Summit Life with J.D. Greear

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.

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?

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.

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"?

"Getting back to the basics" is an oft-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 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.

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.

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.

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.