The story of Joseph and his many-colored coat is one of the more popular accounts in the Old Testament. But it’s more than just an interesting story. From being sold into slavery by his brothers, thrown into prison, and then rising to power and being reunited with his family, Joseph’s life is a beautiful picture of God’s sovereign plan. And that’s our subject as Pastor J.D. continues our series titled, The Whole Story .
It’s easy to say you trust God. But when things go wrong, and your child gets a scary diagnosis or your business goes under, it’s hard to see how that fits into God’s plan. Pastor J.D. is tackling those doubts as he continues our overview of the Bible called, The Whole Story . We’re getting an important reminder of God’s sovereign control in every situation.
Our culture tells us that the key to happiness is finding your soul mate. But then, when marriage gets hard, we start looking for something else to fill us up, like a career, children, or a hobby. But it never really satisfies! Pastor J.D. is pointing us to the only source of lasting joy as he continues our series called, The Whole Story.
The movies often make it seem like romance is the answer to all of our problems. Guy kisses girl, and they live happily ever after. But we all know that real life doesn’t work that way! No matter how happy your relationship might be, it’s not a guarantee of a happy life. As Pastor J.D. continues our series called, The Whole Story, he’s explaining the key to true, lasting joy, regardless of your relationship status.
When you picture “the good life,” what comes to mind? Financial security? A happy marriage? A successful career? None of those things are wrong on their own. But Pastor J.D. explains that they will never truly bring you satisfaction. We’re discovering the only source of security and significance as we continue our series called, The Whole Story.
Whenever you start something new, there tends to be a “honeymoon phase,” when it seems like all of your dreams are coming true. But eventually, that excitement wears off, and you find it’s not as perfect as you initially thought. How are we supposed to handle those disappointments? What do you do when the thing you’ve been dreaming about doesn’t fulfill you like you thought it would? Pastor J.D. addresses those questions as he continues our series called, The Whole Story .
Noah’s Ark is one of the most popular stories in the Bible. It’s an especially big hit with kids. In fact, you’ve probably seen picture books and nursery décor with the animals going up two-by-two into the boat. But when you look at the actual story as it’s told in the Bible, it’s definitely not G-rated! As we continue our series called, The Whole Story, Pastor J.D. explains what Noah’s story reveals about our sin, God’s wrath, and the plan of redemption.
If you asked a few people to name their favorite aspect of God’s character, you’d probably hear things like, “his love” or “his grace.” His wrath usually won’t be at the top of the list! But Pastor J.D. explains that God’s wrath isn’t something to be covered up, ignored, or minimized. It’s actually an important, beautiful part of who God is! And we’ll see why that is as we unpack the story of Noah’s Ark. It’s part of our series called, The Whole Story .
It doesn’t take more than about ten minutes of listening to the news to know that our world is pretty messed up. Between wars, hate crimes, and mass shootings, it can all seem pretty overwhelming! But how did things get this way, and is there any way to fix it? Pastor J.D. tackles those questions as he continues our series called, The Whole Story .
Most people like to think of themselves as a “pretty good person.” But Pastor J.D. is challenging that notion as he continues our study in Genesis. He’s showing that, if we’re honest with ourselves, we know we’re not as good as we should be. So why is that, and what can we do about it? It’s part of our series called, The Whole Story.
If you grew up in the Western world, you’re probably familiar with the Genesis account of creation. But why did this story get included in the Bible? Is it just for the sake of our curiosity, so we know where we came from? Pastor J.D. explains that this story actually has much bigger implications. As we continue our series called, The Whole Story, we’re discovering what the creation account reveals about God’s design for us.
Almost every culture and every religion has their own creation story—their idea of how everything started. And that story says a lot about how the people in that culture view themselves. Well, Pastor J.D. is unpacking the true story of creation. He’s explaining how we were created—and what that says about our ultimate purpose. It’s part of our series called, The Whole Story.
When you pick up a Bible, you’re actually holding sixty-six books, written by more than thirty authors over a span of thousands of years. And yet, it all tells one story! And that’s the subject of our series titled, The Whole Story. We’re going to go from Genesis to Revelation, hitting most of the major events in-between. But before we get to Genesis, Pastor J.D. kicks off the study with a quick stop in the book of Psalms.
What kind of memories do you have of your dad? Maybe he was a good father or, maybe your relationship has been strained. Pastor J.D. explains that no matter what our relationships with our earthly dads look like, we all have some sort of childhood wounds. In a series titled, Foretold, we’re learning how our heavenly father heals all wounds.
As Pastor J.D. continues our series called, Foretold, we’re looking at some Old Testament prophesies in the book of Isaiah. As we study the reign of Ahaz, King of Jerusalem, we’ll learn more about Ahaz’s reign, and an event that pointed to the coming Savior—700 years before the birth of Jesus.
