Monday, May 18, 2009

New Website!

Greetings SLCC Family,

We hope you are doing well and enjoying the beautiful spring weather! Well, we have some great news to share with you today. The official Summit Lake Community Church website is finally up! The address is www.summitlakecommunitychurch.org.

Due to the sacrificial service and generous donations of some of our members we've been able to create and publish this beautiful site for our church and for the glory of God. Going forward, this will be our main online resource, so please save it to you "favorites" and begin referring to it on a regular basis for church announcements, sermon downloads, etc.

What about our current blog site? We will maintain the blog for a time for written entries, but eventually we'll be phasing it out and utilizing only our website, which has its own blog feature in addition to everything else we need.

Keep in mind that the website is still a work in progress, so changes and enhancements will continue to be made. If you have any suggestions, church pictures, or other helpful contributions, please feel free to pass them along.

Blessings,

Pastor Jeff

Monday, April 27, 2009

Clarifying Thoughts about Yesterday's Sermon

Greetings SLCC Family,

I trust you are rejoicing in the Lord today and enjoying the beautiful foretaste of summer sunshine!

As usual, yesterday’s sermon has been posted below for the sake of those who could not be with us and for those who would like to give it another listen. Having reflected on the message myself, I realized that there was something I said that was slightly controversial and required more clarification than I gave in the sermon, so I’d like to blog a few thoughts to hopefully clear things up. Here goes…

As I was expounding upon the misery and enslavement of a self focus, I mentioned the rising statistics related to “depression” in our culture. I went on to say that many have been prescribed anti-depressant medication in order to cope with such struggles, when in fact the core of the issue is often not chemical, but rather spiritual and related to a self-focus. Realizing that what I said could be construed as an across-the-board prohibition of these types of medications, I quickly added that I do not deny the fact that there is a place for them in certain situations.

As I’ve given this more thought, I’ve realized that even with my qualifying statement, this part of the message still could have come across overly simplistic and somewhat insensitive to those in our flock who are taking these types of medications. Therefore, I wanted to again stress that while I stand by the basic principle I shared yesterday regarding depression and its link to a self-focus, I do realize that depression is a very complex matter and can be related to legitimate biological problems. Consequently, it often requires medical attention in addition to pastoral shepherding.

Regarding the pastoral shepherding side—which is my department—I wanted to invite any of you who would like further clarification to please contact me. I would welcome the opportunity to explain more fully my position and to come alongside to help you with the depression you face in your life. It is a very common problem, and the Lord has a great deal to say about it in His Word. As you know, He is gracious and kind and is glad to enter into all of our struggles in order that we might find strength to overcome them for His glory.

Psalm 103:13-14 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.

Serving our King,

Pastor Jeff

The Truth Will Set You Free - John 8:31-36