Summit Life with J.D. Greear

When most people try to picture God the Father, they think of him sitting on a throne in heaven. And when we try to picture Jesus, we imagine a bearded carpenter, maybe holding a lamb. But the Holy Spirit can be a little bit harder to relate with! In our series called, “Rushing Wind,” Pastor J.D. gets in-depth with what the Bible tells us about the Holy Spirit: who he is, what he does, and how he’s working in our world today. 

Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, and yet there are myths we believe inside and outside the church that make a season of political turmoil feel even darker. In this broadcast, Pastor J.D. continues to look at some of those myths and how, when we look at the words of Jesus as he stood before Pilate, we will be able to replace feelings of anxiety and despair with hope and urgency about sharing the gospel.

In this second message of our “Flags” series, Pastor J.D. explores several myths that are common in our approach to politics, both outside and inside the church. By focusing instead on Jesus’ revolutionary claim to Pilate in John 18, we’ll see that Jesus’ kingdom puts every other earthly kingdom—and political party—into stark perspective. It is a perspective that can transform cynicism and despair into hope and urgency.

While it is every Christian’s responsibility to bring their faith and understanding of God’s kingdom into all that they do, the church as an organization has a limited platform. In this broadcast, Pastor J.D. looks at the church’s duty to preach righteousness, justice, and compassion and our complementary role as church members so that we can be united by what is most important—our identity in Christ.

In this first message of our “Flags” series, Pastor J.D. Greear shows us that the hope of the gospel unites the most unlikely of people from all tribes, tongues, nations … and even political parties. As members of Christ’s eternal kingdom, we can declare that even in moments of great division, Jesus retains the power to heal, restore, and offer an eternal hope.

Chapters 22 and 23 of 2 Samuel felt like an ideal place to end David’s story, with a testament to God’s redeeming power. In this message, Pastor J.D. explains why 2 Samuel ends with 70,000 Israelites dying because of the sin of their king and how the story—the whole story of David’s life—points to the real King we’ve all been looking for and the only right response to him.

In this message, Pastor J.D. Greear focuses on a chapter that, frankly, many of us might find confusing—if not downright offensive. By walking through David’s mysterious census and the massive punishment that follows, Pastor J.D. deals with one of the biggest obstacles many people have to trusting in God: Deep down, we don’t think he’s really a good person. If God seems, to you, less loving and forgiving and more vindictive and cruel, this obscure story might just show you what God is actually up to in the world.

It’s no wonder David closes the psalm of his life glorifying God’s power in redemption, because there is nothing quite as amazing as God taking a life ruined by sin, like David’s, and making it new. In this message, Pastor J.D. continues to look at David’s life song and shares the three things God’s salvation gives us. Because of the gospel, we can say with David, “God is my hope, my Savior, and my restoration.”

A person’s last words can often be very telling. In this week’s message, Pastor J.D. gives us a glimpse into a song that David wrote during an earlier time in his life, which serves as a summary of both his life and his ministry. From these “last words” of David, we can learn important truths about God—truths that sustained David,and that can sustain us through even the darkest of times.

In the tragic story of David and his son Absalom, we’re left to wonder what might have happened if David had used his power to protect and heal instead of allowing his power to keep him detached in his palace. Pastor J.D. explains in this message why humanity is stuck in a perpetual cycle of brokenness and violence and how Jesus broke the cycle so we could experience healing and his grace.