Summit Life with J.D. Greear

Some churches have embraced a tolerant view of homosexual relationships, while other churches have openly protested, even alienated, the gay and lesbian community. Are either of these responses biblical? In this message, Pastor J.D. will set current trends aside to see what God’s word truly says about homosexual relationships.

If you’re single and involved in a church, you’ve probably had some well-meaning person tell you that God is preparing you for the man or woman of your dreams. But this misses the point. In this message, Pastor J.D. points us away from our relationship status, married or not, and he points us towards our relationship with Christ. And whether you’re married or not, every Christian should be focused on the marriage to come.

In many churches, single people are sometimes made to feel like outsiders. Everyone appears to be paired off, and a lot of energy goes into cultivating healthy families. As a result, and tragically, some singles admit to feeling like second class Christians. In this message, Pastor J.D. explains that God’s view is far different. In fact, the Bible often reinforces the benefits to singleness. And whether you’re married or not, every Christian should be focused on the marriage to come.

Today’s culture tends to paint sexual expression, in any context, as a matter of personal choice. In movies, magazines and music we’re encouraged to follow any path that leads to pleasure. Conversely, the biblical model for sexuality is viewed as repressive, even unhealthy. But if that’s the case, then why have so many of us been burned by sexual encounters? Why are our relationships and marriages so unfulfilling? In this message, Pastor J.D. will explain that God’s plan for sexual boundaries isn’t repressive. His design for marital intimacy was intended to produce joy.

Many people get uneasy when the preacher starts talking about personal issues. Especially when the subject is sex. But the fact is, sex is one of the few issues that’s addressed in nearly every book of the Bible. God has a lot to say about this topic, and in this series called From the Beginning, Pastor J.D. will explore the Scriptures for clarity and direction on sexual expression and cultivating healthy relationships.

Those who don’t study history are destined to repeat it. So we’re drawing wisdom from Old Testament events and learning how to avoid the mistakes of the past. This message represents the final part in our study of the book of Judges called Broken Saviors, and it’s a cautionary lesson about the tragic outcome when a society turns its back on God’s leading.

Most of us have a friend or family member who calls himself an atheist. But before you write that person off for his godless view, it’s important to take a look at yourself. It’s possible you may be living like an atheist without even knowing it. In this message, we’re looking at a time when the Israelites turned their backs on God’s leading. They still acknowledged Him with their lips, but they had become, in essence, a nation of atheists.

Samson is one of the most popular Old Testament figures. His incredible strength makes him seem larger than life, but 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. And it’s only by God’s power that we can be strengthened to overcome temptation.

We’ve often been told to do what makes us happy and to follow our hearts. This philosophy is pushed on us from a young age, showing up in kids’ movies and popular music. But as our study of Samson continues, J.D. Greear reveals that your own heart is usually your worst enemy. Our feelings will always lead us astray because of the curse of sin. God’s Word is the only sure guide.

When you finish the first book or movie in a series, you rarely feel satisfied with the ending. Instead, you’re probably anxious for the next episode when you’ll see how everything comes together. As we come to the end of Judges, we’re finding 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. These stories aren’t intended to teach us moral lessons or to entertain us alone. They’re designed to point us to the person and work of Jesus Christ! Today we’re looking at Samson, one of the most familiar characters in the Old Testament. His life teaches us that God can accomplish amazing things through ordinary people.

Many people manufacture their own Gospel by pulling together the parts of Scripture that they like and throwing out the rest. It’s a bit like making hotdogs! And it leads to spiritual malnutrition. As we continue our study of Judges, we’ll see that 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.

Sometimes we feel a deep sense of emptiness because we’ve been chasing the wrong dreams. As we study the book of Judges, we’ll discover the danger of substituting God’s plan for our own. When we try to assume God’s role, it produces horrible results! In a culture that idolizes personal choice, Scripture reveals that God’s plans are always best.

Even with the best of intentions, the human heart always defaults toward pride. We take far too much credit for our success while overlooking God’s blessing in our lives. 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.”

Success can be more dangerous than failure. Once we’ve scored a few victories, we’re tempted to give ourselves far more credit than we deserve. We start to place our confidence in ourselves rather than God. Even some of our favorite biblical heroes fell into this trap. As we trace the footsteps of Gideon, we’ll discover how this successful warrior began to get puffed up and proud, and how God reminded him who is truly in charge.