Our culture often acts like romantic love is the pinnacle of human existence. From our earliest days, we read about storybook characters finding their “happily ever after” with their soulmate. But, is that really how it works? Pastor J.D. gives us a balanced, biblical view of marriage and singleness as he continues our new series on relationships called First Love in Ephesians 5.
In our series called First Love, we’re dealing with some common pitfalls and struggles in relationships, whether those are romantic relationships, friendships, or anything else! And we’re kicking it off by getting a biblical perspective on the purpose of marriage. It’s a drastic shift from what our culture usually portrays!
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be? Meal time was just as important to the life of Jesus as it is in our lives today. Pastor J.D. dives into Luke 14 in our new series called Come to the Table where Jesus tells several parables comparing the kingdom of God. Lost people are found, broken people are put back together, addicts are set free, lonely people find community, and sins are forgiven at Jesus’ table.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be? Meal time was just as important to the life of Jesus as it is in our lives today. Pastor J.D. dives into Luke 14 in our new series called Come to the Table where Jesus tells several parables comparing the kingdom of God. Lost people are found, broken people are put back together, addicts are set free, lonely people find community, and sins are forgiven at Jesus’ table.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be? Meal time was just as important to the life of Jesus as it is in our lives today. Pastor J.D. dives into Luke 14 in our new series called Come to the Table where Jesus tells several parables comparing the kingdom of God. Lost people are found, broken people are put back together, addicts are set free, lonely people find community, and sins are forgiven at Jesus’ table.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be? Meal time was just as important to the life of Jesus as it is in our lives today. Pastor J.D. dives into Luke 14 in our new series called Come to the Table where Jesus tells several parables comparing the kingdom of God. Lost people are found, broken people are put back together, addicts are set free, lonely people find community, and sins are forgiven at Jesus’ table.
Today we conclude our series on the parables called, Listen. What we’ve learned in this series is that Jesus spoke in parables so that those who weren’t really listening, from their heart, would miss the meaning of his words. All throughout his ministry, Jesus explained that if your heart is in the right posture, and you have ears to hear, then the truth about him will be evident.
Sometimes it’s easy to look at history and assume we won’t repeat the same mistakes. We feel like we’ve learned from the past and look down on the actions of previous generations. But what’s different about our hearts? Pastor J.D. Greear encourages us to look at our own hearts today as he continues our series called, Listen.
Are you a sheep or a goat? Are you a lukewarm person? We all struggle with seasons where we are lukewarm, where we are striving to maintain a commitment to Christ but we falter. Luckily, Pastor J.D. doesn’t just ask these questions, but he shows us how to find the answers
In his parables, Jesus reveals the beauty of the gospel, but only for those who truly listen. Pastor J.D. shares another one of Jesus’ parables. And this one is going to show us what it looks like to be a Christian in today’s world.
Friday, Pastor J.D. covered the first two signs that you might be in a contract relationship with God. And today he’s going to present three more in order for us to see that we must get rid of our contract and embrace the goodness and grace of God!
In our culture, we conduct business by creating agreements or contracts so that we’re sure we know what we’re getting or what we’re owed. It’s a binding relationship between parties. But how many of us extend that same mind-set to our relationship with God? Pastor J.D. teaches about the dangers of believing God owes us something and wanting him to give us what we deserve.
Have you had an encounter with God that you would describe like finding a hidden treasure? Like finding a treasure that brought you so much joy that you gladly left everything else to possess it? Many of us, if we were honest, might choose a different image – something more like a never-ending to-do list or being tied to a ball-and-chain. Today, Pastor J.D. is going to steer us in another direction so that we more clearly understand who Jesus is and what he is offering to us.
Jesus once told a story about two men – both of them come across something of such value that it makes everything else in their lives look worthless by comparison. Today, Pastor J.D. looks at the differences between these two men as he continues our series on Jesus’ parables titled, “Listen.”
Yesterday on Summit Life, we began a new series about the parables of Jesus. In these stories, Jesus reveals the beauty of the gospel, but only for those whose heart is in a posture to perceive it—only for those who truly listen. Let’s join Pastor J.D. as he teaches from Matthew, Chapter 13.
