Summit Life with J.D. Greear

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 grace, none of us would have any hope.

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 moment.

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.

Faith often takes different shapes and forms throughout your life. Sometimes it means believing God for a miracle, while at other times it looks like trusting that God is good even when the miracle doesn’t come. In this message, the finale of our Hebrews 11 series, Pastor J.D. encourages us with the truth that no matter where we find ourselves, our faith can be used to glorify God and point others to the gospel. What might God do through us as we continue the legacy of these great men and women of faith?

The beauty of faith is often found in its simplicity. You don’t have to possess a wealth of theological knowledge to be captivated by the truth of the gospel. Maybe, like Rahab, you’ve simply heard what the Lord has done and you believe. In this week’s message from Hebrews 11, Pastor J.D. explains how the faith of a Gentile prostitute changed the course of history and left an enduring legacy. In the same way, one simple act of faith on our part has the potential to make a profound, eternal difference in the lives of those around us.

It’s tempting at times to read the Bible through a human-centric lens, as though we are the main character in each narrative. But in so doing, we’re in danger of missing the larger point of stories like Joshua and the city of Jericho. In this week’s message from Hebrews 11, Pastor J.D. shows us how this key moment in Joshua’s life holds a valuable lesson for us: Rather than orienting our lives around trying to get God “on our side,” we ought to be asking what God wants to do and how we can join him in it.

There is something in each of us that cries out for acceptance, that longs for blessing. And while the culture around us strives for this acceptance to the point of exhaustion, the gospel says that God’s acceptance of us is strictly a gift of grace that can’t be earned. In this week’s message from Hebrews 11, Pastor J.D. shows us how this truth came to life for Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Though circumstances might have pointed to the contrary, God’s faithfulness was always at work, even in the midst of dark days.

What Abraham faced in his final test from God was incomprehensible, and yet he knew that God would remain faithful no matter the outcome. How was Abraham able to display such trust when met with the thought of sacrificing his son? In this week’s message from Hebrews 11, Pastor J.D. explains how ultimately, this story is not about Abraham’s obedience, but about God’s commitment to his people. Whatever the nature of our trials in this life, we can take comfort in knowing that the God we place our faith in is the one who always keeps his promises.  

A man often regarded as the “father of faith,” Abraham was faced with numerous tests throughout his life. Called by God to an unknown land, Abraham had to decide if obeying God was worth leaving everything that was familiar and comfortable. In this week’s message from Hebrews 11, Pastor J.D. invites us to consider what made Abraham regard what he was gaining as having far greater value than what he was leaving behind. What does it mean to truly follow God in faith? It means, like Abraham, taking steps of obedience even when we don’t know exactly where God is leading.

Though widely known, the story of Noah and the ark is one that tends to be misinterpreted by many in today’s society. Far from being a tame bedtime story, it gives us a glimpse of the response of a holy God to the depravity of sin. In this week’s message from Hebrews 11, Pastor J.D. explains how Noah’s faith led him to act on God’s command, without fear of what the surrounding community might think. Likewise, we are called to display the kind of faith that acts according to God’s Word, out of reverence for him, and calls others to do the same.

Who are you, really? In a culture rife with comparison, the question of identity is one that tends to plague many of us. Is your identity anchored in things such as your accomplishments, your net worth, your social media presence—or in God’s purpose and plan for your life? In this week’s message from Matthew 3 and 4, Pastor J.D. explains common snares that Satan uses to attack our identity and how, by being grounded in the truths of Scripture, we can avoid becoming entangled in them.

Who are you, really? In a culture rife with comparison, the question of identity is one that tends to plague many of us. Is your identity anchored in things such as your accomplishments, your net worth, your social media presence—or in God’s purpose and plan for your life? In this week’s message from Matthew 3 and 4, Pastor J.D. explains common snares that Satan uses to attack our identity and how, by being grounded in the truths of Scripture, we can avoid becoming entangled in them.

Who are you, really? In a culture rife with comparison, the question of identity is one that tends to plague many of us. Is your identity anchored in things such as your accomplishments, your net worth, your social media presence—or in God’s purpose and plan for your life? In this week’s message from Matthew 3 and 4, Pastor J.D. explains common snares that Satan uses to attack our identity and how, by being grounded in the truths of Scripture, we can avoid becoming entangled in them.

When you think about the realm of the demonic, perhaps your thoughts tend toward Hollywood depictions of it rather than its real influence in the world around you. As we begin a short series on spiritual warfare, Pastor J.D. takes us through the realities of demonic activity in this week’s message from Luke 11. Though the attacks and accusations of Satan can often lead us to despair, there is much hope to be found in fully surrendering to Jesus, the only one who has truly conquered this unseen Enemy.

