SummitPA Sermon Audio

In the second sermon of our series called The Parable of the Sower, Pastor Mel explains the importance of being rooted in Christian community. What you are rooted in determines what your life is producing. People who are rooted in the love of Christ will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. A good question to ask ourselves in order to reveal where our roots...

In the first message of our series called The Parable of the Sower, Pastor Mel teaches what it means to have a hardened heart. Preaching through Matthew 13, Mel explains why having a hardened heart prevents you from seeing and hearing God. The factors which contribute to a hardened heart are often associated with repetition. Repetition of pain can harden a person's heart, and repetition of perform...

Pastor Kyle Hammond joins us for a special message on what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus. What do Christ followers know? What do Christ followers do? Kyle explains why, while we get to decide whether to be disciples of Jesus, we don't get to decide what a disciple of Jesus does. Disciples of Jesus are called to turn the other cheek, give the shirts of their backs, go the extra mile, help...

This message features Pastor Jim Hennesy, who leads a vibrant church in Cedar Hill, Texas. Jim explains what it looks like to step up and be bold in your identity as a follower of Jesus. Repentance is an indispensable step in the process of overcoming sluggish faith. Jim teaches about the mysterious biblical character Melchizedek and reminds us that he was both a priest and a king. To be a priest...

In the final week of our series called Origin Story, Pastor Mel walks us through the major moments in Paul's life and ministry. The apostle Paul is broadly considered the most significant contributor to Christianity apart from Jesus himself. The biblical account of Paul begins before his conversion when he is named Saul and is a high-ranking member of the Pharisees. During this stage of his life h...

In week 3 of our series called Origin Story, Pastor Mel examines the life of Hannah - who was the mother of the prophet Samuel. In week 2 we learned how Samuel lived a life of faithfulness, and this week we see that his mother was faithful as well. Hannah struggled with infertility and chose to take her suffering to the Lord. God granted her a son, who she then surrendered back to God by taking a...

Week 2 of our series called Origin Story explores the life of the prophet Samuel. The name Samuel means "heard of God" which is appropriate considering Samuel's position as a prophet. Samuel lived a life of faithfulness which provided stark contrast to King Saul's record of disobedience. The prophet obeyed God in the anointing of Saul as king of Israel, and he continued to obey God when Saul's kin...

In the first message of our series called Origin Story, Mel walks us through the story of King Saul. Mel explains how Saul was everything the people thought would make for a good king. The prophet Samuel told Saul he was the hope for all of Israel. Despite this fantastic start and these royal qualities, Saul disobeyed God and this disobedience undermined his authority and caused him to lose the ki...

6 for 6 is a fun set of mini-sermons preached by a rotation of our pastors here at Summit Church. Each preacher has 6 minutes to deliver his or her sermon and if they are not done when the timer hits 0:00, a buzzer sounds and they must walk off stage. While it was sometimes a frantic speed and not all of our communicators finished, expect to learn about the core values which define us as a church....

Pastor Mel preaches a special message on Pentecost Sunday about the power of the Holy Spirit and how this power enables every life to be made different. At Summit Church, the central focus of all our core values is to see every life made different. Mel explains the history behind what occurred on the day of Pentecost and why it matters for us today. Preaching through Acts 1 & 2, as well as other s...

Pastor Kim Masengale preaches a special Mother's Day message about being made whole. Spiritual healing is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Preaching through John 5:1-15, Kim explains why many of us come up with reasons and excuses for resisting spiritual healing. Being a victim can feel safe because we're no longer responsible for our own shortcomings. At the pool of Bethesda, Jesus healed a m...

In the final message of Paul's letter to Titus, Pastor Mel teaches through chapter three. This chapter is prescriptive for what the Church should do when a person is acting on malevolence. Someone doing bad in this context might be subversive, divisive, or quick to engage in petty arguments over secondary issues. Mel encourages us to do good by explaining how doing good is not the same as not doin...

