Peek inside God’s recruiting office. You won’t find Fortune 500 CEOs or Olympic champions waiting for their assignments. Instead, God often chooses the most unlikely people for His biggest missions. It’s like He’s running a “Biggest Loser” contest, but the prize isn’t a slimmer waistline—it’s a chance to turn the world upside down. “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27 ESV)

1. Embrace Your Weakness. The first step on this journey is acknowledging you’re not all that. It may sound harsh, but it’s freeing. God doesn’t need perfection; He’s looking for persistence. When He calls, He’s not evaluating your qualifications—He’s checking your willingness. If you can say, “I’m not that great, and that’s okay,” you’re ready for God to work through you. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

2. Be Flexible with God’s Plan. Your well-mapped-out life? God might fold it into something completely different. That five-year plan? In His hands, it could become a thrilling adventure. The key is to hold your plans loosely and your faith tightly. When God says “jump,” don’t ask “how high?”—ask “where to?” “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9 ESV)

3. Focus on Transformation, Not Just Tasks. God doesn’t just call you to do something; He’s shaping you into someone. It’s not about the destination—it’s about who you become along the way. The challenges and detours you face are where real growth happens. “We are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV)

4. Recognize Your Impact on Others. This journey isn’t just about you. Every step you take is connected to others who need what you’re learning and becoming. That unexpected skill or connection could be exactly what someone else has been praying for. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4 ESV)

5. Trust God with the Journey. When God rewrites your script, don’t grip the wheel in fear. Trust Him and enjoy the ride. Your detour could be someone else’s answered prayer. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

Friend, are you ready to let God rewrite your script? Buckle up—this ride is going to be wild!

Silence. It can be deafening, can’t it? For Zechariah, silence became more than just a moment—it became his teacher.

Picture this: an aging priest, faithfully serving in the temple, suddenly face-to-face with an angel. Gabriel’s words echo in the holy space: “Your prayer has been heard” (Luke 1:13, ESV). But instead of joy, doubt creeps in. “How shall I know this?” Zechariah asks, his voice tinged with disbelief (Luke 1:18).

And then… silence. Not just any silence, but a God-ordained quiet that would last for months.

In that silence, something beautiful happened. Zechariah’s doubt transformed into deep faith. His questions melted into quiet acceptance. As he watched Elizabeth’s belly grow, his heart swelled with anticipation.

Isn’t that just like our God? He uses our moments of doubt to cultivate deeper trust. Our questions become the soil where faith takes root and flourishes.

When John was born, Zechariah’s tongue was loosed, and oh, what a symphony burst forth! “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:68). From silence to song, from doubt to declaration.

Friend, your story might echo Zechariah’s. Perhaps you’re in a season of silence, wrestling with unanswered prayers or unexpected turns. Take heart. In these quiet moments, God is at work, shaping your faith, preparing you for a grand symphony of praise.

Remember, even John—the one who would “make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1:17)—grew up in the quiet. “And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel” (Luke 1:80).

Friend, remember, your time of preparation, your season of silence, is not wasted. It’s the prelude to a powerful testimony. So, lean in, listen closely, and let God turn your doubts into declarations of His devotion.

At every congregation of which I have been a member, there have always been special people.  When we moved to Newnan, Billy was there.  He was older than me by several years.  He always wore a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie; white socks and polished black shoes.  His eyesight was limited and he walked very carefully and deliberately.  Regardless of how much hair tonic his parents used, his hair always looked like an explosion of a mattress factory.  He would greet every one at the door or the water fountain.  He called my Grandfather Brother Reagan, my Father Brother George and me, well I was little George Emory, even though I was the same size as him.  Billy knew everyone by name and no one avoided or ignored him.  Billy did what he could do with out reserve.   He understood what Sunday worship service was about.  He did his part to make everyone he met to feel welcome and that he was glad they were there.

2 Samuel 22 records “David’s Song of Praise” after the Lord rescued him from all of his enemies and from Saul.  Verse 33 states, “God is my strong fortress, and he makes my way perfect.”  God was Billy’s strong refuge.  He gave him strength to do what he could.  If you missed Sunday worship, Billy would remember and say that he missed you.

Last Sunday as Jeff ended his prayer with an Amen, Joey added his Amen.  I smiled, not because it was funny, but rather Joey was worshiping with us.  He was involved, doing the best he could.  His enthusiastic greetings make us feel wanted.  He is our special person and without him, we would be incomplete. 

