GARDEN CHURCH Podcast

How do we hear God's voice? As we come to an end of our Present Future Church series, Pastor Darren wanted to address this crucial aspect of Christian life. We want to be people that hear and obey God's voice. In order to do that we need to learn how to hear the voice of God. Listen to the podcast to begin this journey of learning how to distinguish God's voice among the noise that we face day in and day out.

As we have gone through our series, Present Future Church, we talked about what needs to be present in the church now so that the church can benefit future generations. Primarily this includes a hunger for God's presence, holiness, and humility. Pastor Darren talks about a fourth primary characteristic that needs to mark the church, health, whole soul health.

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

Jesus went into the temple courts and drew a line in the sand, "my house will be a house of prayer." It is those words that Pastor Tyler Staton used to invite us into a pursuing prayer in a deep and intimate way with the Triune God. Listen to the podcast to learn about what it looks like to pursue prayer in our own lives.

We started our series, Present Future Church, talking about how do we stay hungry in pursuit of the presence of God when we are full and satisfied. This week we had our friend, Pastor Jonny Hughes, from Trinity Church Nottingham, come and invite us into the shameless audacity it takes to become people who are hungry for the presence of God. It will take those who have the courage to call God, "Father," to see the future church be brought into the present. Listen to the podcast to learn more.

How do we as a church be mindful of the present, while planning for the future? We need to be reminded of the past. The Israelites were constantly urged to remember where they came from. To do this, we need to become a church that is dependent on God's presence. Listen as Pastor Darren urges us to be hungry for God's presence, not only for ourselves but for the future church.

When the world tells us that our identity comes from what we do, where we come from, and what we can achieve, we turn to the scriptures to see how Paul helps redefine our source of identity. Pastor Michael Petrila finished our series on Identity. After weeks of finding out where identity came from and how it was disrupted, we landed on finding out "where we find true identity now." Listen to the podcast now!

As we jump into our third week of Identity, Bill takes us to the story of Jacob wrestling with God. In this story we see what it costs to find your identity. It costs everything on our end to receive the free gift of God's identity for us. Listen to the podcast to continue this journey on identity.

In our discussion on Identity, Pastor Bill walked us through what happened to the world when identity was lost. It is in this time we find the world currently, where identity is found in the things outside of us, and humanity has placed themselves higher than God.

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

One generally known but scarcely understood story involving Jesus turning water into wine. Though this may seem like a fun party trick from an external perspective. However, Pastor Darren, walked us through this story in order to show us the Gospel writer John's true intention writing this story. Join us as we take a deep dive into the unfamiliar territory of this "familiar" story.

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

God as Father can often be difficult to wrestle and understand. Especially when we reflect on our relationships to our earthly fathers. However, in light of Mother's Day, Pastor Bill walked us through the Scriptures to observe and meditate on the Motherhood, or motherly characteristics, of God. These observations are not for us to escape the image of God as Father, but this is an invitation for us to understand the Creator God, Yahweh, in his fullest.

In a culture that is marked by loneliness and individualism, Jesus offers a different way of living. Man was not created to be alone. As social beings, we create groups around self-interests, political ideologies, music tastes, etc. In that, Jesus radically redefines what community looks like. Through Jesus' life, he establishes a community of people who are not surrounded by internal self-interest but founded on Jesus Christ himself. It is this community where we are invited to die to self and live for God. Listen as Pastor Darren casts vision for what a Christ-centered church looks like, and where God's kingdom can flourish within that community.

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

Pastor Bill joined us and continued our conversation on the Kingdom of God. This Sunday, we were looking back when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, known as Palm Sunday. What did this entrance symbolize? We believe that Jesus was coming to teach us how to die. This is the way of the upside-down kingdom. To learn what this means, listen to our podcast!

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

Kingdom Culture is a series where we want to explore what it means to see our lives reflect God's Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven. A critical aspect of God's kingdom is generosity. The Kingdom of God is a generous kingdom. Pastor Darren spent some time reframing our idea of money, and what it means to be truly generous in God's kingdom.

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

Many have a skewed view of the familiar words from the New Testament, "repent and believe." In contrast, when Jesus said these words in Mark 1:15, his hearers had a clear and proper idea of what Jesus meant. The challenge for us is to get rid of our preconceptions in order to grasp the weight of the words of Jesus. Join us as Pastor Darren closes our 3 part sermon on Mark 1:15 in the midst of our Kingdom Culture series.

In Mark 1:15, Jesus starts proclaiming the good news of his arrival. There are three key phrases in his proclamation. The first statement was that "the time has come." This week Pastor Darren unpacked the second phrase, that the "kingdom of God has come near." What are the implications? How does this look like for us? What does the Kingdom of God have to do with salsa? Listen to this week's podcast to find out!

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

"Here as in Heaven." For more information visit : garden.church

Gideon was a cowardly man, who was the weakest of his tribe. Yet, God used Gideon to conquer an army. How does that happen? It was through obedience. What can we learn through Gideon's transformation into obedience? Listen as Pastor Darren challenges us to push back against the idols in our lives that grasp for our obedience, and then turn our devotion to the God who does the impossible.

Humans were created with the image of God embedded within us. As image bearers, our jobs are to reflect God's image into the world. However, what happens when we place the focus of our image on something else? Listen as Sarah Deutscher speaks on the idol of image.

We had our friend Mark Sayers join us on Sunday, and he taught on the concept of God's temple. The temple was a focal point of the Old Testament, it was where God dwelled among his people. However, what happens when in the New Testament the temple changes from a physical building to God's people? Listen to both services to get a full picture of what the implications are for us.

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.

The Holy Spirit is the primary vehicle where God's power is seen throughout the world. His Spirit empowers us to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and to do what Jesus did. Healing was seen all throughout Jesus' ministry through the Spirit, and that ministry continues in the book of Acts. It is Jesus' disciples that carry out his mission and continue doing the things that Jesus did, including healing. We believe that healing should happen regularly as you live out your life. Listen as pastor Darren invites us into a new journey of obedience and faith as we partner with the Holy Spirit in ministry.