SummitPA Sermon Audio

In a special edition of Leadership Night, our guest speaker Dr. John Stanko teaches how to identify your purpose. Teaching through Acts 6, John explains how being effective means being full of power to achieve results. He goes on to make the case that in order to be effective you must know your purpose. Dr. Stanko supports his claim by walking us through the personal purpose of several key figures...

In the fifth week of our series called The Temple, Pastor Mel examines seven different Hebrew words which are used in the scripture to describe worship. Working primarily through the Psalms, Mel explains the reasons why we worship the way we do. Raising hands during worship is an expression of surrender to, vulnerability towards, and dependence on God. Being physically expressive in your worship o...

In the fourth week of our series called The Temple, Pastor Mel preaches about the ark of the covenant which was stored in the innermost sanctum of the temple - the holy of holies. The holy of holies was a place only accessible by the Israelite High Priest, and even the High Priest did not enter lightly. Teaching through Leviticus 16, Mel describes these particular parts of the temple and he explai...

In the third week of our series called The Temple, Pastor Todd supplies a teaching on the altar of incense. The altar of incense was the last pass before entering the holiest part of the temple. Todd walks us through the Levitical process of sacrifice and explains what it means for our worship today. He talks about why God emphasized certain placement of the altar when designing the structure of t...

In the second week of our series on The Temple, Pastor Mel teaches all about the symbolic significance of gates and how they translate to your relationship with God. Gates serve a variety of purposes including protection, authority, and control of access. Psalm 100:4 teaches that we should, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name."...

In this edition of Leadership Night, Mel explains the hallmarks of a high-capacity leader. A high-capacity leader is someone who understands the vision. This kind of person advances the vision because they take ownership through their own expectations rather than from expectations set upon them by a manager. A high-capacity performer will draw the best out of his peers and knows how to win in a he...

In the first message of our series called The Temple, Pastor Mel gives a thorough explanation of what the Temple was, its layout, functions, and rules. He explains how the structure of the Temple was used to denote the holiness of God and our restricted access to God before mediation through Jesus Christ. Preaching through Ephesians 2, Mel goes into detail about how the gospel of Jesus Christ reco...

In the final installment of our Jesus Over Everything series, Pastor Jake Schwertfeger from Overland Missions preaches on the sufficiency of Jesus. He presents a thesis that one of the greatest deceptions plaguing the body of Christ today is that we are begging God to receive what Jesus has already freely given and established in us. His message is one of encouragement to embrace what Jesus has al...

In the third message of our series Jesus Over Everything, Pastor Mel explains what it looks like when the Church is in submission to Jesus. When we put Jesus over everything as a church, conflict decreases, health increases, and God's kingdom advances. Mel teaches why the key to healthy relationships is to love sacrificially and resolve conflict biblically. He points out how church health is measu...

In the second message of our series Jesus Over Everything, Pastor Stef preaches a verse-by-verse expository sermon on Colossians 3:1-4. She recalls some of the lessons Mel unpacked from the previous two chapters, and then makes the case for why Jesus should be Lord of our lives. Stef presents a practical dichotomy of what an earthly minded person might say and think over against what a heavenly mi...

"Jesus Over Everything" is our theme as a church for this year. In the first message of our series Jesus Over Everything, Pastor Mel makes the biblical case for the supremacy of Christ. He argues that Jesus is supreme over our lives and over all creation even if we don't accept that He is. Through exposition of Colossians chapters 1 and 2, Mel teaches how Christ is the head of the Church, is the r...

In this episode of Leadership Night, Mel walks us through a handful of important lessons we've learned from one of history's great leaders - Martin Luther King Jr. He talks about the wisdom of taking action even when fear makes inaction seem rather tempting. A good leader is a leader committed to both intellectual and character growth. Effective leadership involves reading and learning on a daily...

Preaching through Matthew 11:28-30, Pastor Gilbert teaches us how we can find the deepest form of rest. Rest for our souls comes from doing God's work and daily presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice for His purposes. Doing God's work involves surrendering yourself to the yoke of Jesus Christ and learning from Him. If we try to arrive at spiritual rest without Jesus we will come up empty and b...

