Garden City Sermons

Psalm 131 - Letting go and holding on

What if our insecurity and anxiety come from trying to hold onto things that were never ours to carry? In Psalm 131, we see an invitation to let go of what isn’t ours so we can make room for what is, and discover what happens when we do.

Psalm 23 - security is a person not a place

When the world around us feels unstable, it often reveals how fragile the things we lean on really are. In Psalm 23, David points us toward a different kind of security, one not rooted in a place, a circumstance, or our ability to hold everything together, but in the presence of a Shepherd who sees what we cannot see and loves us with unfailing love.

Psalms - Poetry to stay sane

In the book of Psalms we receive a gift we need to stay sane when the world is going crazy - Poetry. In this first week of this series, Craig asks the question, "What if your desires aren't the problem but they are the path to experiencing God?"

You Can't Love Without Receiving

Why do so many of us have a hard time asking for help? Could beliefs and expectations about God be keeping us from admitting our need? Jonah knew that God C.A.R.E.S. God is Compassionate, Abounding in Hesed, Relenting from Calamity, Enduring in Patience, and Showers us with Grace. Jonah couldn't stomach the idea of that grace being extended to his enemies. Finally, we apply this to our own lives through the lens of Giving and Receiving. If we only give, we play the Savior; if we only receive, we become consumers. To truly love our city and reflect the Hesed (unrelenting love) of God, we must learn to do both. How do we hold the tension between a God who hates evil and a God who is desperate to reconcile with His creation?

Religion vs. Humility

Religion uses others to protect ourselves from failure. Humility sees others as heroes in God's story and serves them. Humility changes the world. How do we practice humility? We land back in Jonah 3, where God shows up a second time not reacting, not apologizing, but commissions a reluctant prophet to a city that has every reason to expect judgment and no reason to expect mercy. Turns out, that's exactly where God loves to work. Three big ideas this week: God loves your people more than you do. Everybody has a hungry heart. And humility before God is what actually changes the world.