Has it ever dawned on you that nothing has ever dawned on God? He knew before the world began that His people would face hardship, so He gave us His Word. The Book of Ephesians is a survival manual—it equips believers to thrive in a world that hates the message of Jesus Christ. Paul the Apostle writes to encourage believers to live well—we've been lifted from the graveyard of sin and called to shout the gospel into the darkened world. 

Pastor and author J.D. Greear walks through the powerful words of Paul. In 9 sessions, J.D. digs into the text of Ephesians verse-by-verse and challenges believers to live out the gospel. If the people of your city, of your school, of your family are going to hear the gospel, it's going to be from your mouth. Encounter Ephesians, and get swept up into the story of Jesus.

Note: If you are leading a group through this Bible study, watch this short training post: click here!

In “The Name,” Pastor J.D. answers the most ambitious question that any of us could ever ask, “Who is God?” We've all got ideas about God but which ones are true? And can we really know the essence of who God is? This series will show us a God that is both more awe-inspiring and more intimate than we could ever have imagined.

In “From the Beginning,” Pastor J.D. looks at God's design for love, relationships, and sex. There was once a time when talking about sex was taboo. That's certainly not our society today. But the louder the conversation gets, the more obvious it is that most of us have no idea what we're talking about. With “From the Beginning,” we take a candid look at sexual relationships—from the ones that destroy us to the ones that give us life.

In “Broken Saviors,” Pastor J.D. looks at Judges, a book with some of the most scandalous and strange stories in the entire Bible. Through this scandalous history, we'll see what God can do with the most broken of heroes—and behind every hero, we'll see a God who remains faithful even when we are faithless.

The letter of Hebrews was written to an early Christian church as an encouragement in the faith. This church had embraced Christ but struggled in their devotion because some of them were facing persecution, some loved ones were suffering, friends had walked away from the faith, and normal temptation and doubt had both crept in. Does this church sound like yours?

J.D. Greear, the lead pastor at The Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, teaches this ten part series through the book of Hebrews called Christ is Better. He acknowledges that many Christians first trusted Christ with a subtle belief that everything about their new life would be easy and worry free, but became frustrated when they learned that Christ followers have problems too. Sometimes Christians encounter these problems and wonder if it would be better to just return to their old life. J.D. teaches that the book of Hebrews has one basic message. Don't give up. Christ is better. God all the way with him.

The Kingdom of Jesus was inexplicable and undeniable. Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom everywhere he went and demonstrated that it was real. He encountered people everywhere, however, who could not see it and would not believe. They were skeptics. Luke records many stories of skeptics who encountered the Kingdom because they encountered Jesus, and their stories are great lessons to us.

This series, called Kingdom Come, is taught by J.D. Greear, the lead pastor at The Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He calls Luke's book the Gospel for skeptics. Some people become skeptics because disappointment has damaged their ability to trust God. Other skeptics have bought into the world's philosophy and will not intellectually consent to the Kingdom of Jesus. J.D. looks into Luke's Gospel and sees answers for both of these. Doubt isn't always a bad thing. It doesn't have to create skeptics. Real faith arises when the inexplicable meets the undeniable.

When many people think of the Ten Commandments, they think of rules that are outdated, backwards, and restrictive. We don't want a faith that is all about lists of things we are not supposed to do. Many Christians also wonder if the Ten Commandments are an Old Testament thing that we shouldn't worry about anymore. How do we determine which parts to follow? Should they hold the same place in our lives as New Testament teaching?

In this nine week series, J.D. Greear, the lead pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, teaches that this perception of a list of don'ts is completely wrong. "I want to show you that the Ten Commandments are not a path to bondage, but a path to freedom." God's commands are not to regulate our outward behavior. He gives them in order to shape our hearts. Learning to use the Commandments for freedom's sake will give us a wonderful glimpse of what our hearts look like.

A complaint that we often hear in Christian circles is that people have forgotten God. Some will point out that our society has kicked God out of our government, schools and town halls, assuming that atheism has run rampant in this country. The rate of atheists, however, is at a historic low. Only 3.5% of Americans claim there is no God. Most people do not ask the question, "Is there a God?" but "Which God is the right one?" Most non-believers will look for whatever perception of God is most comfortable for them to follow.