In the most challenging message of this series, Pastor Mel brings a short sermon on Christ as the suffering servant. It's human nature to want to be powerful and even if we don't seek prestige most of us still want the freedom which comes from being in control. Teaching through selected scriptures, Mel explains how the Christian life is about downward mobility rather than upward mobility. We are c...

In the third message of our series "It's a Wonderful Life", Mel discusses the human desire to be seen. Using selected scriptures including the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4, he teaches why it's better to honor God than seek glory for yourself. Mel explains what it means to be a servant of Christ and reminds us that we are a slave to our source. Towards the end of the message, he shows a video o...

In the second part of our series called It's a Wonderful Life, Pastor Mel looks at the worldly perspective on wanting to be rich. Generally, the desire for material wealth stems from either wanting to live a life of leisure or not wanting to worry about money. Mel makes the case that what we're really after is freedom and we try to acquire freedom through wealth. It's very common for people to wor...

In a special edition of Leadership Night, Mel teaches principles he has learned from time spent working on his Jeep. Working through a list of ten points, he explains how these principles apply to leadership in business and in your personal life. The ideas include being careful to invest in critical infrastructure before spending on flashier, more attractive purchases: "lockers before light bars",...

In the opening message of our series It's a Wonderful Life, Pastor Mel investigates the meaning of biblical love. He talks about the problems associated with the culture's fantastical infatuation with being "in love." He explores the self-sacrificial love of called agape, and then he explains why it's a bad idea to follow your heart when it comes to loving others well. Preaching through 1 John 4,...

Pastor Christina tells a personal story explaining the negative consequences of envy. Preaching through James chapter 3, she teaches us what we should do if we discover that jealousy is a problem in our own lives. Christina makes it clear jealousy is not an attractive vice, and that it is the product of earthly, unspiritual, and demonic tendencies. She contrasts these attributes with godly wisdom...

In the third and final message of our series on Habakkuk, Pastor Mel walks us through the prophet's song detailing the wrath of God. Habakkuk's song inspires fear, awe, and confidence in the glorious power of God. Mel explains the Hebrew term "selah" to indicate a moment of pause and praise. So we get to see the moments when the prophet reflected on the movement of God which adds another dimension...

The second message in our series on Habakkuk brings us exposition of chapter 2. Pastor Mel teaches that it is through faith that a righteous person has life. He draws a distinction between righteousness and pride, citing that righteousness results in firmness, steadiness, fidelity, and steadfastness. Habakkuk cried out to God wondering how long before He will help. The prophet also faces frustrati...

Pastor Mel begins our series on the book of Habakkuk, who was one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament. This oft-neglected book teaches us invaluable wisdom concerning how we should receive God's correction. Habakkuk's prayer presented in the first chapter comes in the form of a complaint. Mel explains to us why it's okay to complain to God when facing difficulties in life. Complaining to Go...

Mel gives strategies for how to lead your team well through an internal crisis. It's important that you gather as much information as possible during the discovery phase. Once you know what's happening, proper communication throughout your team is critical. Bad behaviors like gossip and dishonesty should be struck down as soon as you notice them. One of the most challenging aspects of navigating a...

Our guest speaker and keynote from She Is Transformed, Andi Andrew, preaches a message about preparation. Teaching through the parable of the ten virgins, Andi explains why we should be prepared for anything. She argues that the unwise walk in presumption while the wise walk in anticipation. Andi also teaches that we should not live on borrowed oil, meaning we should look to Jesus as our source ra...

Pastor Mel finishes our series on 2nd Peter with exposition of chapter 3. This chapter takes a look at end-times prophecy and discusses how we should act as Christians who are expecting the return of Jesus. There will be scoffers who mock the truth of Christ's return and there will be hypocrites who claim themselves to be the saviors of mankind. A proper Christian should understand that God exists...