The Garden Church // Sunday Teachings

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Luke 3:1–18 This week, Pastor Josh meets us in the ache of Advent longing and echoes John the Baptist's call to "prepare the way" for Jesus. His message reframes waiting as faithful roadwork—the repentance, generosity, and justice that clear space for grace to land. We’re invited out of the “wait-and-wish” ditch of avoidance and the “work-and-worry” ditch o...

Teacher: Mandi Paszek Text: Matthew 1:18-25 NIV Christmas is an invitation to hope. But what do we do when our hopes are left waiting? In the first week of Advent, Mandi invites us to meet God in our longings, our lament, and our experience of liminal space. Questions for reflection: What longing am I holding back from God today? Where do I need God to meet me in my grief and lament?

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Revelation 21:1-5 In the final week of The Story series, Pastor Josh reframes Revelation—not as a code to be cracked, but as God’s hope-filled unveiling for weary, pressured people trying to stay faithful in Babylon. Here we're given a better ending than we could ever write ourselves: Jesus makes all things new, and our present faithfulness matters because the story...

Teacher: Larry Kim (Central Square Church) Text: Acts 2:1-8 NIV Guest preacher Larry Kim continues The Story series with Acts 2, when God fulfills His promise to dwell with His people forever through the Holy Spirit. With wind, fire, and the miracle of tongues, the Spirit forms the Church and empowers ordinary people with God’s own power. Because Christ now lives in us, we’re invited to live diffe...

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Luke 22:7-8, 14-20 Josh continues The Story series in Luke 22, tracing how Jesus redefines Passover around himself. Through the cross and resurrection, we see God’s breathtaking rescue plan—a holy ambush that defeats death from the inside and invites us to live marked by his redeeming love.

Teacher: Mandi Paszek Text: Luke 4:16-21, 25-30 This week, we enter the New Testament. Preaching from Luke 4, Mandi traces how the promises and longings of the Old Testament find their fulfillment in Jesus—the King who brings good news to the poor, freedom to the captives, and sight to the blind. In a world chasing control, status, and certainty, she reminds us that Christ’s Kingdom begins with su...

Teacher: Caleb McCoy Text: Ezekiel 37:1-10 The prophet Ezekiel denounced the idolatry of God’s people—not only their individual sin, but their collective injustice, hypocritical worship, and oppression of the poor. In this continuation of The Story , Caleb emphasizes that despite their warped allegiances, God continues to pursue His people and call them back to life.

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: 1 Samuel 8:4–20 Israel’s demand for a king in 1 Samuel reveals our shared impulse to grasp for control when trust feels risky. In this message, Josh traces how God cautions, consents, and continues—working through even our worst choices to bring renewal and raise a truer King. This sermon was preached on October 5.

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Exodus 19:3–8 At Sinai, God forms a rescued people with a covenant constitution — not an entrance exam, but a path for presence and public witness. In this sermon, Josh explore “grace before guidance” and the Law’s three aims: rituals for identity, boundaries for holiness, and rules for flourishing. He explores how the law can train us into people who host God’s presence...

Teacher: Mandi Paszek Text: Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-6 In Genesis 12 and 15, God makes a covenant with Abraham—the beginning of His redemptive plan for the world. Here we see that God's grace has been present from the very start, and because He is faithful, His promises will never fail.

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Genesis 3:1-8 NIV In Genesis 3, we encounter the first unraveling of God’s good creation—a story of temptation, distrust, and the devastating ripple effects of sin. In this sermon, Josh unpacks how this ancient pattern is not only humanity’s story but our own, and how even in the fallout, God moves toward us with love and the hope of restoration.

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Genesis 1:26–2:3 NIV This week, Pastor Josh begins our 10-week journey through the whole story of Scripture by returning to the very beginning in Genesis 1. Here we find that our origin is not chaos or accident but the loving intention of God — and in it we discover who we truly are: God’s own image, entrusted with the work of creation and the gift of Sabbath rest.

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Psalm 51:1–12 Josh closed the  When We Pray  series with Psalm 51, showing that while our instinct is to hide in shame, healing begins when we confess. Confession means owning our sin, grieving its harm, and seeking renewal. A broken heart is the doorway for God’s mercy to restore joy and wholeness.

