Good Shepherd Gardendale

We are honored to celebrate the freedom we have in Christ which allows us to honor the freedom we have in this Country. Today, Cody, one of our lay preaching students will be sharing today's message on "do you love God or do you love the world?" The world will tempt us in three ways to love it with our flesh, eyes, and pride, and all three end up unsatisfying. But Jesus shows us a di...

The way of Jesus can be challenging because it means dying to oneself. We die to our selfish ambitions. We die to our greed. We die to always being right. We actually have to lose our life so that we can find it. And that may mean walking away from people who can't support and encourage our journey with Christ. This is Part 3 of our series: The Way of Jesus.

Today we continue our series called the "Way of Jesus." In this series we are exploring the teachings of Jesus and how they impact our lives today. In today's message we are going to focus on "word of wisdom" when life is hard. Jesus gives His disciples some very practical wisdom for when life is hard as they are trying to live out their faith. These words of wisdom will be...

Today we begin our brand new Summer Series called The Way of Jesus. On multiple occasions we are encouraged to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and Life and we are to walk in His ways. This Summer we want to focus our attention on the miracles, ministry, and teachings of Jesus found in the book of Matthew. We are going to listen to Jesus, we are going to as...

Today we are honored to have Pastor George Murdaugh with us again. Pastor Murdaugh will be leading us in worship and the celebration of communion. With Pastor Murdaugh today we are excited to have Seminarian Nick Ford. Nick is studying for pastoral ministry with our sister church body the AALC (American Association of Lutheran Churches). May we give both a warm Good Shepherd welcome.

Today is a special day in the church. It's both Trinity Sunday and Confirmation Sunday. Trinity Sunday is a day we recognize the uniqueness of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Confirmation Sunday is a day where several of our teens are confessing their faith in that unique God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May the Lord Bless this day to His Glory.

One of the most profound changes that took place with the death and the resurrection of Jesus, is the sending of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God now lives within us as we are united in Christ. The Spirit of God is the guarantee of our salvation. As we celebrate Pentecost today, we are invited to think about, "What Does the Holy Spirit Really Do?" How do you see the Holy Spirit impact...

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our worship series for the Easter season called "Resurrection Realities." Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward these realities we still face in this life. Today's service looks at the reality of evil and how we deal with S...

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our worship series for the Easter season called "Resurrection Realities." Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward these realities we still face in this life. Today's service looks at the reality of identity and how the ways i...

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our worship series for the Easter season called "Resurrection Realities." Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward the realities we still face in this life. Today's service looks at the reality of evangelism and how the ways i...

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our Easter worship called “Resurrection Realities.” Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward the realities we still face in this life. Today’s service looks at the reality of relationships and how our interactions with one another change in...

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our worship series for the Easter season called “Resurrection Realities.” Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward the realities we still face in this life. Today’s service looks at the reality of lifestyle and how the way in which we live...

Thank-you for joining us for today’s worship as we start a new series for the season of Easter called “Resurrection Realities”. Each service in this series focuses on a section from 1st Peter as he guides the post-Easter church on how to look at the complexities of life as we follow our Resurrected King. In part 1 we will look at the “reality of suffering and trials” and how we approach them with...

Happy Easter Friends! The celebration of Easter is about one thing…Life! Christ has risen from the dead, he has destroyed the power of sin, death, and the devil, and today we celebrate that He is alive, and that because He Lives so shall we! May God bless your life in Christ, and may you experience the life he gives.

Welcome to this Palm Sunday service. In this service we remember that when Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time amid palm branches and praises, he knows the suffering that awaits him there, yet he does not turn back. He willingly chooses the path of suffering because of his deep love for us. We therefore can embrace moments of suffering today, because we know that the Lord will bring joy in th...

It's not uncommon to see people who call themselves Christians but who don't act like Jesus. If we're not careful, we can find ourselves doing the work of God without bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Instead of focusing on production, we need to focus on connection with God. This is part 6 of our series Christian-ish. In today's message we will look at what happens, "When We G...

In our world we are kind of used to the idea of "transactions" when it comes to relationships. It's where we get the idea of, "you scratch my back, and I scratch yours." Sometimes it's easy to treat our faith like a transaction—doing our part and expecting God to do His. But this creates a distorted belief that turns our relationship with God into a contract and we miss...

One of the classic Christian slogans when you are struggling or going through difficult moments is "Put God First." There is something in us that tells us "Put God First," but then we look at life and how we spend our time, money, and relationships and realize we "don’t put God first." We don't as Luther says, "fear, love, and trust" in God above all thi...

One more bite. One more episode. No big deal, right? The everyday choices we make might not feel important, but they shape our future more than we realize. Discover how we can break the cycle of choices that keep us stuck from living the life we want. Join us on this Lenten Journey for Part 3, “Small Choices That Keep You Stuck”. May the Lord Bless our Time Together.

"Christian-ish" means having a half-hearted faith or wearing the label of Christianity without truly following Jesus. God describes this way of life as being "lukewarm". In today's message we will explore the 5 signs of being lukewarm and how the Gospel can reactivate our faith when we are lukewarm. May the Lord bless our time together during this Lenten journey.

God's vision for the church has four foundational pieces: 1. It's a GIFTED church; 2. It's a UNITED church; 3. It's a POWERFUL church; and 4. It's a WISE church. Today we explore how God's wisdom is needed for the church as we learn to navigate the changing culture in the world. We need wisdom to express God's truths in a way that is authentic. We need wisdom to make go...

What is God's Vision for His church? What is the foundation and pillars of the church? What is the picture that God has for His church? In this series based on 1 Corinthians 1, we are given four pictures of the church: a gifted church, a united church, a powerful church, and a wise church. In today's message we will explore what it means for the church to be powerful in a way that is compl...

Last week we saw that God has a vision for his church. First, that vision is to be a church that is built around God's gifts. The second part of that vision is Paul's appeal to UNITY! That the church is one heart, one mind, and one faith. God doesn't desire the church to have any divisions but rather we walk together, in unity. This is part 2 of our series Called to Be Different, &quot...

What is God’s vision for the church? What does the church look like when it is fully engaged in God’s plan and mission? St. Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth paints a beautiful picture of the church in chapter 1. In this brand-new series, we will look at 4 images that Paul uses to paint an image about God’s Church. A church that is called to be different in the world. A church that is gi...

Today we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. Jesus' baptism is a unique moment in his life as He first receives the blessings of His Father and second he fulfills as in his own words, "all righteousness." As we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus we take a moment to remember our Baptism and how our Baptism, according to Romans 6, 'changes everything' in our lives! This morning we are...