The Summit Church

Sermon messages from Pastor J.D. Greear and the pastoral team of The Summit Church. The Summit is one church that meets in many locations around Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

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33 episodes
weekly
Avg 48 min
English

Episodes 33

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November 1 · 45 min
The Church God Wants to Be a Part of
Ask 10 different people what kind of church they want to be a part of, and you’ll likely get 10 different answers. For some, a church devoted to preaching theologically rich sermons is a high priority. For others, it’s a church where they feel part of a family. For still others, it’s a church focused on missions and evangelism. The better question, however, is what kind of church God wants to be a part of. In this week’s message from Acts 11 and 13, Pastor J.D. invites us to consider this question in light of the story of the church at Antioch—not a church of “super Christians,” but a church filled with ordinary people on an extraordinary mission: to advance the gospel far and wide.
October 25 · 47 min
Winning the One Who Wronged You
“Love your enemies”—talk about a difficult command to follow. Surely it would have been easier if Jesus had said, “Feel free to just ignore your enemies.” But the truth is, that’s not how he treats us, is it? After all, Romans 5 reminds us that Jesus reconciled us to himself while we were still his enemies. In this week’s message from Matthew 5, Pastor Bryan helps shift our perspective on how to treat those who have wronged us, reminding us that our decision to love our enemies is ultimately a powerful opportunity to put the gospel on display.
October 18 · 51 min
Sex, Lust, Marriage, and Adultery
One aspect of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount that is particularly challenging is how he addresses not merely sinful behaviors but also sinful thoughts and desires—and when it comes to issues like lust and sex? Jesus doesn’t shy away from them. In this week’s message from Matthew 5, Pastor Curtis unpacks commonly held views of sex and explains how to confront distortions of God’s design. In the end, our only hope is a new heart—and that’s exactly what Jesus gives us when we place our trust in him.
October 11 · 51 min
When Being Good Isn't Good Enough
It’s entirely possible to build a life around the type of righteousness that is staged rather than genuine—and many people around us may be none the wiser. But the righteousness that Jesus desires for us is radical: not new rules, but a new heart. In this week’s message from Matthew 5, Pastor J.D. takes us through the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, explaining how Jesus is the new and better Moses, bringing the kind of transformation that laws and rules alone never could. Jesus isn’t looking for those who are content with merely restraining their behavior, as the Pharisees attempted to do. He’s looking for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, because they are the ones who will truly be satisfied.
October 4 · 55 min
True Life Begins When Our Life Ends
We normally think of indicator lights as a way of communicating that something is wrong (think: the dreaded “check engine” light on your dashboard). But in Jesus’ revolutionary Sermon on the Mount, he presents a series of indicator lights—more commonly known as the Beatitudes—that help us know whether the kingdom of heaven has gotten into us. In this week’s message from Matthew 5:1–16, Pastor Bryan helps us see these countercultural teachings of Jesus for what they really are: not things we do to earn our way into the kingdom but signs that we are people who have truly come to the end of ourselves, desperate for God and hungry for righteousness.
September 27 · 46 min
The Everyday Life of a Disciple
This week, Pastor John takes us through Acts 2:42–47 as we look deeper into the five identities of a disciple: worshiper, family member, servant, steward, witness. Ultimately, disciples of Jesus don't just believe differently—they live differently.
September 20 · 49 min
Make the Most of Your Mist
In chapter after chapter of Ecclesiastes, we're given principles for how to live wisely in a world of hevel. But these principles aren't meant to merely help us "survive" life in this broken world—ultimately, they're preparation for a day we will all face: the day when we stand before God. In this week's message from Ecclesiastes 10–12, Pastor J.D. encourages us not to dread this day but to anticipate the beauty of what it actually means: the end of all pain and futility, and the most glorious reunion with our great Savior.
September 13 · 44 min
Why Funerals Are Better Than Birthday Parties
It seems more than just counterintuitive to say that “the day of death is better than the day of birth.” After all, who in their right mind would rather attend a funeral than a birthday party? But this is exactly the kind of view that Solomon advocates, because it’s only by thinking about life from the perspective of our death that we learn to live wisely. In this week’s message from Ecclesiastes 7, Pastor J.D. reminds us how, in light of how short our lives are, it makes no sense to chase after what is fleeting. Instead, we should leverage our lives to invest in what will serve to advance God’s kingdom long after we’re gone.
September 6 · 50 min
Making Work, Work
Though we don't always view it this way (perhaps even less so on a Monday morning), work is a gift from God. But what happens when work becomes an end in itself, centering on our accomplishments and tempting us to neglect the very relationships we should be pouring into? At that point, Solomon says, it's all meaningless—a chasing after the wind. In this week's message from Ecclesiastes 4–5, Pastor Bryan helps us reframe our work as something that is most meaningful when it goes beyond ourselves, reaching out to ease the plight of the oppressed and reaching up to connect with God.
August 30 · 51 min
Enjoy Your Life
“For everything there is a season …” You might recognize these words (“turn, turn, turn”) as lyrics to a song made popular in the ’60s. But thousands of years before that, they were written as the opening of a poem in the book of Ecclesiastes about the cyclical nature of life. Just as we have no control over summer turning to fall, we can't alter the cycles of life. There is indeed a time to be born and a time to die, a time to laugh and a time to weep. In this week's message from Ecclesiastes 3, Pastor J.D. gives us helpful principles for not only navigating life in a world we can't control, but enjoying it for what it is: a gift from God.
