Garden City Sermons

Many of us know what we do: we're a designer, a writer, a grandmother. Many of us know how to do what we do. But many of us rarely know why we do what we do. Grace gives us a new why.

We live in a transactional world. I give something therefore I get something of equal or greater value. In a transactional world, value is earned, not recognized. Relationships are conditional. Identity is fragile. What's God's answer to the problem of a transactional world? Christmas.

We all have a perspective of reality but it's not the full scale of what God is doing. In this message Janna Segovia helps us see lies that keep us from believing what God has and how that keeps us from joy.

We experience peace in the presence of God. But how do we experience God's presence at Aldi or the DMV?

If I have to produce I am unable to receive. On the first Christmas God had a message of hope for unlikely characters. God shows us to the ancient equivalent of Christmas Vacation's Cousin Eddie, and says he has good news. Will we allow ourselves to receive the hope that comes with good news or will we try to produce hope on our own?

What do you do with the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Many of us feel we can't be hero makers without getting our lives perfectly in order. But Paul tells us we just need to start.

Paul tells the Thessalonians church to stay away from sexual sin. What is he talking about? What does the Bible teach about sex?

What are you capable of? Do you want to break a generational pattern of anger? Do you feel God is calling you to take a risk but you feel fear? How do we maximize our capacity? One answer is suffering. Suffering maximizes our capacity, and most of us avoid suffering? Hero makers show us love while we suffer. Love makes us brave and gives us the strength to endure suffering, which maximizes our cap...

Suffering disorients us. Traumas cause us to forget. Hero-makers remind us who we are. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 the Thessalonians forgot who they were. Paul is quick to remind them who they are: his glory and joy. We are like kids learning to ride a bike. We can only see the fall, but the hero-maker sees the formation.

Lacking purpose usually doesn't show up as a big crisis, but as subtle symptoms that eat away at us over time: Feeling restless, aimlessness, anxiety about the future, numbness, and cynicism. What if these symptoms are a sign that it's time to make a shift. To move from being the hero of our own story to being a hero maker: helping others be the hero in God's unfolding story. Today we...

How do we truly live out the calling to be Hero Makers? How do we step into a life of flourishing, presence, and purpose? In the second week of our series through 1 Thessalonians we see that the answer isn't trying harder, but instead it's experiencing what it means to Belong?

Why are so many churches shrinking? We are persuaded churches are shrinking because too many churches see themselves as the hero in their own story. A church that sees herself as the hero cares about: getting more people to join, growing their platform, and being respected. No wonder most churches are in decline! What if churches saw themselves as launching pads instead of platforms? There is some...

Does Jesus’ teaching really seem all that wise? “Turn the other cheek”? “Go the extra mile”? Most of us hear those words and think, " that’s a recipe for being taken advantage of."  Who actually lives like that? In this episode, we dig into the heart of Jesus’ wisdom. What if his teaching on forgiveness isn’t naïve or passive but subversive? What if Jesus isn’t calling us to weakness, bu...

"Frustrating, life is so frustrating!" says the Bible. What do you do when: Good People are soon forgotten. You get more wisdom, you get more problems. Others enjoy your wealth. We're never happy with what we have. Life is unfair. The book of Ecclesiastes points out these problems and sort of leaves us in them. What's the path forward?

Most of life isn't black and white. Should I stay in my stable job or should I take a risk for a job I love? Should I set a boundary with a friend or hang in there with them? Too often we look for shortcuts. We want to skip uncertainty. But God meets us in the gray areas to build trust. How do we cultivate trust?

We all want our voices to be life-giving. But how do we do that? How do we speak to people without becoming the villain in their stories? The book of Job teaches that the most life-giving thing we can do is not to try to be a life-giving voice but to let God challenge our beliefs about God. Only then can our voices carry His wisdom instead of our formulas.

In the age of AI, quickly evolving political movements, and tense interpersonal relationships we do not need more information. We need wisdom. Wisdom is not the same thing as information. But how do we get wisdom?

How in the world do people change? Do we change through will power, mountain top experiences, knowing more, or some combination? At Garden City we are persuaded that love changes us. We believe we are loved into loving.

Nothing is more sad than a life devoid of purpose. Buy how do you find your purpose? We find our purpose when we experience presence.

Why don’t we believe that God can do big things through us? Shame. Shame fears being exposed and seen as deficient. We were created to be shameless. Can we get back there? 

Life feels loud, busy, and chaotic. What if the rest we’re looking for isn’t just about taking a day off? In this sermon, we explore how Sabbath is more than a pause from work; it’s a way of recentering our lives. One surprising key to experiencing that re-centering? Practicing forgiveness. When we release others, and ourselves, from the weight of past wrongs, we make space for the deep, soul-leve...

In this new series on vision, we explore what it means to live with a clear, compelling picture of the future. God invites us to co-create with Him. You were made in the image of a Creator, designed to build, shape, and bring beauty into the world. Not alone, but in deep connection with others. You’re a creator who connects. A builder who belongs. What if our lives weren’t just about building a ch...

Self-Protection says, "If I stay hidden I will be safe." Grace says, "It is safe to come out of hiding." Self-Protection build wants. Grace builds trust. What does it look like to be a person of grace?

What if believing the devil exists helps me love people better? What if there are spiritual forces making it difficult for us to get along? We struggle to embrace the idea of a literal devil. This is, in part, because of the Satanic Panic of the 80s and 90s and partly because we live in a disenchanted world. As Paul closes out his letter to the Ephesians he helps us see that people are not our ene...

What does the Bible teach about slavery? On the surface it sounds like Paul (who wrote most of the New Testament) is pro-slavery when he says, "Slaves, obey your masters." But when we unpack the context of this statement we discover a beautiful world Paul is inviting us to create.