Summit Life with J.D. Greear

For many people in the world, believing in God may not necessarily be a far reach. But believing in Jesus? Furthermore, believing that it was necessary for Jesus to die in order for us to receive forgiveness of sins? That, they would say, is a step too far. In this week’s message from  Exodus 11–13 , Pastor J.D. takes us through the story of the Passover, showing us the mercy of God for the...

Our obedience to God doesn’t necessarily guarantee that things in our life won’t go wrong, or that we won’t fail. And yet, that’s a hard pill to swallow—if we’re obeying God, surely everything will fall into place, right? In this week’s message from  Exodus 4–6 , Pastor J.D. shows us how Moses faced this very struggle in his first confrontation with Pharaoh. Ult...

When we are overwhelmed by a particular challenge or even just by life itself, feelings of insecurity can threaten to take over. In today’s message from Exodus 3 and 4, Pastor J.D. walks us through Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. Though Moses felt completely unprepared for the assignment in front of him, God provided reassurance that was rooted in his unchanging nature. This r...

Rescue. Salvation. Deliverance. These words characterize the story of the book of Exodus, as God frees his people from slavery in Egypt in an amazing display of power and might. As we begin a new series through the first half of Exodus, Pastor J.D. shows us from the first two chapters what we can learn about God’s work of salvation on a broad scale, as well as in our individual lives. And of...

In this message from Genesis 32, Pastor J.D. tells the story of Jacob, a man who began his life as a deceiver and ended his life with a limp—but who, right in the middle, wrestled with God and received an unimaginable blessing. Jacob provides a model for all of us who have ever waited on God to answer us, unsure if he hears, he cares, or he will ever act. Through Jacob, we learn that many of the b...

Jesus said we should pray like children. Children don’t think about how they approach, whether they are using the right words, or whether their parents are pleased with them. They just ask. Astoundingly, that’s the beginning of learning to pray.

Hope has a name, and his name is JESUS. For all that you aren’t, for all that you need, for all that you fear, for all that you crave, for literally all that you ever cannot be, he is the great I AM.

The Savior that was promised hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth was the Messiah an army under siege needed … not because they needed to be delivered from their enemies but because they needed to be delivered from their sin. Pastor J.D. continues today in Isaiah 7 to show us how to approach the Wonderful Counselor, who knows our sin but instead of condemnation offers us the righteou...

The promise of a Savior that wouldn’t arrive for 700 years might not have been a great comfort to the army that received the prophecy, but God knew what they needed, and what we need today, is a Messiah who would save us from our sin. Today, Pastor J.D. is unpacking the promise of Isaiah 9 from the series “Hope Has a Name” and showing us how we should approach the Wonderful Counselor, who brings l...

Have you ever been in a place of immense darkness, literal or otherwise? If so, then you know how incredibly powerful it is when you see the first rays of light beginning to break through. In this week’s message from Isaiah 9, the last in our Christmas series, Pastor J.D. shows us how Jesus is the light that the long-ago prophet spoke about. Even when darkness threatens to overwhelm this wea...

While Christmas has inspired the writing of many songs throughout the centuries, one song that is often overlooked is a biblical one—namely, that of Zechariah, whose words were inspired by the birth of John the Baptist. It talks about three ordinary objects and how they can help us better apprehend the meaning of Christmas. In this message from Luke 1, Pastor J.D. walks through Zechariah’s s...

Though the first few chapters of Acts are filled with baptisms and miracles, the pivotal point of the book—the stoning of Stephen—shows how God uses ordinary believers to display his power and accomplish his mission amidst persecution. In today’s message from Acts 7 and 8, Pastor J.D. encourages us to consider how God might be calling us to advance the mission of the gospel. It won’t l...

As we finish our “In Step” series through the Gospel of Luke, 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 12 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...

As we continue our “In Step” series through the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. takes us along the road to the cross, where we will meet a handful of different people—each of whom has a different response to Jesus’ sacrifice. Luke doesn’t just record their stories because these people were there; he records their stories because in them, we see ourselves. Their stories are our stories. They prompt the...

As we continue our “In Step” series through the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. preaches about the most famous parable Jesus ever told—the story of the Prodigal Son. There’s a reason this parable is so popular: In it we see the biography of all of human history, the story of every single one of us. And we see a picture of God’s extravagant love that is more astounding and more surprising than anything...

As we continue our “In Step” series through the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. preaches about the most famous parable Jesus ever told—the story of the Prodigal Son. There’s a reason this parable is so popular: In it we see the biography of all of human history, the story of every single one of us. And we see a picture of God’s extravagant love that is more astounding and more surprising than anything...

As we continue our “In Step” series through the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. invites us to view Jesus the way his original disciples did: with overwhelming awe at his radical love. Because when we see the radical love of Jesus for us, we will respond with radical surrender to him. Our lives—and the world—will never be the same.

As we continue our “In Step” series through the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. teaches about a defining feature of those who follow Jesus: They care for the vulnerable, the weak, the helpless, and the forgotten. Followers of Jesus care for the vulnerable and the helpless because, before God, we are vulnerable and helpless, too.

As we continue our “In Step” series through the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. talks about the cosmic struggle between God and Satan, a struggle that bears on our lives every day. We’ll see that apart from God’s power, even the best attempts to change are ultimately doomed to fail. But with God’s power, not only can we survive, but we can actually plunder the Enemy.

As we continue our “In Step” series through the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. teaches about a paralytic man and his friends, all of whom were desperate to get close to Jesus. But as we’ll see in this story, as eager as they were to get to Jesus, Jesus was even more eager to extend forgiveness to them. And to us.

In today’s episode, Pastor J.D. tells the story of Anna and Simeon, two of the first people to meet Jesus. Unlike so many others who missed Jesus, Anna and Simeon were able to recognize the unexpected majesty of the newborn King. Their story raises the question for us: Will we see Jesus?

As we continue our “In Step” series through the book of Luke, Pastor J.D. teaches about the scandal of grace. Grace offends most people, particularly religious people. We are hard-wired to think that our worth is a result of what we do. Do good things, get good outcomes. Do bad things, get bad outcomes. Grace throws this whole system aside. And thank God it does, because without the scandal of gra...

As we continue our “In Step” series through the book of Luke, Pastor J.D. teaches what it means to “live ready” for Jesus’ return. Are we awake to the task Jesus left for his church, or are we asleep at the wheel? Are we confident Jesus will return soon, or do we live without urgency? As followers of Jesus, we should live in such a way that only makes sense if we believe Jesus could be back at any...

As we continue our “In Step” series through the book of Luke, Pastor J.D. preaches about a sickness that most of us have, but few of us realize—the sickness of greed. Part of what makes greed so deadly is our inherent blindness to it. Jesus simply assumes that greed is a problem for all of us! But he also offers us a radical, gospel-shaped antidote.

As we begin our “In Step” series through the book of Luke, Pastor J.D. dives into one of Jesus’ most recognized parables. It’s a story about two men who built identical houses—with tragically different results. The only difference? Their foundation. In these times of uncertainty, as our very lives seem shaken, it’s a perfect time to make sure our lives are built on a foundation that will endure.