Summit Life with J.D. Greear

Remember how frustrating it was when you were in school and the teacher was describing a big concept, but you couldn’t make heads or tails of it? Nobody likes when they can’t understand something. But as he kicks off our series called Not God Enough , Pastor J.D. shows us there are some things about God that we, as humans, aren’t capable of wrapping our minds around. And that’s a good thing!

At Easter, we consider the cross and the resurrection, of course—but this consideration ultimately demands a response from us. It demands that a choice be made. In this Easter message, Pastor J.D. explains how Luke 23 is the dividing line of history, and the most important decision we will ever make is whether we are on the side of Jesus or not. For those who choose to put their faith in Jesus, we...

Pastor J.D. walks us down the path to Jesus’ tomb. We’ve all walked that lonely path in one form or another over the past 23 months, wondering where life is headed. The bad news? It’s headed to the grave. The good news? It doesn’t have to stay there. Because of the resurrection, the path to true life doesn’t end at the grave. It begins there.

There is no transcript for today’s episode!  When it comes to end-time prophecy, there are some Christians who look at their view as absolutely essential doctrine and spend tons of time trying to map out the last days with charts and graphs. Others see that as a waste of time and prefer to focus on the here and now. So which approach is correct? Pastor J.D. answers that question today as he...

When many of us picture Satan, we think of a cartoon character with little red horns and a pitchfork. But is he really just a figment of Hollywood’s imagination, or is Satan alive and active in our world today? Pastor J.D. dives into Scripture to answer that question as he continues our series, “The Difficult Sayings of Jesus.”

A lot of people use Matthew 7:1 to argue that we should never tell anyone that they’re sinning. In fact, if you’ve ever gotten into a debate about morality or challenged a friend about a sin they were dealing with, there’s a good chance they brought up this verse. But is that what Jesus really meant when he told us not to judge others?

For the most part, everyone likes the Jesus of Christmas, who brings peace on earth and goodwill to men. And they usually like the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount, who urges us to love one another and turn the other cheek. But uncontroversial people don’t get crucified. On this edition of Summit Life , we’re unpacking more of the Difficult Sayings of Jesus . 

Have you ever felt abandoned? Maybe a spouse left you, a friend betrayed you, or a parent wasn’t there when you needed them most. Pastor J.D. reminds us of the incredible truth that Jesus knows exactly how that feels. It’s part of our series called The Difficult Sayings of Jesus.

There is no transcript for today’s sermon. As Pastor J.D. begins a series called The Difficult Sayings of Jesus, we’re putting aside our assumptions and taking a fresh look at who Jesus really is. A lot of us picture Jesus in a flowing white robe with a purple sash, carrying around a lamb on his shoulder, and smiling sadly. But as we’ll discover, the true Jesus is so much more exciting! 

One of the most painful things to hear from a loved one is the phrase, “I don’t trust you.” It’s especially painful when you didn’t do anything to break their trust! Yet many of us treat God that way. Pastor J.D. explains that when we doubt our own salvation, we’re really doubting God! And not only does it cause us to be anxious, it actually damages our relationship with him. So on this program, w...

Please note that for today’s podcast there is no transcript.  Most people get uncomfortable when the pastor starts talking about money. Some of us come from churches where wealth is looked down on as a sign of worldliness or greed. Perhaps we feel a measure of guilt for having a nice house and a robust savings account. Others may have been burned by prosperity teachers who used false promise...

Many believers think ministry is a job for pastors and missionaries, not the work of “ordinary Christians.” But the truth is that there’s no such thing as an “ordinary Christian”! As you’re transformed by the gospel, you’re empowered to do amazing things for God. And whether he’s called you to go across the ocean or across the street, every one of us is on mission. 

If you only have one tomatillo plant in a garden, it’ll never produce any fruit because it needs other plants to cross-pollinate. And Christians are kind of like tomatillo plants in that way. Healthy believers will produce the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But first, you have to be rooted in Christ, and second, you...

We often refer to the first four books of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—as “the gospels.” But Pastor J.D. reveals that the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is all one story: the story of Jesus Christ. It’s all the gospel! And as we go deeper into it, savoring the truths on every page of scripture, that’s when God transforms our lives.  

On this edition of Summit Life , we’re beginning a new series that gets to the very heart of this ministry. It’s simply titled, Gospel . If you’ve been a believer for a while, you might think you’ve moved beyond the gospel. But Pastor J.D. argues that we never outgrow the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In fact, getting deeper into the gospel is the key to the entire Christian life.

In this message from  Romans 15 , Pastor J.D. challenges us to lift our eyes to the ends of the earth. When Jesus left his disciples, he promised that his gospel would go to every nation, tribe, language, and tongue. That task isn’t finished. And God is calling many of us to follow him to the most unreached parts of the planet. Is it difficult? Yes. Is it dangerous? Yes. Is he worthy of it? Absolu...

Pastor J.D. takes us on a march throughout church history. The journey of a church doesn’t begin when it’s planted. It began 2,000 years ago, with 11 frightened disciples on a hillside outside of Jerusalem.

If there’s one myth surrounding marriage that has been perpetuated by our society, it’s that marriage is what completes you. Of course, Jesus refuted this idea over and over in his teachings. In this message from Mark and Luke, Pastor J.D. shows us the importance and implications of considering the church as family. When we take this seriously, we will realize that faithfully investing...

Throughout history, there have been countless songs, poems, and books written about love. Yet, we know that turning to pop culture for advice on finding love is not the wisest course of action. In this message, Pastor J.D. reminds us from Song of Solomon 1 and 2 of some foundational truths about love that are helpful in navigating singleness, dating, and marriage. In the end, these earthly forms o...

As we close our journey through the book of Exodus, we come to a seemingly anticlimactic ending—the construction of the tabernacle. You might think it strange, after all of the crescendos in the book, to end here. The burning bush, the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, Moses meeting God on the mountain … and this is the happy ending? But as Pastor J.D. shows us, the tabernacle functioned as...

We tend to read the story of the Israelites making the golden calf and ask, “How could they?” But we fail to realize that what the Israelites were guilty of, idolatry, is the very thing that is behind all of our other sins. Today, Pastor J.D. shows us not only the danger of idolatry in our lives, but how we can escape it. Ultimately, what is bad news for those who reject Christ is actually good ne...

In a secular, post-Christian society like the one we find ourselves living in, the Ten Commandments aren’t exactly popular. Cries to “live your own truth” threaten to drown out the absolute truth of God’s law. But how can we expect to love each other well without parameters for what that actually looks like in practice? Today, Pastor J.D. shows us how the Ten Commandments a...

We all have an important role to play in the body of believers. This truth, though seemingly ingrained in us now, was something that God had to intentionally teach the Israelites. Today, Pastor J.D. takes us through three foundational lessons that God taught the Israelites about life in the redeemed community. In showing them that everything wasn’t meant to be centered around one leader, the...

You aren’t likely to find many people who genuinely enjoy tests, but they certainly have a way of revealing where we are lacking in knowledge. Today, Pastor J.D. explains three tests that God walked the Israelites through after delivering them through the Red Sea. These tests, along with the lessons learned from them, were so fundamental that New Testament writers would later refer to them a...

The parting of the Red Sea was not only an epic moment in Israel’s history, but an event that would become the most frequent image of salvation in the Old Testament. Pastor J.D. shows us how this defining moment became a marker for the Israelites to look back on when their faith faltered. In the same way, when we are tempted to doubt God’s goodness in our lives, we can remember his fai...