Today Pastor J.D. begins teaching through the parables of Jesus, stories so simple a child can understand them, yet so profound that we can never exhaust their wealth of wisdom! Join us as we kick off a new series titled, “Listen.”
Do you ever have FOMO? The fear of missing out? It can even become like a drug—needing a hit of entertainment or distraction to find satisfaction and enjoyment. Sometimes in order to be focused on what we need to be focused on, we have to say “no” to something else. Pastor J.D. shows us that distraction and the feeling of being overwhelmed and hurried often comes from being terribly out of fellowship with Jesus. He even gives us a list of super helpful and practical things we can do today, so ma...
It’s safe to say that our society deals with more distractions than any previous society in history. Most of us feel like we are constantly pulled in different directions. Today, Pastor J.D. talks about being a distracted people who need focus—mostly away from our phones. He’s going to help us distinguish between good and bad distractions by looking to how Jesus seemed to be entirely in-distractible on the one hand but imminently interruptible on the other!
You know, Jesus promised that for all who came to him, he would give them rest. But in today’s society, where overworking is the new norm, most of us hear Jesus’ invitation as wishful thinking.
Today we begin our teaching series titled, Rest & Distraction. In this short series, Pastor J.D. will show us that those most mature in Jesus are not those working hardest for him but those resting most in him.
We’ve come to the final message in our series on the book of Judges titled “Broken Saviors,” and we’re looking at a collection of stories from Judges, Chapters 17 to 21–accounts that reveal the tragic outcome when a society turns its back on God’s leading.
Most of us have a friend or family member who’d call themself an atheist. But before you write that person off for their godless view of life, it’s possible you may share something in common. This message looks at the final chapters of the book of Judges. It’s a time when the Israelites turned their backs on God’s leading. They still acknowledged him with their lips, but they’d become, in essence, a nation of atheists. And we often fall into that same trap.
Samson’s incredible strength made him seem larger than life, but we’re finding out that we’ve got a lot more in common with him than we think. Just like Samson, we’ve all fallen into the trap of our own desires. So, what’s the answer?
Have you ever been told to “follow your heart?” This philosophy is pushed on us from a young age, showing up in kids’ movies and popular music. I bet you can remember one of those songs right now! But Pastor J.D. reveals that your own heart is usually your worst enemy. This message is the third part of a four-part message on the life of Samson.
Have you ever finished the first book or movie in a series and felt frustrated or anxious with the ending? You’re ready for the next installment to see how everything comes together, right? Today, we’re continuing our study called “Broken Saviors.” As we come to the end of Judges later this week, we’ll find out that the entire book is just one portion of a much bigger story. And it’s all pointing ahead to a glorious ending!
The Bible is filled with fascinating stories about heroes and villains. Some are parables, but most are real-life descriptions of men and women who struggled just as we do. Did you know these stories aren’t intended just to teach us moral lessons or simply to entertain us? They’re ultimately designed to point us to the person and work of God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ! During this message, Pastor J.D. invites us to look at one of the most familiar characters in the Old Testament. His l...
Man is incapable of constructing, or living up to, the true Gospel. In fact, left to our own devices we tend to twist and misconstrue what God designed as perfect. Our current series is called “Broken Saviors.”
This month, Pastor J.D. is walking us through the fascinating book of Judges. In this message, we’ll see how over and over again, God’s people substituted his plan for their own, with tragic consequences.
Do you have a tendency to take a bit too much credit for your success while overlooking God’s blessing in your life? Even with the best of intentions, the human heart always defaults toward pride. Beginning in Judges Chapter 8, we see how Gideon’s victory as a warrior began to inflate his ego. Rather than giving glory to God, he chose to act like a king who deserved special treatment. In a real sense, Gideon manufactured his own “broken savior.”
Being successful can sometimes be dangerous. Once we’ve scored a few victories and our leadership produces notoriety and fame, we’re tempted to give ourselves far more credit than we deserve. Pastor J.D. will show us that even our biblical heroes fell into this same trap. As we trace the footsteps of Gideon, we’ll discover how this successful warrior began to get puffed up and proud.