When you hear the phrase “The Great Commission,” what is your initial reaction? There can be a tendency in the church to relegate the carrying out of this command to those who are “called,” or perhaps to those of a certain personality type. But if we follow Christ, the command to make disciples applies to us all—to the introvert as well as to the extrovert; to the lawyer and the barista as well as to the pastor and the career missionary. In this week’s message from John 15, Acts 1, and Matthew 28, Pastor J.D. provides a helpful framework for how to do what Jesus has called us to do: live with gospel intentionality in a way that results in true multiplication.

Whether you make New Year’s resolutions or not, you probably have areas of your life that you would like to change. But the path to change, as we all know, isn’t always an easy one. It can be difficult to break old habits, make new ones, and incorporate fresh rhythms into our lives. In this week’s message from John 15, Pastor J.D. helps us to see that our growth as disciples isn’t a matter of steeling ourselves and willing new routines and habits into existence. Rather, this growth is a natural byproduct of abiding in Jesus as he abides in us. And it is this true connection to Jesus that will produce fruit that lasts into eternity.

You’re listening to a revamped version of the Summit Life podcast now featuring twice a week full length sermons. Prefer to watch? Join us on YouTube! If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, you probably refer to yourself as a “Christian.” But how often do you call yourself a “disciple”? In this week’s message from John 15, Pastor J.D. shows us that the difference between these two words might just be more significant than we think. What’s more, we may be surrounded by people who claim to be Christians but are far from being true disciples of Jesus. The good news? For those willing to fully submit to and follow Jesus, there is immense joy to be found in joining him in his mission—one that really does change the world.

You’re listening to a revamped version of the Summit Life podcast now featuring twice a week full length sermons! Prefer to watch? Join us on YouTube! “Getting back to the basics” is an often repeated phrase—and for good reason. Whether you’ve been following Jesus for 10 months or 10 years, it is always beneficial to be reminded of the essential truths of the gospel, upon which our faith is built. In this week’s message, the first in our series on “The Whole Disciple,” Pastor J.D. helps us unpack some of these foundational truths from Romans 3:23–26. As true disciples of Jesus, these are the things that we cherish and continually learn from, rather than master and move on from.

In this message from Daniel 10–12, Pastor J.D. walks through Daniel’s visions of receiving warnings and capturing hope. We see that hardship, persecution, and suffering have all been decreed, but they’re not the only decree: Jesus will reign forever and judge the living and the dead according to his righteousness. He will renew and restore all things, and his people will dwell with him forever. And as we live in the in-between, Daniel encourages us that though things are dark—and they are likely only to get darker—we don’t despair. It’s all part of the plan.

Have you ever wondered how prayer works? Of course, we won’t ever have all the details, but as we continue through the book of Daniel, this passage gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how prayer works and demonstrates why prayer is so important.

As we continue our walk through the book of Daniel, Pastor J.D. highlights the most undervalued resource of the church—prayer. Discarded by many, prayer is the vehicle through which the blessings of God are released and the promises of God are enacted. In Daniel 9, we not only see five principles that make for effective prayer; we also get a one-of-a-kind glimpse into what happens in heaven as we pray.

How would you describe your attitude toward the future? Is it an attitude filled with peace, or one full of overwhelming stress at what might happen? As Pastor J.D. moves into the prophetic portion of the book of Daniel, he shows us how it’s Daniel’s prophecy about the future that makes the difference between those two attitudes.

As we continue our walk through the book of Daniel, Pastor J.D. tackles two of the most obscure prophecies in the entire book. Although the imagery can be confusing—lions and beasts and fiery thrones—the message is as timely as ever. What God says to Daniel he says to believers in every generation: If you are going to faithfully shine in the present, you need to have a crystal clear vision of the future. There’s two ways to look at the future–a stress-producing way and a peace-producing one.

What was it that gave Daniel so much courage in the lion’s den? Is there a way to have that same courage in our own lives? Pastor J.D. tells us what the source of Daniel’s confidence was—or rather, in whom Daniel’s confidence was placed in.

The most famous story in the book–Daniel in the lions’ den. Daniel provides an incredible example of courage in the midst of adversity. But as much as we make of Daniel’s night with the lions, his courage was actually forged long before that fateful night. Courage is not summoned in a moment; courage is developed through a lifetime.

Have you heard the phrase “The writing is on the wall?” It usually means that something bad is about to happen; that your fate has been sealed. That phrase actually comes from Daniel, Chapter 5. Belshazzar is hosting a party when suddenly a mysterious floating hand appears and begins to carve a message into the plaster on the wall. Talk about terrifying! It begins etching 3 mysterious words into the wall, and then just disappears? The 3 words were “numbered,” “weighed,” and “divided.” And they brought in Daniel to help interpret what these words could mean.

Today on Summit Life, we come to another story of God taking down a prideful, rebellious, selfish king. You’re like, wait, didn’t we JUST hear this story on the program? Hang on, today we come to Belshazzar, the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar. We’re going to see that this problem is much bigger than just one king.