August 23 · 50 min
What the Hevel
The book of Ecclesiastes is often regarded as one of the most confusing (and perhaps depressing) books in the entire Bible. But the truth is, it’s one that raises—and provides real answers to—some of the core questions of life. In this week’s message from Ecclesiastes 1, Pastor J.D. addresses three common approaches that the world takes to finding meaning in life. These approaches, it’s no surprise, come up short time and time again. And that’s because the only satisfying answer for “life under the sun” is actually to embrace life above the sun—that is, life with God, the only one who truly imbues our lives with meaning.
August 16 · 47 min
Here Comes the Son
Upon reading example after disastrous example from Israel's history, it's tempting to just give up and throw in the towel. After all, if these previous generations weren't able to avoid stumbling and falling, what hope is there for us? In this week's message from the last six verses of Jude, Pastor J.D. shows us that the answer is found in one action: to keep ourselves in the love of God. But it doesn't end there. Because the Christian life is meant to be lived in community, we also have a responsibility to help others who are struggling—even at the expense of our own comfort.
August 9 · 48 min
Yesterday
It’s often said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. In Jude’s short letter, he draws on a litany of examples from Old Testament history to warn the church about the dangers of rebelling against Jesus’ rule. In this week’s message from Jude 5–19, Pastor Curtis helps us unpack these warnings and their application for the church today, reminding us that when Jesus comes again, he will judge the rebellious—but he will also save the faithful. And in this is found the astonishing beauty of the gospel: Guilty people find refuge not in fleeing from the true Judge but in running to him.
August 2 · 45 min
Hey, Jude!
If you've ever had the unfortunate experience of discovering termites in your home, you know the frustration of realizing that surfaces that you thought were solid are actually badly damaged. Sadly, a similar thing happens in many churches when false teachers creep in unnoticed, harming a church from the inside. In this week's message from the first four verses of Jude, Pastor J.D. shows us how we see the manifestation of this kind of corruption in the church today. It is only when we are clear on what the gospel truly is that we are able to guard against this danger and preserve the faith entrusted to us.
July 26 · 49 min
Contentment and a Life That Matters
The longing for a life of meaning and significance is a universal human desire. But too often, we end up looking in all the wrong places to create a life that matters. In this week's message from the second half of Philippians 4, Pastor Bryan shows us how the Philippian church lived lives of eternal significance, exemplified by their partnership in sharing the gospel. Their example ought to be an encouragement to us to pour out our lives for the spread of the gospel, whether in our homes, in the marketplace, or abroad.
July 19 · 50 min
Whatever Happens, I’m Good
True contentment can seem so elusive, especially in a world inundated with ads and influencers, a world designed to teach us that the road to happiness is paved with the accumulation of more possessions. So what is the secret to contentment? In this week’s message from Philippians 4, Pastor Bryan gives us a framework for what it looks like to be content in Christ, something that doesn’t come naturally but must be learned. Thankfully, we have the ultimate teacher, the one who modeled contentment better than anyone: Jesus himself.
July 12 · 47 min
When Was the Last Time You Felt Happy?
It's tempting to read verses like "Rejoice in the Lord always" and "Do not be anxious about anything" and dismiss them out of hand. They're nice sentiments, we might think, but ultimately, they're simply out of touch with reality. But as Pastor J.D. reminds us in this week's message from Philippians 4, the Apostle Paul wasn't exactly living in the lap of luxury as he wrote these words. On the contrary, they carry more weight precisely because he had endured so much suffering. We, too, can rejoice always—not because our circumstances are always good, but because our God is.
July 5 · 45 min
Time to Grow Up: Maturing in Christ
When we begin following Jesus, we’re much like newborn babies—but just as babies grow and mature, so should we in our walk with Christ. In this week’s message from Philippians 3, Pastor Curtis reveals four marks of maturity in Christ, and—spoiler alert—it begins with being honest enough to admit that we haven’t arrived. It’s only when we’re willing to do this that we can direct our focus toward the one thing we must pursue: knowing and following Jesus with everything we have.
June 28 · 48 min
Résumé for the Good Life
One of the most important parts of applying for a job is presenting an impressive résumé. After all, your résumé is essentially an argument for why you are the best candidate for a particular job. In this week’s message from Philippians 3, Pastor J.D. takes us through the Apostle Paul’s résumé before he met Jesus. As impressive as it was, Paul counted it as rubbish compared to the joy of knowing Jesus. And in the end, as he reminds us, even our best earthly accomplishments don’t contribute anything to our acceptance in the sight of God—and that’s a good thing.
June 21 · 46 min
You Can’t Stream Community
It can be easy, particularly in a large church, to slip in and out unnoticed and never truly experience community. But when we do this, we are missing out on how God intended his church to function: as a family. In this week's message from Philippians 2, Pastor Bryan shows us just how vital this sense of community is, and how we each play a role in creating and sustaining it. As Christians, there really is nothing that quite compares to the bond we share through the gospel of Jesus.

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