GARDEN CHURCH Podcast

This week, Pastor Bill continues the theme of 'learning to tell time' as he takes us to observe Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. In the Beatitudes, we find a list of who is qualified to enter the Kingdom of God, and its implications end up changing how we should see our place in our partnership with God. If the poor, meek, merciful, peacemakers, mournful, seekers of righteousness, pure in heart, and persecuted are welcome in God's Kingdom, then God's method of changing the world might be radically different than what we expect.

As we move into 2019, Pastor Bill urges us to make the most of the time that we have. Everyone in the world gets 24 hours per day, however, it seems like most people wish they had more time. What we need to learn is how to make the most of the time that we do have each day. We need to learn how to tell the time.

We ended our Advent series with a family Christmas service. Pastor Darren helped prepare our hearts in celebration of the coming of our king, Jesus. The Christmas season is coming to a close, but it is important to remind ourselves about why this day is so important. The coming of Jesus was the arrival of God with us. God put on flesh in order to live among us, to be with us, to bless us with his presence. The power of "with" changes what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and what it means for us to be family together.

Pastor Darren was convicted to share about the importance of giving. We as Garden Church value generosity and living a generous life. Generosity is not just surrounding money, but being generous in all avenues of life. This is apart of being a follower of Jesus and it is important to push into this against a culture that is focused on self. Listen to hear Pastor Darren's heart and his hope for how we may live generously as a church.

We had our friend Francis Chan come and continue our Advent series. As we are rethinking this Christmas season, we wanted to refocus and rethink how we prepare for Christmas day. Instead of going with the rhythms of culture, and even the culture of the church, we want to go with the rhythms of Jesus' heart. God was and is extravagantly generous, and we want to become people where generosity flows out of us freely. Listen to the podcast to learn more about what it would mean to live a generous life marked by the presence of God.

We had our friend Francis Chan come and continue our Advent series. As we are rethinking this Christmas season, we wanted to refocus and rethink how we prepare for Christmas day. Instead of going with the rhythms of culture, and even the culture of the church, we want to go with the rhythms of Jesus' heart. God was and is extravagantly generous, and we want to become people where generosity flows out of us freely. Listen to the podcast to learn more about what it would mean to live a generous life marked by the presence of God.

During this Advent season, we are trying to intentionally slow down and refocus our lives on Jesus. This week Pastor Darren talks about this weeks focus, being present, and how we can operate in a counter-cultural way this season.

Pastor Darren closed out our series, the Empowering Presence, by talking about how the Holy Spirit influences worship. We all worship in different ways and most times our worship is not directed towards God. We are meant to worship, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to become people that worship regularly and powerfully. Listen to learn how we can become a church that is marked by worship.

We are a church that wants to be marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our sermon series, the Empowering Presence, has focused on all different parts on the theology of the Holy Spirit. This week, Pastor Bill wanted to talk about the less controversial topic, yet still confusing prophecy. Bill takes some intentional time to unpack and address how we view prophecy, and how we want to be vessels for God to speak through us. We hope that his sermon is helpful for you! Give it a listen.

Our series, the Empowering Presence, has kept its focus on the Holy Spirit and the misconceptions around the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit have also had some confusion around them, especially the gift of tongues. We had our friend John Mark Comer come and attempt to unpack the mystery around speaking in tongues, and why it is important to have a clear understanding of it.