In this edition of Leadership Night, Mel recounts various situations from his 25 years of leadership experience and teaches us the lessons he's learned. One of the main themes of this lecture is that a career in leadership seldom turns out how you expect it to. A good leader with a lot of experience will have endured incredible amounts of stress, the pressure of stewarding his or her employees' we...

In the second week of our series covering Paul's letter to Titus, Pastor Mel teaches through chapter two which discusses wise living. Wise living entails a positive ambition for godliness, rather than a mere avoidance of sin. This chapter specifically addresses older men, older women, and then later younger men and younger women. Mel talks about the importance of older men exercising self-control...

This sermon was preached live by Pastor Collin McKnight to the congregation at Summit Blairsville. While Collin was preaching on the same text as Pastor Mel for week 1 of our series on Titus, Collin's sermon is entirely distinct from Mel's. In this message you should expect to learn some of the history behind Paul's letter to Titus, as well as what it means to be a bondservant of Christ. Collin fo...

In the first message of our series on Paul's letter to Titus, Pastor Mel preaches an expository sermon on chapter 1. This chapter is all about which virtues to embrace and which vices to avoid as a proper Christian. Paul encouraged Titus to appoint elders who lived a blameless life. The elder's own house must be in order if he can expect to be a shepherd in the house of God. An elder must be faith...

In the final message of our series called Win By Losing, Pastor Mel teaches about the value of being bold about your faith. Jesus said, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels." The key to being bold about your faith is to understand that God has not given us a spirit o...

In part three of our series called Win By Losing, Pastor Mel interviews special guest Sgt. Shilo Harris. Shilo survived an IED blast in 2007 that left major burns on his body. Three of the five soldiers in Shilo's Humvee were killed in the explosion. Throughout the interview Shilo tells a story of resilience and dependence on God as he overcame seemingly impossible odds. So much of life, especiall...

On Leadership Night Mel often presents information on how you might lead others well, but in this episode he teaches us how to lead ourselves. He explains why being a good leader requires that you own your mistakes. He talks a little about how to foster an atmosphere where leaders and employees aren't afraid to admit their mistakes. Being an effective leader also requires that you establish good b...

In the second installment of our series Win By Losing, Pastor Mel walks us through the four things we must lose in order to follow Jesus. Using selected scriptures, Mel argues that being faithful requires us to lose our minds. Romans 12:2 admonishes us not to copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Then we will learn God's will for us, whic...

In the third part of his lecture series on Purpose, Dr. John Stanko teaches us why it's important to face reality when trying to discover your purpose. While we should be courageous and ambitious, it's important to accept honest feedback when others provide it for us. In the pursuit of purpose we should be prepared to embrace change. The apostle Paul experienced radical change when he encountered...

In the first message of our series called Win By Losing, Pastor Mel makes the case for reorganizing what you prioritize as valuable. Jesus said, "If you cling to your life you'll lose it, but if you give up your life for me you will find it." Our world teaches us to make sacrifices in an effort to win, but Mel explains why winning by itself is an improper motivation. Preaching through Philippians...

Special guest Pastor John Nuzzo joins us for an encouraging message called Pick Your Punctuation. John explains how inflection points in our lives can either drop a "period" or a "comma" in our stories. He makes the case that a "period" can be devastating because we allow terrible moments to define us. If we look to Jesus and trust in Him, then we can find power to turn major life events into "com...

In the second sessions of his three part series on Purpose, Dr. John Stanko teaches us how to define our purpose. The first step in defining our purpose is to seek God. Proverbs chapter 2 instructs us to cry out to God for discernment and lift our voices for understanding. Scripture teaches us that discerning the fear of the Lord leads to discovering the knowledge of God. Dr. Stanko also explains...

In the sixth and final message of our series on The Temple, Pastor Mel teaches how to cultivate an overcoming worship. What happens to your faith when trouble comes? Preaching through Revelation chapter 4, Mel explains how a durable faith requires worship, and how this kind of worship relies on a revelation of God. The less you know about God the less you will want to worship, while the more you k...