Garden City Church
106 episodes - English - Latest episode: 19 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingWelcome to the weekly audio podcast for Garden City Church in Pittsburgh, PA. You can find and listen to messages from our weekend worship gatherings here. It's our hope that these messages encourage you to know and love God more, and to live out your faith well in your local communities.
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Episodes
The New Creation Begins
March 31, 2024 13:00 - 23 minutes - 32.3 MBIt's Easter, the day we gather to celebrate Jesus' resurrection. This year, Pastor Dennis focused on John 20 and the story of the empty tomb, Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene, and how Jesus, in His death and resurrection fulfills the work God had entrusted to Adam and Israel. Jesus, through His death, creates a royal priesthood whose sins are forgiven and, through His resurrection, He invites His people into His kingdom mission of making all things new. God's begun His work of new creation ...
Hearing Jesus
March 24, 2024 13:00 - 24 minutes - 33.6 MBThis week, Palm Sunday, Pastor Shaq Hager walked through Matthew 1:11 (CSB), the story of Jesus' triumphal entry. When Jesus entered into Jerusalem the crowds met Him like they would a conquering king, bringing their expectations to Jesus, anticipating Him to be a Messiah who would overthrow Roman rule and restore Israel to a place of cultural and political prominence. The crowds, in many ways, missed Jesus because they were distracted by their own desires. How might we be distracted from se...
Baptism of the Spirit
March 17, 2024 13:00 - 28 minutes - 53.1 MBThis week Benjamin Chua continues our Acts series. Paul is in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-7) and he meets a group of people who haven't heard about the Holy Spirit. It becomes a conversation about two different baptisms - John's baptism and baptism in Jesus' name. Paul lays his hands on them, prays for them, they receive the Spirit and beginning speaking in tongues and prophesying. Yet, this passage is about so much more than speaking in tongues and prophesy. It's about identity, belonging, gifting, ...
It's Okay to Doubt
February 19, 2024 13:00 - 36 minutes - 42.3 MBThis week, Carrie Buckner walks through Acts 17:10-15 (NIV). In these six verses Paul and Silas arrive in Berea where they visit the Jewish synagogue and reason from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah. Luke, the author of Acts, makes it clear the Berean Jews receive Paul's message with open minds and eager hearts, ready to examine the Scriptures to see if what Paul claims about Jesus is true. It's a stark contrast to the Jews in Thessalonica who hear Paul's Gospel and start a riot (Act...
Empowering Women
January 31, 2024 13:00 - 23 minutes - 27 MBIn Acts 16:11-15 Paul encounters a group of women praying. One of those women, Lydia, is a well-resourced business person. She hears the Gospel and believes, and then her house becomes the place the Philippian church uses as its home base. Paul and his companions stay with Lydia, she resources their ministry, and she leads in the church. Pastor Shaq Hager discusses how this story lays the foundation for why women should be empowered to lead in the church. Note: The first few seconds of the...
Hearing the Spirit
January 21, 2024 13:00 - 34 minutes - 39 MBIn Acts 16:6-10 Paul, Silas, and Timothy are continually “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word…” Honestly, it doesn’t make sense. Jesus, Himself, commissioned the church to go and make disciples of all nations. Paul and his team wanted to proclaim the Gospel. So, why would the Spirit prevent them? What was Paul missing? It seems Paul was intent on going a direction the Spirit didn’t want him to, at least not at this time. So, through a vision, Paul discerns the Spirit’s leading an...
To Be Free
January 08, 2024 13:00 - 36 minutes - 41.9 MBWhat does it mean for followers of Jesus to be free? Paul talks about freedom in his letters, including 1 Corinthians. For Paul his freedom isn't just so he can live however he wants. His freedom is something to be used, sacrificed even, and for a purpose. But, then, what is our freedom in Jesus for? That's what Pastor Dennis talked through this week as we restarted our study of Acts. We focused on Acts 16:1-5, the story of Paul meeting Timothy and inviting Timothy to join his ministry team.
Joseph's Joy
December 17, 2023 13:00 - 34 minutes - 39.4 MBIn the third week of our Advent series Pastor Dennis Allan walks through Joseph's story in Matthew 1:18-25. It's the story of a faithful person who knows God's ways and character, acts with compassion and mercy, and submits himself fully to God. Joseph endured public scorn and shame, relinquished control over his life and his family's life, and even risked his and his family's physical well-being and safety. All because of the joy set before him. Joy isn't an emotion so much as it's a state ...
