The Church on the Hill. Summerland Baptist Church.

In our culture we use the word love in a lot of different ways. On a regular basis you can hear phrases like: I love pizza; don’t you love puppies? How can you not love babies? I love my spouse. The word love is used to express a strong desire, a deep longing, a warm affinity, a satisfying pleasure, and a lifelong commitment. So when we hear that God loves us it becomes one more expression that could have a lot of potential meanings. What exactly does it mean when the Bible tells me that God loves me?

Hear more this coming Sunday….

There will be two Christmas Eve Services held on Dec 24.

The first Service will be a family oriented service at 4:00pm

The second service will be more of a traditional service held at 6:30pm

Christmas can transform us.

All of the classic tales of Christmas express this truth in one form or another. Once the Grinch understood the truth of Christmas his heart grew three times in size and he sang and served with joy. Charlie Brown lost his despondency when he found the meaning of Christmas and he joined his friends and sang with joy. Even Rudolph lost his sense of aloneness and he became part of a family where he served with joy. I could go on but I think we get the point: Christmas is all about transformation and when we experience that truth-joy grows in our hearts…..

Hear more this coming Sunday.

Peace; quiet; tranquility; harmony…. the qualities and experiences that many of us feel are missing from our lives. Accordingly, many people go looking for them, or at least a close facsimile. Many Canadians drink alcohol or take drugs everyday to give them a temporary feeling of peace. Others cocoon from the world and avoid people in an attempt to have a few hours of personal peace.  The possibilities are almost limitless. How about you? How do you try to find peace in your life? What things do you do in an attempt to know peace?

Hear more this sunday

Jesus came.
He didn’t have to. No one forced him into time and space. He was not some specially created angelic visitor with a short shelf life. He was the son of God, fully one with the Father, existing from before the dawn of time, there at the beginning of creation. No one commanded that he empty himself of his oneness with the Trinity to somehow fit into human flesh. He came knowing that his life would be cut short. He knew before he stepped into time and space and indwelt a single cell inside of a virgin that he would live and die.
He came anyway. He came because there was no other way to transform the future of the planet. He came to unleash the power of transformation inside of people. He knew we needed to morph from darkness to light, from lost to found, from hopeless to hopeful. He knew that this was the best way to allow us to know the peace, hope, joy and love of God the Father and allow these gifts of grace to transform us. Jesus came to live and die for the glory of God and because he did, people have been transformed ever since.
This Christmas season, we want to continue our morph into the heart of his advent. To recognize afresh the difference that hope, peace, joy and love can really make in our lives. To prayerfully experience the transformational power of Christmas in new ways this year. Do you need hope? Are you seeking peace? Hungering for real joy? Searching for true love? It is here. At the heart of the greatest story ever told. Are you willing to let its grace touch and transform your life? You can, if you prayerfully engage the truth of the one who came to make it possible. You can be transformed this Christmas, if you recognize and accept the grace of the one who came to change your life

Nov 27  Transformed to Hope – Are we hope-full?

Dec 4   Transformed by Peace – Do you know his peace?

Dec 11  Transformed for Joy – Is there joy in your journey?

Dec 18 Transformed to Love – Do you know a love that doesn’t quit?

Dec 25 Transformed by his Gift – Have you got the gift?