We all need the kind of friendships in our lives that will shield us, strengthen us, and shape us into the person God created us to be. In this message, Pastor J.D. shows how Jonathan’s friendship with David modeled this kind of friendship and how friendship with Jesus enables us to be to others this kind of friend—healthy, complete, trusting, and forgiving.

In this message from 1 Samuel, Pastor J.D. looks at one of the greatest friendship stories of all time—between the presumptive heir, Prince Jonathan, and the anointed king, David. This unlikely friendship challenges us to choose our own response to the one true King, Jesus. Will we, like Saul, resist him? Or will we, like Jonathan, yield the throne of our life to him?

For anyone who struggles to find courage in adversity, the story of David and Goliath does not give us hope because God promises to help us defeat all of our “giants” if we trust him enough. Pastor J.D. teaches in this message how the story of David shows us that, because of Jesus’ victory over death, we can have audacious courage in the face of obstacles.

In this message from 1 Samuel, Pastor J.D. walks through the most famous story in the Old Testament—David and Goliath. Everyone knows this story, but few truly understand what it’s about. Goliath’s downfall isn’t an encouragement to underdogs or a guarantee that you’ll overcome every “giant” in your life. Goliath’s story shows us what true courage is, where courage comes from, and what God is up to when the Accuser’s voice is all we hear.

Do you ever feel like you’re just biding your time doing mundane tasks that aren’t really leading anywhere? In this message, Pastor J.D. continues to look at David’s ordinary years in the pasture before he became king and explains how the blank spaces—the sections in the Bible where all the activity seems to stop—are where our hearts are shaped by God to be faithful in the big and small things.

In this message from 1 Samuel, Pastor J.D. finally introduces us to the person of David. But David’s first appearance is hardly a commanding one: He is overlooked before being anointed as king, then seemingly forgotten immediately afterwards. What this message will show us, is that those moments when God seems completely absent often turn out to be the places where God does his most transformative work.

Most of us don’t want to be poor in spirit. We’d rather be upper middle class in spirit, so we can do what we want, when we want. Pastor J.D. helps us understand in this message why God blesses those who are poor in spirit and how a posture of humility leads to dependence, surrender, and ultimately peace and life and power.

There’s a fine line between “thy kingdom come” and “my kingdom come.” Friday on Summit Life, Pastor J.D. shows us how Saul was a king who at first displayed humility, yet, as time passed his main concern became making a name for himself. Learn how—just like Saul and the people of Israel—we often search for the wrong things, Friday on Summit Life with Pastor J.D. Greear.

All earthly kings that we demand, whether a literal king or a metaphorical one, like success or money or romance, are going to not only let us down; they are also going to enslave us. Pastor J.D. teaches that we, too, have to learn the hard lessons Israel learned—and those lessons create in us a desire for the only King that offers joy and freedom through surrender.

In this teaching from The Life of David, Pastor J.D. shows us how all of us—religious or irreligious, Christian or not—seem hard-wired to chase after someone (or something) to make us feel okay. Like the people of Israel, we desire a king. We desire identity, security, happiness, freedom. And what 1 Samuel 8 teaches us is as simple as it is profound: Every king promises freedom; but every king but God only delivers slavery.