Mary's Peace
December 11, 2023 13:00 - 34 minutes - 39.9 MBThis week Julia Allan continued our Advent series by focusing on the story of Mary's disorienting visit with the angel Gabriel. Mary is a young woman from a village so small and insignificant it wasn't included on maps. And yet, this unknown and unimportant person experiences God's unmerited kindness as her entire life is upended with the news that she is pregnant and will carry and give birth to a son named Jesus who is to be the Savior of the world. We see Mary experience peace at a time w...
Zechariah's Hope
December 04, 2023 13:00 - 27 minutes - 31.1 MBThis week Carrie Buckner started our 2023 Advent series by sharing Luke's story of Zechariah (Luke 1:5-23). It's a story of hope marked by waiting. Zechariah had lost hope that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would ever have a child. And then one day while Zechariah was going about his work an angel appeared to him and informed him his wife would give birth to a baby boy. He laughed at the absurdity of the angel's message - Zechariah and Elizabeth were old, after all. They'd hoped and hoped and ...
A Sorrowful Conflict
December 01, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 43.5 MBThis week Pastor Dennis Allan walks us through Acts 15:36-41. Paul and Barnabas have just returned from Jerusalem where they advocated for unity in the early church between Jewish and Gentile Christians. But, as they prepare for their second missionary journey, they get into a sharp disagreement and unity is unfindable. It's a sorrowful moment, a moment where two of the early church's most influential people yell, scream, and say things to one another that never should've been said. We have ...
Unity Requires Work
November 19, 2023 13:00 - 30 minutes - 35 MBThis week Pastor Shaq Hager walked through Acts 15:22-35 where Luke records the story of the Jerusalem Council sending a letter to the Gentile Christians in Antioch informing them they don't have to become Jewish to be Christians. The Jerusalem Council drafts a letter and then sends it to Antioch with Judas and Silas, as well as Paul and Barnabas. It matters so much to the Jerusalem Council for the Gentile Christians to know they belong, to know they don't have to conform to Judaism, to know...
Chasing Unity
November 12, 2023 13:00 - 33 minutes - 37.8 MBThis week Pastor Dennis Allan talked through Acts 15:1-21 (NIV), a passage frequently referred to as “the Jerusalem Council.” It’s a story about differing factions within the new Jesus-movement believing they know best how to honor God and do life together. There’s a conservative, Jewish-Christian group that is demanding loyalty to Jewish customs and rituals for both Jew and Gentile. And, there are Gentile-Christians who want to follow Jesus and be part of the church, but not be required to ...
Paul's Dark Night of the Soul
November 05, 2023 13:00 - 34 minutes - 40 MBThis week, Pastor Dennis leads a conversation on how Saul became Paul by tracing Saul’s story from his introduction in Acts 8 to the conclusion of his first missionary journey in Acts 14. When Luke introduces Saul into the Acts narrative, Saul is at the top of Jewish life - educated by the renowned rabbi, Gamaliel, and a member of the Sanhedrin, Saul was acquainted with power. But Jesus finds Saul along the Damascus Road and invites him into a journey, a roughly thirteen year journey, where ...
Turning From Our Gods
October 29, 2023 13:00 - 30 minutes - 34.9 MBThis week, Pastor Shaq walked through Acts 14:8-20 (NIV). There, Paul proclaims the good news of the Gospel in Lystra and Derbe, two cities that seem to have no knowledge of God, but instead a very familiar with Greek and Roman gods. Paul speaks persuasively, arguing that Jesus is the one true God. In doing so, he invites his original audience to turn away from their false gods and follow Jesus. It’s an invitation for us to wrestle with today.
It’s Always Been Jesus
October 22, 2023 13:00 - 35 minutes - 40.4 MBThis week Pastor Dennis Allan talked through Acts 13:13-52, the story of Paul and Barnabas proclaiming the Gospel in Pisidian Antioch. Pisidian Antioch was a military city with nationalist tendencies and dependent on the emperor. The most impressive structure in the city was the Temple of Augustus, otherwise known as the Imperial Sanctuary. When Paul preaches the Gospel he uses specific language, like “savior,” “good news,” and “son of god,” all language used to describe the emperor. But, Pa...