Teacher: Kyle McBee Text: Isaiah 6:1-8 In a reflection on Isaiah 6, Kyle reminds us that the Kingdom of God doesn’t move by spreadsheets or strategies but like a garden—slow, messy, and filled with hidden life. Growth isn’t always quick or visible, but God is still at work creating beauty out of the dirt. Our call is not to control outcomes but to remain faithful, trusting Him with what we cannot...

Text: Exodus 33: 12-23 Teacher: Josh Wilson In Exodus 33, God promises Israel victory over their enemies and a land flowing with milk and honey—but without His presence. The people grieve, realizing that blessings without God Himself would be empty. In seasons when God feels distant, we can be tempted to “make do,” but in this sermon Josh calls us to press in and stay connected. After all, the gre...

Text: Jonah 2:1–9 Teacher: Mandi Paszek  In week two of our prayer series, Mandi invites us to journey with Jonah—not in the belly of the fish, but into the heart of a prophet wrestling with God’s mercy. Jonah’s prayers sound sincere, but his story reveals how easy it is to pray without truly surrendering. We’re reminded that prayer isn’t about presenting polished words—it’s about letting God work...

Teacher: Josh Wilson  Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1–11  When pain is too deep for words, prayer becomes our starting point. In this week's teaching from Nehemiah 1, Josh Wilson invites us to notice how Nehemiah doesn’t leap into action—but starts with lament. His story challenges us to see pain not as something to avoid, but as something that can deepen our intimacy with God and shape the way we respond...

Teacher: Megan Lietz Text: Acts 10:9-16 In Acts 10, Peter receives a vision that disrupts everything he thought he knew. Preaching from this passage, guest teacher Megan Lietz reminds us that God’s kingdom breaks boundaries—cultural, racial, and religious. Following Jesus means unlearning old defaults and making room for people we might otherwise exclude.  Megan is Founding Director of the Race an...

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Ephesians 5:21-22, 25; 6:1-9 The relationships that shape our daily lives are meant to be reflections of Christ’s love. In this week’s message, Josh explores how Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5 and 6   challenges cultural norms and invites us into a new pattern — where submission is mutual, love is sacrificial, and authority is used to serve, not to dominate.

Teacher: Caleb McCoy Text: Ephesians 5:8-20 Living as children of light means letting God’s love shape every part of us. In this message, Caleb McCoy reflects on Paul’s invitation to leave behind the old ways and walk in what is good, right, and true. Growth takes time—like breaking in a new pair of shoes—but the Spirit meets us in that process. Each day is a chance to choose light over darkness a...

Teacher: Kat Hampson Text: Ephesians 4:1-16; 1 Corinthians 12 The Church is more than a gathering—it’s a body, with every part needed and valued. In this week’s sermon, guest speaker Kat Hampson ( Riverwalk Brookline ) invites us to embrace both our unity and our differences, recognizing that each person plays a vital role. As we grow together in love and truth, we reflect Christ more fully to the...

Teacher: Mandi Paszek Text: Ephesians 3:14-21 God’s love isn’t just something we learn about—it’s something we’re meant to experience. Teaching from Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3, Mandi Paszek reminds us that when we feel stretched, it may be God expanding our hearts to know Him more. We receive His strength, His fullness, and His love—not by striving, but by His Spirit at work in us.

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Ephesians 2:1-7 Even when the world feels fractured, we’re not without hope. Josh unpacks Ephesians 2:1–7 by helping us recognize the tension between who we were and what we’re being invited into. It’s a story of restoration—of being raised from old patterns and reshaped into something more whole. As we reflect on what it means to be made new, we’re reminded that we belo...

Teacher: Kyle McBee Text: Ephesians 1:3-10 God chose us and loved us before the world began, making us secure and beloved in Him. In a world that still feels broken, we’re invited to live as glimpses of God’s Kingdom—rooted in grace instead of performance. In this sermon, Kyle reflects on Paul’s words in Ephesians 1, reminding us of this true identity and encouraging us to remember it daily as we...

Teacher: Josh Wilson Text: Revelation 22:1-5 In the final sermon of this series, Josh traces the biblical story from Eden to Revelation, showing how the theme of exile and return culminates in a restored garden-city where God dwells with His people. Through Jesus, the exile ends and we become living temples—portals of heaven on earth—called to embody the beauty and healing of the coming Kingdom in...