Even if you’re not married, how you think about marriage affects the way you view so much more of life, like dating, sex, conflict, and even singleness. In this first message from the “Forever Family” series, Pastor J.D. shows us how the gospel shapes the essence and purpose of marriage and teaches us why, no matter what you have been called to in marriage or singleness, you’re going to need God’s help to accomplish it.

When it comes to giving, many of us want rules to follow and boxes to check. As Pastor J.D. continues in the “First” series, he helps us see why, though our tithe is a great place to start, God wants our giving to display what is first and best in our hearts. Only when we have surrendered all our resources to the Holy Spirit and seek his direction will we be able to live sufficiently and give extravagantly.

Have you ever felt guilty about your giving? Many people assume that, because there are still people in need around the world, God’s only purpose for our money is to get the gospel to them. In this message from the “First” series, Pastor J.D. shows us how to view our possessions through a generosity matrix and apply God’s wisdom to spending, saving, and giving so that we honor him with our resources.

Jesus doesn’t just expect his followers to give their tithe. He expects us to be out-of-this-world generous! As part of the “First” series, Pastor J.D. helps us understand in this message how being a spender, saver, or steward defines what kingdom we serve and if we have surrendered our finances to God. If we’re really giving God our first and our best as good stewards, then we can amaze the world with our generosity.

If we were really living for Jesus’ kingdom, how would it change our giving? In this message from the “First” series, Pastor J.D. explains what our decisions on money reveal about what we love and treasure in this world. Putting God first in our lives should make us joyful givers, who view giving as an investment in eternal purposes and as the only treasure that will last.

Something is going to be first in our lives, and the Bible makes it very clear that it should be God. Pastor J.D. continues in “Time’s Up” to show us that, while both God and money can be important to us, we cannot serve both of them. As we understand better our role as stewards of all of God’s gifts, we will better devote our short time on earth to serving our Master and preparing for eternity.

Why does the church have to talk about money? As Pastor J.D. begins this series on why God should be “First” in our lives, he helps us see that to become a committed disciple, we must understand how to have the right relationship with money. When we do, biblical truth about money and what we should do with it will not be burdensome. Instead, it will set us free and help us find new joy in giving.

In this final teaching from our series through the book of James, Pastor J.D. Greear reminds us that in the end, we can be encouraged that God does indeed hear the prayers of his children, and it is often through them that he chooses to accomplish his work on earth.

Is prayer actually effective? And if it is, should we still pray even if we have a less-than-robust faith? In this brand new teaching, Pastor J.D. sheds light on a crucial—and often misunderstood—passage about prayer from James 5.

In this teaching from the book of James, Pastor J.D. Greear shows us how even in the midst of suffering and the many challenges thrown at us by life, we can be sure that God is working all things for our good—we need only be patient and wait on him.