Fasting is Feasting
October 10, 2023 13:00 - 29 minutes - 33.2 MBThis week, Pastor Dennis continues our study of the Book of Acts by focusing the conversation on Acts 13:1-3. The leaders of the church in Antioch were gathered together worshiping, fasting, and praying when the Spirit spoke to them and instructed them to send Saul and Barnabas on what would become their first missionary journey. So many of us want to hear God speak. We want to walk in step with and be led by the Spirit. And yet, we’re choosing to gratify our flesh instead of crucifying it. ...
Four Values for the Church
September 10, 2023 13:00 - 32 minutes - 37.3 MBPastor Dennis Allan continues our study of the book of Acts, focusing on Acts 11:19-30 (NIV). Luke begins telling the story of the church in Antioch and, in telling the story, four things rise to the surface that appear to be values the early church in Antioch embraced: empowering every day people to live out Jesus’ Kingdom mission, building an inclusive church that made space for people of different ethnicities, races, and religious backgrounds, raising up humble leaders who encouraged peop...
Unity Over Uniformity
September 03, 2023 13:00 - 39 minutes - 45.6 MBThis week Pastor Dennis talked through Acts 11:1-18, the story of Peter returning to Jerusalem after sharing the Gospel with and baptizing Cornelius’ household and being met with criticism from a faction of Jewish Christians. This faction of Jewish Christians believes that Gentiles, in order to become full members of the church, have to accept Jesus and convert to Judaism. This is the only way this faction of people believe the church can find unity - every person holding the and agreeing up...
Challenging Prejudice
August 24, 2023 13:00 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MBThis week, Pastor Shaq Hager walks through Acts 10:23-48 (NIV), the story of Peter visiting Cornelius and his family, all Gentiles, sharing the Gospel with them, and Cornelius' entire household placing their faith in Jesus and be baptized. It's a story that challenges our prejudices. It's a story that asks us to examine the ways our prejudices might hinder the story God is trying to write in other people's lives. It's a story that invites us, like Peter, to allow Jesus to reveal our prejudic...
Risking Prayer
August 13, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 30.4 MBThis week Pastor Dennis continues our Acts series by focusing on Acts 10:1-23, the story of two people (Cornelius and Peter), two prayers, two visions, and two sets of guiding instructions from Jesus. Many of us struggle to pray. We’ve been disappointed and disillusioned in prayer and, for some of us, there’s even hurt and trauma from unanswered prayers and what that might mean about our faith or whether or not God is even real. And yet, deep down we want to hear Jesus’ voice, we want to be ...
Humble, Faithful Tabitha
August 07, 2023 13:00 - 31 minutes - 25.4 MBJulia Allan walks us through Acts 9:32-43 where Peter heals a man named Aeneas and raises a woman, Tabitha, from the dead. Julia focuses on Tabitha’s story and her gentle, quiet, and humble faithfulness in caring for the widows in her community. And, Peter’s willingness to travel ten miles to Joppa, where he steps into a situation much like he had watched Jesus step into (the story of Jairus’ daughter). We can press on and do the good work that’s before us because even if we feel unseen, we ...
Risk and Sacrifice
July 31, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBThis week Pastor Shaq Hager and Pastor Dennis Allan talked through Acts 9:13b-31. Together, they worked through the story of Saul's ministry and the threats on his life in both Damascus and Jerusalem, and how Barnabas risked his reputation in advocating for Saul with the apostles in Jerusalem. Both Saul and Barnabas risk and sacrifice in order to proclaim the good news of the Gospel. Are we willing to risk so that we can proclaim Jesus to our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family? Do we...
Zealous for What?
July 24, 2023 13:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBPastor Shaq Hager continues our study of the book of Acts by talking through the story of Saul’s conversion along the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-10 NIV). Just one chapter earlier the author of Acts introduces Saul into the story of the early church, reporting that he “approved” of Stephen’s killing. Saul is a zealot who believes that by identifying and persecuting Christians, even when it means murdering them, he’s defending Judaism and protecting people from being lead astray. Jesus confronts ...