J.D. Greear, lead pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, teaches this eight part series to answer the prevalence of pluralism in our society. Whether it is a named God of a false religion or a common idol like wealth or entertainment, our society is constantly offering alternatives to Jesus. These idols come from people who believe that it doesn't matter what you call God, as long as you do it sincerely. J.D. walks us through Scripture and shows that God's identity does matter. Jesus is something better and something greater that every little god the world would like to offer.

Many Christians have prayed the sinner's prayer in church, at a camping retreat, with their Bible study leaders, and once or twice at home in bed. We often hear pastors teach, "Once saved, always saved," but what if you don't feel confident that you were saved in the first place? Many would rather repeatedly offer that prayer than make an assumption with their eternal soul on the line.

In this five part sermons series, J.D. Greear, lead pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, teaches that we can have assurance of salvation. In J.D.'s own estimation, "by the time I graduated high school, I'd probably prayed the sinner's prayer about 5,000 times." As a pastor and former atoner, J.D. has thought in depth about this topic and written a book titled Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart: How to Know You are Saved. Using the same careful research, he assures us that we may be certain and offers a biblical basis for finding reaffirming signs of salvation in our own lives.

According to a 2011 Barna study, about half of all Americans have prayed something like the sinner's prayer, but half of those have no regular presence in church and believe the Bible is incorrect in substantial portions. Even more live lives that look no different from the world. These people have spiritual blind spots. They believe they are Christians but are actually far from Jesus. This kind of superficial faith is really no faith at all. Then there are many more people who do not even acknowledge Jesus. They feel it is impossible for them to believe in Christ and have no trouble saying so. If they make any kind of faith claim, it is certainly not Christianity.

Both of these groups have belief problems. Both groups. whether they admit it or not, can't believe in the true gospel. J.D. Greear is the lead pastor at The Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. In this series he teaches seven stories in the Gospel of John that depict people who encounter Jesus but can't believe in him. J.D. will teach us that these people who encountered Jesus are just like many of us, and he will encourage us to know Jesus more deeply, see his glory anew, and go out with a renewed confidence to tell the world about him.

God built us for relationships. They supply the most joy we experience, but also the most heartache. Whether you are single or married, whether you consider friendships or romances, you understand the potential intensity and conflict of relationships. How do you live a life full of relationships that honor God and encourage you in our faith.

J.D. Greear, the lead pastor at The Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, teaches this six session in Ephesians 5 on the theme of building gospel-centered relationships. This passage focuses on marriage, but the lessons apply to all of us. Our first love is Jesus, and all other loves should be enhanced by, and secondary to, our love for him.

* Note: The real-life stories in this series contain mature themes.*

What's holding you back?

Do you feel like life is full of rules, boundaries and limitations? Many think that Christianity only adds to the restrictions on how we live. But life in Christ is not supposed to hold you back. The gospel propels us forward in ways you never imagined.

In these four youth Bible study sessions, J.D. Greear uses Scripture to show that being a Christian is not about learning to obey rules. Being a follower of Christ means immersing ourselves deeply in the gospel, because that's when all the things God wants to see in us are produced.

With biblical teaching and real-life stories, this series will help students live a life that demonstrates God's compassion—as seen on the cross—and His power—as seen in the resurrection.


Four sessions:
Session 1 – Fuel for the Flame
Session 2 – Reckless Abandon
Session 3 – Radical Generosity
Session 4 – Audacious Faith


J.D. Greear bio:
J.D. Greear pastors the Summit Church in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Tagged by Outreach magazine as one of the fastest-growing churches in America, the Summit has grown in the past eight years from 400 to over 4,500 in attendance each Sunday. The Summit Church is deeply involved in global church planting, having undertaken the mission to planting 1,000 churches out of its congregation in the next 40 years.

J.D. has authored a number of publications, including Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary. J.D. Greear did his Ph.D. work at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He lives in Raleigh with his wife, Veronica, and their four children.