Garden City Church

In Acts 21:1-16 Paul is en route to Jerusalem. He's resolved in his heart after discerning through the Spirit this is where he's supposed to go, even though he knows suffering and imprisonment likely await him there. In these sixteen verses we see people who love Paul try to discourage him from continuing his journey. They encourage him to abandon this trip, to not go to Jerusalem, and even claim...

Pastor Shaq Hager continued our Acts series by discussing Acts 20:28-38, the second half of Paul's speech to the Ephesian Elders. Paul believes this is the last time he'll see these leaders he loves so much. It's heartfelt and emotional. Paul knows these leaders will need to shepherd their congregation within an empire that believed the early church to be anti-imperial and a subversive threat to R...

The apostle Paul endured great suffering. A kind of suffering that works like a crucible, forging his soul more into the shape of Jesus.* This week, Pastor Dennis walks us through the end of Acts 19 and into Acts 20 exploring the end of Paul's ministry in Ephesus and how his letter, 2 Corinthians, reveals the depths of suffering he endured there. Suffering is part of the human condition and experi...

This week Pastor Dennis lead a conversation focused on Acts 19:23-41, a story about people in Ephesus rioting because they believed Jesus' followers were actively seeking to undermine the financial, economic, and religious systems that shaped the city. It's a story that makes clear Jesus' words in Matthew's Gospel about two roads - a narrow road and a wide road. The narrow road leads to Jesus and...

Julia Allan continues our Acts series by focusing on Acts 19:8-20. It's a story that demonstrates the power of Jesus' name. Jesus' name is capable of healing people, liberating people from sin and darkness, and leading people out of bondage to the occult and into the freedom of the Kingdom. But, many of us want Jesus' power without wanting His lordship. We want healing and liberation without submi...

It'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...

This 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, mi...

This 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 abo...

This 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...

In 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 foundati...

In 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 wan...

What 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 o...

In 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...

This 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...

This 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 o...

This 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 influen...

This 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 th...

This 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 ar...

This 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...

This 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. I...

This 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,...

This 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 a...

Pastor 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 differ...

This 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 thi...

This 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...