An Inclusive Kingdom
July 17, 2023 13:00 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBThis week Pastor Dennis walks through Acts 8:26-40 (NIV), the story of Philip being sent by an angel of God to an Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch represents a new ethnic and racial group that God wants to reach with the Gospel. And, culturally, the eunuch is considered to be gender non-conforming, neither male nor female. In fact, God’s people have been taught that eunuchs, whether they became eunuchs by choice or force, are outsiders to the people of God, systematically excluded on the basis o...
Slow Anger
June 25, 2023 13:00 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBThis week Pastor Dennis Allan walked through the story of Stephen being stoned by the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:54-60 NIV). Throughout chapter seven we’ve traced Stephen’s trial before the Sanhedrin. And while the the trial is a sham, Stephen has poked at the Sanhedrin’s idols: the law, the temple, and the land. They gnash their teeth, a sign of their uncontrolled fury and rage, drag Stephen out of the city, and stone him. The Sanhedrin are quick to anger. But, Stephen, even as he’s being stoned, p...
American Idolatry
June 19, 2023 13:00 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBThis week, Pastor Shaq focused on Stephen's trial before the Sanhedrin, recorded in Luke 7:1-53 (NIV). Stephen, who has been charged with blasphemy for speaking against the temple and the law of Moses, speaks with conviction and courage to the Sanhedrin. He identifies three idols: the temple, the law, and the land. In a sense, these are idols of the Jewish religious state. And because Stephen speaks against these nationalist idols, he'll be put to death. But, we have our own American idols t...
To Look Like Jesus
June 11, 2023 13:00 - 28 minutes - 22.8 MBJulia Allan walks through Acts 6:8-15 (NIV), the story of Stephen on trial before the Sanhedrin. The Jewish religious leaders enlist people in bearing false witness against Stephen who, in his conversation with the Sanhedrin pokes at some of the people's religious idols: the temple and the law. Luke ends the passage by saying of the Sanhedrin, "...they saw that his [Stephen's] face was like the face of an angel." Stephen becomes a follower of Jesus, faces opposition and rejection from his ...
Rejoicing in Persecution
June 01, 2023 13:00 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBThis week, Pastor Shaq Hager walks through Acts 5:17-42. It's a story about the apostles being brought before the Sanhedrin. This is becoming a regular occurrence for the apostles - trials before the Sanhedrin, questioning, veiled threats, and now a physical beating. All because they continue to heal people and teach the crowds the Gospel of Jesus. What does it mean for us to face and endure persecution? How can we respond to persecution and rejoice in the midst of it?
Agents of Shalom
May 21, 2023 13:00 - 24 minutes - 19.9 MBThis week Pastor Shaq Hager discusses Acts 5:12-16. It's a brief and descriptive passage in which Luke describes the ways the Spirit is at work through the apostles to bring physical healing and restoration to people's lives and bodies. And not just for people within the nascent church community, but also people outside the community. The Spirit's healing activity was not just reserved for the first Christians, but appears to have been available to anyone. The apostles and the early church u...
Righteousness and Witness
May 14, 2023 13:00 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBPastor Dennis Allan continued our Acts study by walking through the story of Ananias and Sapphira recorded in Acts 5:1-11 (NIV). Ananias and Sapphira want to be leaders and hold positions of honor in the early church, and so they devise a plan to deceive Peter and the apostles. They want to appear good without doing the work of becoming good. They want to create a shortcut to leadership and influence without having to do the work of discipleship. It’s a challenging story, and yet it reminds...
Generosity as Gospel Proclamation
April 30, 2023 13:00 - 38 minutes - 30.9 MBThis week Pastor Dennis continued our study on the book of Acts by leading a conversation on Acts 4:32-37. It's a summary passage in which Luke describes the way the early church met the needs of vulnerable people until, according to Luke, "there were no needy persons among them." What values and ethics did the early church embody that we need to pay attention to today? Is a church's willingness to care for its vulnerable members evidence of its Gospel proclamation?
Prayer & the First Christians
April 24, 2023 13:00 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBThis week, Carrie Buckner continues our community's study of the Book of Acts by focusing on Acts 4:23-31. It's a story about the way the first followers of Jesus gathered together after Peter and John were questioned by the Sanhedrin and ordered by them to no longer speak or teach about Jesus. We see the early church prioritize prayer in the face of opposition. Their first impulse was not to strategize, but to pray. It's an indication of the early church's dependence on Jesus and it's an in...