Paul wrote Timothy these words:

“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15

He also told the Corinthians “…to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best …”.  Sometimes it is the smallest of actions that produce the best results.  “I am glad you are here”, “I missed you”, “AMEN”.

If you are a greeter, be a greeter, if you are a behind the scenes worker, do it fully.  If “Amen” is all you can do, then say it.

In the Ellis household, I have been described as Dave Ramsay’s definition of the “nerd.” I enjoy creating our budgets, crunching the numbers, and looking at our retirement savings. Once I’m done “playing accountant”, Carrie and I will then hold a budget meeting to review this information. This meeting gives us a chance to see where we stand financially for the month with bills, expenses, retirement, and any extra money. One day, I was looking at our 401Ks and looking at the trends of each; they go up and go down. It got me thinking, how much time and effort goes into my faith? 

We don’t receive a monthly statement from our heavenly father on how well we are doing as Christians. But it shouldn’t be too hard to reflect and pray to see where we stand with our faith. Many things happen in our lives that cause us to question our relationship with God. There is a comparison between life and the stock market. One day your investment could have a gain and then the next it could have a loss. The same can be said of our faith. This uncertainty can lead us to question our faith. Often financial advisors will say “stay the course”. The only advisor for our faith should be our Lord and Savior. 

When people see their investments take a nosedive, they panic. This leads many to rethink their investment strategy.  When we are down, we tend to lean into our faith more. But when we are on the upswing and life is going our way we must not forget about God and our relationship with Him. We should always be actively investing in our faith through spiritual disciplines, as it will benefit us far longer than our time on earth. 

God will always be with us, through the good and bad times. Investing in retirements is easy, shouldn’t we spend the same amount of time and effort in faith?

Matthew 28:20 ESV

²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Isaiah 54:10 ESV

¹⁰ For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

In the “love story” of the book of Hosea, the prophet repeatedly
uses illustrations about fields and crops to implore the Israelite
nation to return to God and to teach them how to live their lives.

Hosea 10:12” Sow righteousness for yourselves,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;

for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.”

Envision a plowed field, “earth” that is no longer hard and full of rocks. The field has been changed, carefully prepared and manicured, and is ready to receive “seeds” for “growth”.

Now consider your life, what “rocks” need to be “plowed” from the stony “ground” of your heart that makes it so hard and unable to grow?

Hosea is conveying to Israel to break up the hardness of their hearts as a plow breaks up unplowed ground since their hearts, like ours at times, had become hardened to God’s will as they desired to worship worthless idols rather than the one true God.

Unless their hearts were broken and cleaned up, the good “seeds” of God’s commands could not take root.

Likewise, we too must remove from our own hearts our secret sin and worthless “idols” if we expect God’s Word to take root, grow, and produce change in our lives.

You can break up the unplowed ground of your heart by acknowledging your sins and seeking the Lord. Ask for His forgiveness. Reaffirm your commitment to your faith and you will receive showers of His righteousness on you.

I am currently in Ecuador, standing on the equator, feeling a strange sense of balance. It’s as if all the world’s extremes are pulled together at this single point. North and South united, day and night perfectly balanced. This unique spot reminds me of another place where extremes converged – a tiny town called Bethlehem.

Along the equator of God’s plan, He often marks His greatest wonders at the most unlikely points. Bethlehem – its name means “House of Bread.” How fitting that the Bread of Life would draw His first breath here.

Micah’s ancient words echo through the centuries: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2). Too little, yet chosen for greatness. Isn’t that just like our God?

In a world torn by violence, hatred, and division, God chose a humble stable to introduce His plan for peace. While nations plotted against each other and kings feared assassination, the Prince of Peace entered the world as a vulnerable child. No armies to protect Him, just the loving arms of Mary and Joseph.

Why such humble beginnings for the Savior of the world?

Perhaps it’s God’s way of redefining power. You see, in God’s economy, true strength is found in vulnerability, and ultimate victory comes through sacrifice.

Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). From heaven’s throne to earth’s straw – what a journey!

Like the equator bringing together global extremes, Bethlehem united the divine and human, love and hate, peace and conflict. It’s where God’s plan for reconciliation met human hostility, where heavenly love confronted earthly hatred.

Friend, as you witness the extremes of human behavior – from acts of great kindness to unspeakable violence – remember Bethlehem. Let it challenge you to be an instrument of peace in a world of conflict.