Last week on the program we talked about the roots of pride. The first root is the failure to recognize everything—everything, every breath you take—is a gift of God; and the second root is, the foolish assumption that it will last forever. In this message, we’ll take a look at what God has to say about pride’s fruits and pride’s cure. It’s something we all need from time to time, so let’s dig in.

It’s a tricky thing, pride. Just when we think we’ve overcome it, we’re super proud of ourselves for accomplishing it! In fact, scripture is pretty clear about it when it says, “Pride comes before a fall…” Just when we think we’ve nailed it, it creeps in and can destroy us. Just ask the character in our teaching. He learned some pretty serious lessons about the sin of pride and its consequences. Where are the roots of pride in your life?

GOD IS BIGGER. It’s one of the most basic principles of our faith that we’re going to dive much deeper into. We’re going to talk about bold faith—faith both for when God delivers us, and faith for when he chooses not to. Will we be bold enough to ask ourselves the question, “Is God enough?” Will you follow him even when the answer is “no”? That type of courage takes a deep level of trust in God. Grab your Bible, and let’s walk through the “Courage in Babylon.” It’s a message we all need to be reminded of today.

Through the famous story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we will see an example of courage that could only come from faith in God. These three young men knew that God was bigger than anything life can throw at us. And more importantly, that God was better than anything death could take away. So what does courage look like in your life right now?

We learn that what was true for Daniel is still true now: “There is a God in heaven.” Where human strategies fail, God begins to work. Don’t you want to be part of what God is up to in your community, in your family, in your world?

As we continue our teaching series through the book of Daniel, we’re walking through Nebuchadnezzar’s confusing dream in Daniel, Chapter 2. Through this wild and startling story, we learn to view our culture the way Daniel viewed his—not through assimilation, not through separation, but through transformation. We’re called to participate in what God is doing in culture, not shrink back or isolate.

The world we live in, like Daniel’s, is often very dark and hostile to the message of God. But thankfully, he doesn’t call us to escape this world. He calls us to transform it. We’ll learn that the power to make a difference is only found in the commitment to be different. And one thing that definitely describes Daniel is he was different. So let’s put ourselves in his shoes as we travel back to the ancient near east and are dropped in the middle of Babylon.

We begin working our way through the Old Testament book of Daniel–and it’s about a lot more than just lions. This book is about how to shine, how to thrive, in a very dark and hostile world. Unlike most of the other books in the Hebrew Bible, this one is not set in Israel, but in the heart of an enemy, pagan empire where God’s people have been taken captive.

Today, we conclude our series called, Instead of Me. Every message in this series, Pastor J.D. has shown us how Matthew places people in the story of Jesus that give us possible ways we might respond. Which ones describe you?

We have arrived at the joy of the resurrection in our series titled, Instead of Me. This has been a heavy series, but today we find Jesus alive! And he’s not just alive, he’s alive for me!

If you had been present during Jesus’ crucifixion, how would you have responded? There are four different characters and responses Pastor J.D. is going to walk us through to give us pictures of how we might have responded then and how we can still respond to Jesus today.

Pastor J.D. will help us see how the responses of the people surrounding the events of Jesus’ crucifixion give us pictures of how we respond to Jesus—just as we’ve done in the previous days of this series, called, “Instead of Me.”

The events surrounding the trial of Jesus are recorded to show us that we are the ones who are actually on trial. In these stories we should see ourselves—and they should make us consider how we are responding to Jesus. We are Judas. We are Peter. And today, we’ll see we are also those involved in the trial of Jesus.

We are marching toward the cross in our series titled, Instead of Me. Our prayer during this series is that you will see these days that led up to Jesus’ death with fresh eyes. Feel the weight of the resurrection so that you can make Jesus the center of everything in your life. Today, Pastor J.D. takes us through the trial of Jesus in a message he titled, Accused for Me.

Have you ever thought that the cross must have been a scary place? Even for Jesus? But he went, when he could have fled for us. He took it all—all of the suffering for us—because there is only one way for us to have salvation, and that’s through the blood of Jesus. God’s wrath against our sin is like a toxic poison, and Jesus drank it for us. Pastor J.D. is teaching from Matthew 26.

Jesus was well accustomed to getting a clear response from God when he prayed. But there was once where God was completely silent. Pastor J.D. continues our new series, called Instead of Me, and shows us how necessary it was for Jesus to be abandoned for me and for you and to take on the full wrath of God in our place.

What’s your most prized possession? A car? A signed baseball? Maybe a piece of jewelry? Would you sell it? Could you put a price on it? Judas betrayed Jesus for only 30 pieces of silver, but Jesus told the disciples that they would all fall away, sending a message that all of us, even at our very best, still fall short and need a Savior. Join Pastor J.D. as he teaches on the free gift of grace.