Power for Flourishing
April 16, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBThis week, we return to our Acts series. Pastor Dennis walked through Acts 4:1-22, the story of Peter and John and the Sanhedrin Council. In the story, the Sanhedrin, Judaism's most powerful legislative body, appear threatened by Peter and John and the "power" with which they healed a lame man and taught crowds of people. And that's what the story is about: who can have power, how power is distributed to people, and the ways people and institutions will seek to thwart good things (like the s...
Easter 2023: Never Alone
April 09, 2023 13:00 - 28 minutes - 38.5 MBIn the heart of the battle, we are never alone. In the midst of our battles, we are carried by the victor. Pastor Dennis Allan talks through Matthew 28:1-10 (NIV) and the story of the two Marys holding on to hope that Jesus might just do what He said He would do and, on Sunday morning, finding an empty tomb. Jesus' disciples, though, seem to have lost hope. They're in hiding, mourning and grieving. It seems the disciples believe Jesus might have been just another messianic pretender crushed...
Palm Sunday 2023: The King We Need
April 03, 2023 13:00 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBPalm Sunday 2023. Pastor Shaq Hager talks through the story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem as told by Matthew. It's a story with a historical precedent. Jesus wasn't the only "conqueror" to ride into Jerusalem for whom the townspeople laid out palm branches. They've already performed this ritual once, years prior. The story calls into question the desires of the people of Jerusalem, as well as our desires today. What kind of King do we really want? A king of war or a King of Peace?...
Astonishing Lives
March 26, 2023 13:00 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBPastor Dennis Allan continues our study of the Book of Acts. This week, we talked through Acts 3:9-26, focusing on four words: wonder, amazement, astonished, and surprised. Four words in four verses that inform the way every follower of Jesus is intended to live their lives. Our neighbors don’t need more Christians who prioritize religious obligation over people. Our neighborhoods don’t need more Pharisees. We need Christians who will live astonishing lives today. We don’t always need supern...
Inviting Interruptions
March 19, 2023 13:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBPastor Shaq Hager talked through Acts 3:1-10, the story of a lame person carried every day to a Temple gate where they were left to beg for support. On this day, Peter and John were walking to the Temple to pray, something that they, as righteous Jewish men, did three times each day. And yet, this person called out to Peter and John who stopped, looked at the person, saw them in their need, and offered to them what they had - power in the name of Jesus. It’s a story that teaches us two thing...
Everything We Need
March 12, 2023 13:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBJulia Allan discusses Acts 2:42-47, a picture of the early church living their lives in community with one another, ensuring that every person’s needs are met. It’s all reminiscent of a lyric in the song, “You Are Welcome in this Place,” by Maverick City: “Now that you are here, we have everything we need / Now that you are here, we give everything we have.” The Spirit leads the earliest Christians to release their tight grip on their resources and possessions. Will we respond in the same ...
Who Do You Believe Jesus Is?
March 05, 2023 13:00 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBPastor Dennis Allan continues our study of the book of Acts, this week looking at Acts 2:14-41. It’s the story of Peter explaining to the crowds what the Spirit is doing in and through the apostles. It’s a Gospel proclamation, a sermon, that leads the crowds to the question: “Do you believe Jesus is Lord and Messiah?” It’s a question that every person in the crowd on that day needed to answer, and 3,000 people believed in Jesus. It’s also a question that we need to answer today. Who do you b...
The Spirit Arrives
February 27, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 30.1 MBPastor Dennis Allan continues our study of the book of Acts, this week focusing on Acts 2:1-13. It’s the story of the Spirit’s arrival on Pentecost, fulfilling Jesus’ promises and Old Testament prophecy. The Spirit arrives and takes up residence in the apostles’ lives, empowering them for mission and service. The Spirit doesn’t pull the apostles inward, but pushes them out to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom to every “God-fearing” Jew in Jerusalem, on that day. The Spirit gives the apos...
