The Garden | San Antonio

Pastoral Resident Nate Garza continues our series on discipleship, Walking Home , considering the topic of transformation. What does it mean to be made new? When the Spirit works in us, what is evidence of change? Looking at Paul's words in his letter to Titus, we discover the power of a heart regenerated to love like Christ and a mind renewed to think like Christ. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Titus 3...

Continuing our series on discipleship, Walking Home , Pastor Caleb looks at the other side of following Jesus. Looking at Luke chapter five, we see in Jesus' call to Peter and to Levi – two very different men who see the Lord and take him at his word – that to "come and see" we must "leave everything." The sick and the sinful find in Jesus hope for today and for tomorrow. W...

We begin a new series on discipleship, Walking Home , with a look at Jesus' invitation to follow after him, given to his disciples in the Gospel of John: "Come and see." His call helps us to set aside many contemporary misconceptions of following him, and we see in his words that a life of faith rests on a foundation of relationship, that no amount of activity or experience could com...

Our series through Jesus’ Beatitudes continues with a look at God’s promise to the peacemakers. Pastoral Resident Nate Garza shares the meaning of Jesus’ statement by walking us through the Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau. As we see in their separation and eventual reconciliation, the peace of God that comes to us is meant to flow through us as well. Being a peacemaker requires spiritual pre...

Continuing our series through the beatitudes, Kingdom Come , Pastor Caleb takes a look at two interrelated promises from Jesus. He tells his disciples that the merciful will find mercy and that the pure in heart will see God. Walking through the biblical witness, we find that God sees us long before we can see Him, and from His compassion flows mercy that clears the eyes of our heart to begin to w...

In part four of our series Kingdom Come , Pastor Caleb looks at Jesus' fourth beatitude, where he tells his disciples that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. The context of Jesus' words involves a physical hunger, with many in his audience suffering from Roman oppression and the corruption of religious leadership, but the yearning Jesus is speaking to goes far de...

Continuing Kingdom Come , our series through the beatitudes of Jesus, our pastoral resident Nate Garza looks at the kind of meekness God blesses and what it means for followers of Jesus to rely on the strength of the Lord at work – in us and in the world he calls us to. ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Psalm 37:1-11 ⁠⁠⁠ (NIV)⁠⁠⁠ For more resources and ways to connect with us, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ thegardens...

Our series through the beatitudes of Jesus, Kingdom Come , continues with God’s promise to comfort those who mourn. Pastor Caleb walks through this vow, echoed throughout scripture, and shows how hope in the Lord yields comfort not just in a far off, eternal reward, but here now in the presence of a God who weeps and works for us. Even more, so abundant is the comfort we find in the depths with Go...

Pastor Caleb kicks off Kingdom Come , our new series through Jesus' beatitudes, with a look at what it means to be poor in spirit. Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount, a stunning and encompassing work describing the character of the Kingdom of God, with a promise to fill those whose only hope is the Lord. Jesus calls these poor in spirit blessed , and those who follow him can take comfort not...

Four Sundays a year, we invite a friend and ministry partner to discuss one of The Garden's four core values, which are really values for every believer and community in Christ. This weekend, we had the blessing of hearing from Jonathan Kagimu of African Renewal Ministries, who shared a word on the value of Presence , based on the story of Mary and Martha in the Gospel of Luke. As Jonathan sho...

Concluding our series, Pastor Caleb looks at the final fruit of the Spirit Paul lists in his letter to the Galatians: self-control . Paul is not encouraging believers to greater feats of personal strength or moral performance. Rather, Paul defines this fruit as yielding the growth and guidance of the new self to the Holy Spirit. What we need to experience this kind of holy self-control is to put o...

Happy Easter! Our series through the fruit of the Spirit continues with a look at Gentleness on Resurrection Sunday. Before a crowd in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus does something in prayer that was totally unprecedented. He speaks of knowing the Father in intimate relationship, as His very Son and more, as the only means of seeing the Father. This claim of exclusivity and authority was considered...