Do you know what this old white house is a picture of? 

If you do, then you are a lifetime member of the Summit church of Christ!  If you don’t,  this  old white house was our first meeting place, standing on over eleven acres here on US 27 and home to our current church building. 

Today’s sermon will help us remember how Summit got started, but more importantly how our God works through people to accomplish his goals! 

Summit was started by the dream of Harold and Louise Ginter who live in Grants Lick and drove by this place every Sunday and Wednesday to the Central church of Christ in Price Hill.  Harold asked the Elders of Central to start a church in Northern KY. Through a lot of hard work, prayer, vision and the providence of our God, Summit was started. 

Who will be the next visionary?  Is it someone in the congregation today? Is it one of our young people?  Who sees a deep need for Summit to grow?  Who will put Summit in the 21^st Century in technology?   We have Facebook, Twitter, and House to House.  How can we do more with our website!  Is God leading you to share your ideas and talents? 

Brothers and Sisters, Jesus chose twelve common people who left everything to follow Him, and they changed the world!  We are truly blessed at Summit with Christian followers who are very, very talented.  Who will be the next visionary? 

Isaiah 6:8: I heard the voice of the Lord saying,” Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  Then he said, “Here I am, send me!” 

Are you that person? 

Without a proper focus on glorifying God, the church becomes many things she is not supposed to be. She turns into a reflection or shadow of his body, which he intends to radiate with the brilliance of God’s glory (Rev 21:9–11).

 If we turn our gaze away from God’s purposes, his church may become a social club. People will meet and socialize and eat and drink and laugh. But she will lack the necessary spirituality, the unifying belief and purpose that characterizes his assembly. This social club may be tempted to become too exclusive in that her members only want people like themselves to be a part of it and therefore would outreach to those like themselves. Or she may lower standards to be more inclusive and ‘keep the peace’ when she should discipline.

If the Lord’s assembly does not focus on magnifying the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, she could become just another non-profit organization. She may have good works like feeding the poor and helping the community and advocating for justice, but she will have lost the initial purpose of praise and worship of the Creator. People will not be able to tell a difference between the ‘church’ and a state-run social organization except in very superficial ways.

If the body of Christ loses its concentration on worshiping and extolling God above all things, she will devolve into a moralistic self-help group. She will be a sort of Alcoholics Anonymous, only probably less well-run and with less accountability.  We will try to hold each other to moral standards, we will read the Bible to find wisdom and precepts to live by. We will share insights into our study of God’s word and how to live out our daily lives. But without a proper focus on worshiping God, we will become so self-focused and selfish we will not be filled with the love of God. We will have more of a faith in a process than we will have in the providential workings of our King.

Summit must never lose focus on the essentials. We can easily get caught up in new programs, new ways to help others out in their needs, the fellowship opportunities, and how we can progress in more Christ-like behavior. But these are all secondary things to the main purpose to which we are called as Christians—even as human beings. We must adore our Creator. We must long for him and wish to be united with him. We must recognize his beauty and fall before him and worship him to the point where we cannot help but radiate this love and adoration in our every breath. Love of God comes before all.

In the grand garden of God’s design, a rare and beautiful flower named Esther bloomed. Her petals gleamed with outward beauty, while her roots, nurtured by her faithful uncle Mordecai, grew deep in the soil of faith and wisdom. As the Scriptures tell us, “Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her” (Esther 2:15, ESV), yet her true beauty lay in her inner character, reflecting the truth that “charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30, ESV).

This exquisite blossom, transplanted from the humble plot of her people to the opulent royal greenhouse, faced the harsh winds of adversity. When a poisonous plot threatened to wither her entire nation, Esther stood at the crossroads of destiny. Fear whispered like a chilling breeze, urging silence, but faith roared like a mighty storm, echoing Mordecai’s words: “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, ESV)

With courage watered by prayer and community, Esther blossomed into action, declaring, “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16, ESV). Her brave stand bore fruit that saved a nation, proving that true beauty lies in courage and faith.

We, too, are planted in God’s garden, each with unique beauty and purpose. As Paul reminds us, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV).

Friend, you may not wear a crown of gold, but you are crowned with God’s purpose. Your home, workplace, and community are the soil where God has planted you. Will you, like Esther, allow your
inner beauty to shine in courage and faith when it matters most?