Waiting & Praying
February 19, 2023 13:00 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBPastor Shaq Hager continues our series on the book of Acts. In Acts 1:12-26 we see the disciples as they do the work of replacing Judas with Matthias, and as they wait and pray together. It’s a group of people (over 100 in total) who are doing what Jesus told them to do - go to Jerusalem, wait, and pray. In our modern, American approach to life both waiting and praying can feel like inaction. But, as Pastor Shaq points out, waiting detoxes our urgency to produce and praying saturates our mob...
Wait, the Spirit!
February 12, 2023 13:00 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBThis week, Pastor Dennis Allan taught through Acts 1:1-11. Katie Long read our passage; view it by clicking here. In these first eleven verses we find a resurrected Jesus presenting Himself to people to help convince them of His resurrection, giving an intensive forty-day class on the Kingdom of God, and then ascending into Heaven. And through it all, Jesus makes clear the apostles are to wait to start their mission until they’ve received the Spirit. Knowledge isn’t enough. The apostles need...
Priests, not Magicians
February 05, 2023 13:00 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBPastor Dennis Allan walks us through the final week of our “mini-series” focused on the three passages in the New Testament where Jesus cries. In Hebrews 4:12-5:8 we’re encouraged, like Jesus, to approach God in prayer with confidence. But, not primarily so that we can get the answers we want. Prayer, it seems, is more about deepening relationship and building obedience than it is getting results. And yet, we oftentimes approach prayer like it’s magic. That if we can learn the right formula ...
God Isn’t Angry
January 29, 2023 13:00 - 34 minutes - 39.4 MBPastor Dennis Allan walks through two passages in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus is patient, grace-filled, forgiving, and grieved regarding the sin of His people. In these two passages we begin to discover we aren’t haunted by an angry God; we’re pursued by a God of love. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and prays for the people who crucify Him. Yet, for many Christians, we think of God as angry, almost gleeful in His punishment of sinners, especially the sinners whose lifestyles we dislike. And y...
Unlikely Evangelists
December 11, 2022 13:00 - 31 minutes - 42.7 MBIn the third week of our Advent series, Amanda Wagner leads a conversation focused on the story of angels appearing to shepherds, declaring the birth of Israel’s long-awaited Messiah. Shepherds are a group of people essential to Israel’s spiritual observance, and yet are systematically excluded by the same religious system due to their ritual uncleanness. And yet, it’s shepherds God sends His angels to. It’s shepherds God invites to be the first eye-witnesses of Jesus’ birth. And it’s shephe...
Our Humble King
December 04, 2022 13:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MBIn the second week of our Advent series, Julia Allan focuses on Luke 2:1-7 and the humble arrival of Jesus as a baby born to Joseph and Mary in the small town of Bethlehem. Our humble king isn’t born in a palace, but in alongside animals. Jesus isn’t wrapped in exquisite cloth after he’s born, born in regular swaddling cloths. He isn’t born into power or privilege, but into obscurity and poverty. In the humble arrival of Jesus we find a King who knows us and who is for us.
Sabbath Rest
November 20, 2022 13:00 - 31 minutes - 36.5 MBMitch Young, a member of Garden City’s Servant’s Council, focuses on our need for sabbath and rest. As we move into the Advent season, posturing ourselves to experience Jesus in a new way in this season, we need to think differently about the pace of our lives and the fullness of our schedules. As we anticipate our Savior’s arrival this Advent, may we also know His rest.
The Greatest Commandment
October 20, 2022 13:00 - 29 minutes - 41 MBIn Mark 12:28-34 Jesus is confronted by a teacher of the law who asks Jesus, of the 613 laws and commands Jewish people were expected to keep, which law is the most important. Pastor Shaq Hager walks us through Jesus’ response and teaches us that right belief doesn’t, in and of itself, lead to salvation. Right belief matched with right action is what Jesus requires of His people.
Jesus, Our Inclusive and Just Temple
October 04, 2022 13:00 - 39 minutes - 54.9 MBThis, as we celebrated our one-year anniversary as a faith community, Pastor Dennis walked through Mark 11:11-17 (NIV). It's the story of Jesus entering the temple in Jerusalem and turning over tables. But, this story isn't really about Jesus confronting merchants for buying and selling in the temple. It's actually a story about the temple system and how it excluded people God wanted to include and how it exploited people God wanted to lift up. Together, we'll discover that Jesus becomes our...