Continuing In Season , our series on the fruit of the Spirit, Pastor Caleb looks at faithfulness – a timely subject for Palm Sunday, commemorating the day Jesus entered Jerusalem to a crowd welcoming Him in, just days before he would be put to death by Rome at the behest of a very similar crowd. We know today the value of faithfulness, of loyalty, but as this week in Jesus' story shows, we str...

Our pastoral resident Nate Garza continues our fruit of the Spirit series with a look at Goodness in the life of Saul. As Nate shows us, the goodness of God doesn’t quit on even the worst of us, and when that goodness confronts us, everything changes. And for those who see the light as Saul did, goodness experienced becomes goodness expressed. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Acts 9:1-19 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (ESV)⁠⁠⁠ The Ga...

Continuing our Lent series, In Season, we look to the fruit of the Spirit of kindness. How do we define kindness? To the world, it often looks like avoidance, weakness, an action that might be random or selective. The kindness of God, the kindness believers are called to, is very different. It is truly strong and bold. It is not just an action but a state of being. As our friend SO shows us, it is...

Patience might be everyone's least favorite fruit of the Spirit. Unlike the three fruit that precede it in the Apostle Paul's list in Galatians, patience is something few of us really desire to have. It is a fruit developed through the pains of frustration, disappointment, regret, and even sorrow. But as Pastor Caleb explains, the fruit Paul describes bears little resemblance to what we of...

We continue our Lent series through the fruit of the Spirit with a look at Peace, a particularly timely subject given recent global events. Jesus says he gives us his peace, and not like the world gives it. What kind of peace does Jesus offer us? How do we find this peace in such an anxious world? And how do we share it with others? Pastor Caleb shows us how life in the Spirit can keep us in God&#...

Our Pastoral Resident Nate Garza continues our Lent series through the fruit of the Spirit with a look at Joy. As Nate points out, joy that comes from the Holy Spirit is not a thing we have to generate but a gift we receive as we trust in God. It's because the joy of the Lord is beyond our power to create or control that we can count on it carrying us through the ups and downs of life and bond...

Pastor Caleb kicks off a new series for Lent on the fruit of the Spirit listed by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians. After describing the activities of the flesh – selfishly motivated works of sin and segregation – Paul contrasts them not with opposing activity but opposing identity . Those in Christ Jesus have a new life to live, and the Spirit present in them means that they lack n...

As his letter to the Philippians draws to a close, Paul leaves his beloved brothers and sisters with a word of encouragement founded on the nearness of Christ. Rather than minimize their heartache and suffering, brought about by persecution and rejection, Paul points to God's faithful presence with us. It is the space of prayer and the posture of reverence that cultivates a greater awareness o...

When Paul encourages his brothers and sisters in the church in Philippi to imitate him, he is not speaking with pride in himself but with confidence in Christ. As he has said elsewhere, it is not he who lives but Christ who lives in him. We see this in the kind of life he is encouraging the Philippians to: humble, committed, and forward-facing. As Robert Saenz shares in his sermon, Paul’s words he...

Paul writes to beloved friends in Philippi who are experiencing the pain of persecution, the temptation to wander from the way of Jesus, and the strains of maintaining authentic fellowship. He warns of the danger of corrupting faith by holding to what privilege and performance bring, and encourages instead clinging to Christ and his cross as our great, enduring inheritance. What do we hold dear? W...

What do people see, feel, and receive in the Church that is unique in our world? In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul sets the foundation for Christian community on the character of Christ. When his mind, heart, and hands are evident in the fellowship of his people, we find a life of true, resilient joy. It was for the joy of communion that Jesus emptied himself of status and pretens...

Is ambition a good thing? For some, ambition is to be avoided, a temptation to worldly endeavors. Others embrace it as the only path to finding purpose and flourishing. The Apostle Paul does not denigrate ambition but helps us separate worthy, Kingdom ambition from worldly, selfish ambition. With his one goal to draw himself and others closer to Christ, Paul was liberated from a life of chasing pu...

We kick off a new year and a new series with a look at Paul's letter to the Philippians. At the start of his message to this beloved congregation, Paul takes time to discuss the work God does in us. Called out of darkness and rescued from alienation, we are gathered and formed together as the body of Christ. Paul's encouragement for the church in Philippi and all believers is to rejoice in this go...