge others. In this...

Season 4, Episode 48 — December 3, 2023 Depending on God — Sunday Sermon, December 3, 2023 Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — In his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us not to pursue temporary, earthly treasures, but heavenly treasures, which are eternal. He calls us to be generous with our money, and not to let money be our master—but only God, our true Master. We can do these things because...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Jesus taught his disciples to pray as he did in his model prayer. Are we to pray his exact words, or simply in a similar style? Or perhaps that's not Jesus' point. More important than any set words is the heart with which we pray—and Jesus' model prayer calls us to be people whose heart truly seeks God. Text: Matthew 6:5-15

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Early in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to let our light shine before others. Should we, then, advertise our good deeds for God on a billboard, try to draw attention to ourselves? Jesus warns  us against seeking attention and praise from other people through our acts of righteousness. But if we will serve God quietly—let our light shine in secret—God will...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — In his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges a common but corrupted interpretation of God's law of justice, "eye for eye and tooth for tooth." He teaches his followers not to seek revenge, and to go beyond justice to mercy—even to the point of loving our enemies, so that we may be true children of God. Texts: Matthew 5:38-48

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Continuing his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches his followers not to swear oaths. But is simply not swearing an oath what God desires of us? No—God, who always tells the truth, calls us to be people of integrity, people who keep our word and who (like him) always speak what is true. Texts: Matthew 5:33-37 & James 5:1-12

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us commands relating to our marriage vows, teaching us not to commit adultery in either the physical act or in the heart, and teaching us not to divorce. With these commands, plus similar teaching on divorce later in his ministry and then from the apostle Paul, we learn not merely to abstain from adultery and divorce, but to h...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — As he continues his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns his followers to do more than just the minimum that God's law requires—to follow the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law. In his first illustration of this principle, he talks about murder. Is it enough to merely refrain from murdering? No; what God desires is that we control our anger and our wo...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared that we—his followers—are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. God has entrusted us with the noble and weighty responsibility to bring good flavor into the world and to bring people the knowledge of God. How can we accomplish this great and excellent  task?  Text: Matthew 5:13-16

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — If you want to learn to live like Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount is a great place to start. It opens with the Beatitudes, nine blessings Jesus speaks on those who live with attitudes and values that please God, and which also characterized Jesus himself. Living in step with these blessings is not always easy in this world, but those who do it—who live like Jesus—are...

Sunday Sermon by Guest Speaker Rudy Kantu — Divisiveness in the church (as, for example, in lawsuits against each other, such as were happening in the church in Corinth) shames the church and makes it difficult to share the message of the gospel. Christians need to mature in Christ so that we can share God's message with credibility.  Texts: selections from 1 Corinthians 6 and other texts

Sunday Sermon by Guest Speaker Rudy Kantu — A message calling the church to full commitment to God in order that we might be well-equipped to share the gospel with others.   Texts: selections from 1 Corinthians and other texts

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Mary, sister of Martha, honored Jesus with an extravagant and beautiful gift—but Judas objected, preferring that the gift be sold and the money be given to the poor. Jesus' response calls us to check our priorities in how we use the money and resources God has given us, and to appreciate every gift that people might bring to God.   Text: Matthew 26:6-13, John 12...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — When Mary and Martha were grieving the loss of their brother Lazarus and Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, why did Jesus weep? Did he weep out of his own sorrow over his friend's death? Was he angry with the unbelief around him? Did something else prompt his tears? In Jesus' tears, we glimpse how Jesus feels about death and how he—the o...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — The sisters Martha and Mary, when their brother Lazarus became sick, quickly sent an urgent message to Jesus to let him know. But Jesus, who could have healed Lazarus, did not come in time. In response—even though they had great faith—the sisters were deeply disappointed. We, too, are disappointed with God sometimes. What should we do when God lets us down, when he...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — If Jesus were personally coming to your house to stay a while, what would you do? Sweep the floor? Send the kids to stay with the grandparents? Martha opened her home to Jesus, and she was busy and worried because of all the preparations that needed to be made—and upset because her sister Mary was not helping her! Yet Jesus said Mary had chosen to do something even...

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Paul, as an apostle of Jesus, could have ordered Philemon to do the right thing and receive his runaway slave back mercifully. But Paul did not exercise his apostolic authority; he did not take a confrontational, forceful approach. He took a soft approach, as Jesus did with us and modeled for us to do with one another. Text: Philemon