Around Christmas time, we hear and see the words—For to us a child is born everywhere. And we know the verse is talking about Jesus. But for most of us, that’s all we know about it. Join us as Pastor J.D. dives into the context behind this familiar Christmas passage. It’s a message from our series, Foretold .
As a kid, you probably believed a lot of stories about the Christmas season that you later learned were a bit exaggerated or made up entirely. So, is the story of Jesus’ birth just another story? Pastor J.D. addresses that question on Summit Life as he continues our series called, Foretold.
In Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman, we are supposed to hear him speaking words of life to us and learning more about who he is. In this message, Pastor J.D. shows how we are all like the Samaritan woman—searching for something that will satisfy and always coming up thirsty until we find in Jesus the safest place in the universe, free of shame and condemnation.
In this special Christmas message from John 4, Pastor J.D. Greear walks us through a story that demonstrates the beauty of the incarnate Christ, whose coming we celebrate during this Christmas season. The Samaritan woman at the well—the first person to whom Jesus overtly reveals himself as the Messiah—has much to teach us about the Savior who has come to earth. He’s the Savior who comes to the unlikely, and you are exactly who he is looking for.
Jesus could have come to earth as the lion, but instead he came as the lamb who conquered death and now offers salvation to anyone who humbly receives it. Pastor J.D. continues to look at our response to who Jesus is by walking through the third question we must answer, after we understand that Jesus knows everything about us and loves us anyway: Will we follow him?
In this message that takes us through the remainder of John 1, Pastor J.D. explains how Jesus both asks and answers a vital question for all of us: “What are you seeking?” Though people everywhere naturally crave love and acceptance, they often search for it in all the wrong places. Through Jesus’ encounters with both Peter and Nathanael, we see the beauty of being fully known and loved by the One we should devote our lives to following.
In his incarnation, Jesus personified God’s defining characteristics of grace and truth. Yet religion often espouses one without the other, to the point of condemnation and exclusion. In this message, Pastor J.D. continues to walk through Jesus’ resume in John 1 to show how Jesus is the glory of God in the flesh and how to respond to his offer of grace and truth and eternal life.
In this message from the Gospel of John, Pastor J.D. takes us through what we can think of as Jesus’ resume, to better understand who Jesus was and is. With so many misconceptions of Jesus prevalent in today’s world, this is a task that is immensely important. Perhaps you’ve encountered churches that have embodied grace, but not truth (or vice versa). If so, you can rest in the assurance that the Jesus who took on flesh and dwelt among us is full of both grace and truth.
Jesus said that money is the top competitor in our hearts for God, and what we do with our money reveals who is really the Lord of our lives. In this message, Pastor J.D. concludes a series on opening our hands with our time, talent, and treasure to show just how much the gospel has changed our lives by teaching the two ways Zacchaeus demonstrated that he had been changed by grace.
In today’s teaching from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. leads us through what is likely a familiar story for many—the story of a tax collector named Zacchaeus whose life was forever changed by a glimpse of Jesus. This man who was despised by many was willing to do whatever it took to see the Savior, and as a result, the grace offered by Jesus changed not just his behavior, but his heart. Is your life characterized by generosity and a desire to live honorably before God and others? If not, maybe...
We may recognize the time, treasure, and talents God has given us, but have we asked God for his purpose in giving them to us? Pastor J.D. continues to teach in this message about investing our lives in God’s kingdom by sharing what keeps so many of us from investing our resources wisely and how to take what we’ve been given and double it so that others can hear the gospel.
To follow Jesus involves risk—the risk of releasing control and yielding every area of your life to Jesus as Lord over all. In this message from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. looks at the parable of the ten minas, where we see that, likewise, sowing a harvest with our resources can also involve risk. But when the risk is for the building up of God’s kingdom, it’s always worth it.
The way to reap a bountiful harvest is not by collecting and spending but by giving and trusting. Pastor J.D. continues in this message to show how living like Christ, not money, is what brings happiness by looking at five laws of the harvest. When we ask ourselves first how much we want God to multiply us, then we will know what kind of sacrificial giving he requires of us.
In this message from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor J.D. looks at one of the most revolutionary principles in all of Jesus’ teaching—the “law of the harvest.” It’s as simple as it is profound: As you give, it will be given to you. Sounds wise enough, maybe even encouraging. Most of us, however, don’t live that way. We don’t believe, in our heart of hearts, that God is as generous as he says he is. The result? We aren’t generous either. But Jesus invites us to a richer life than any of us could imagi...
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we know what’s coming, and we know that only what’s done for the sake of the gospel will last—and that’s why we can let go of the things that will soon have no value for the one thing that has infinite value. In this message, Pastor J.D. continues to teach about surrender by looking at the essential question of lordship and what keeps us from clinging to Jesus.
