The Garden | San Antonio

Today, Andy Squyres joins us to continue our Lenten reflection on the fruit of the Spirit. We talk with Andy about love's enduring presence through suffering, looking at things like lyrical content and Good Friday. For Andy's music and writing, visit: https://andysquyres.com For our Lent resources, visit: https://www.thegardensa.org/resources

We're continuing to reflect on cultivating the fruit of the Spirit this week by talking with Jon Guerra about patience in creative work and the way of Jesus. Jon is a singer/songwriter in Austin, TX. His work comes from a patient collaboration with God in prayer. We pray this conversation is a gift to you. For more on Jon's music and touring, visit his website: https://www.jonguerramusic.c...

Part 12 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. This week, Caleb walks through chapter 14, where Paul encourages the Church to participate in worship gatherings and desire gifts of the Spirit all for the sake of building one another up in love. For more info, visit thegardensa.org

Part 11 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. This week, Jordan teaches on Paul’s famous words in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is what we are made for, and it is where we are going. But, even though this deep desire for connection and communion lives in us, the thought of giving our lives to love is scary. Why is love so important not only to Paul, but to Jesus? For more info,...

These weekly Lent podcasts are a time for you to join us in prayer, meditation, and conversation. In this episode, Jordan offers a guided reflection on Psalm 107. Then, we are joined by our friend Kevin Flowers to talk about kindness. Kevin is the lead pastor of Alamo Community Church, our sending church. He and Jordan dive into how we might practice and identify kindness in our daily lives. For o...

Part 10 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. This week, Caleb looks at Paul’s encouraging words in chapter 12, talking about how the Body of Christ is built up through the gifts of the Spirit. While we do eagerly await and pray for these manifestations of God’s presence on earth, we must also be aware of the character of the Holy Spirit on whom we wait.  Fore more info,...

These weekly Lent podcasts are a time for you to join us in prayer, meditation, and conversation. In this episode, Jordan offers a guided reflection on Psalm 19. Then, we are joined by our friend Tim Phillips to talk about goodness. Tim and Jordan dive into how we might define goodness and look for it in the midst of suffering and everyday life. For our Lent resources, visit https://www.thegardens...

Part 9 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. Our friend Lee Wong joins us to teach on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. The practice of Communion is meant to form the community into a place of love and belonging. Lee unpacks what happens in our souls and in our communities when this unifying act is corrupted and becomes divisive, ultimately to invite us into the self-giving love of...

These weekly Lent podcasts are a time for you to join us in prayer, meditation, and conversation. In this episode, Caleb offers a guided reflection on Psalm 22 and its invitation to lament. Then, we are joined by our friend Josh Lavender to talk about gentleness. Josh is a worship leader, writer, and pastoral presence with great insight on the sometimes counterintuitive way of gentleness. For our...

Part 8 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. In the beginning, God creates humankind in his image. In Christ, we are made to embrace our distinctions for the sake of love and life with God. Looking at an often misused and controversial passage in 1 Corinthians 11, Caleb highlights this invitation to gentleness and humility. For more info, visit thegardensa.org

These weekly Lent podcasts are a time for you to join us in prayer, meditation, and conversation. In this episode, Caleb offers a guided reflection on Psalm 25 and its invitation to a life of trust. Then, we are joined by our friend Elizabeth Coffee to talk about faithfulness. Elizabeth’s work of storytelling and bridge-building with the HEB Foundation shapes her unique perspective on how the Spir...

Part 7 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. Looking at chapter 10, Caleb highlights the stark contrast between worshiping God and worshiping idols. God, the Creator, gives himself to us in abundance, while an idol (a created thing) slowly makes us less human. For more info, visit thegardensa.org

These weekly Lent podcasts are a time for you to join us in prayer, meditation, and conversation. In this episode, Caleb offers a guided reflection on Psalm 51 and the invitation to confession. We follow this up with a conversation about self-control and how it might be cultivated in our lives as we walk with the Spirit in confession and trust. For our Lent resources, visit https://www.thegardensa...

Part 6 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. Looking at chapters 8 and 9, Caleb leads us to reflect on the knowledge of God and how it is inextricably tied to our love for one another. For more info, visit thegardensa.org

Part 5 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. Looking at chapter 7, Robert Saenz joins us to teach on marriage, singleness, and the call to live with contentment in each season. For more info, visit thegardensa.org

Part 4 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. Everybody shares a God-given desire for belonging. The Church is meant to be a place in which belonging is a gift for all who will receive it from Christ. But how do we respond when we or the people around us begin to intentionally disconnect from the gift of the Body? Looking at Paul’s words in chapters 5 and 6, Caleb addresse...

Part 3 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. Through the lens of Paul’s words in chapters 3 and 4, Caleb leads us to ask ourselves what is worth building our lives upon. God invites us not to do this work individually, but to be the temple of His Spirit as a community. For more info, visit thegardensa.org

Part 2 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. Paul spends the end of chapter 1, and the beginning of chapter 2 speaking about the strange nature of God’s wisdom. Caleb unpacks these themes to invite us to receive wisdom as a gift from God, even and especially as it transcends our understanding.  For more info, visit thegardensa.org

Part 1 of “Love Is The End Of The World”, our series in 1 Corinthians. Looking at Paul’s opening address in verses 1-17, Caleb highlights the parallels between the struggles of 1st-century Corinth and the struggles of division in our day. There's a unity to which the Body of Christ is called, and it's a gift we can embrace in our local churches in daily life. For more info, visit thegarden...

Part 6 of our Advent series, "Carry The Day": Through the lens of Micah’s closing words, Jordan invites us to soften our hearts so that we might receive and notice the ways God is already present in our lives.  For more info, visit thegardensa.org

Part 5 of our Advent series, "Carry The Day": Placing the story of the shepherds who receive the news of Jesus’ birth side-by-side with Micah 6-7, Caleb invites us to see the light God brings as a gift. Though light can create panic, it is a jarring experience, like it was for the shepherds, because the God who brings light longs to redirect us in love, so that he can lead us into what w...

Part 4 of our Advent series, "Carry The Day": Our friend S.O. joins us to continue the journey through the book of Micah. Looking at Micah 4 and 5, we are faced with questions of how to respond when life doesn’t go the way we expect it to go. S.O. encourages us to seek a God who is present in our suffering. For more info, visit thegardensa.org . Check out S.O.'s music !

Part 3 of our Advent series, "Carry The Day": Micah 3 begins with an indictment of the leaders who abused God’s people in Micah’s day. Caleb unpacks how this is still a timely critique by advocating for gentleness and compassion to be the marks of our leadership today. Ending in Micah 4, we look forward to the return of Christ, who is with us in the waiting, by His Spirit. For more info,...

Part 2 of our Advent series, "Carry The Day": Journeying from John 10 to Micah 2, Caleb teaches on an ache that has existed in the human soul long before Micah’s days: the ache for home. Micah looked around and saw how corruption had turned Israel into the opposite of a home for the poor and oppressed. Jesus offers us a home, and his words of invitation are still counter-cultural gifts t...

Part 1 of our Advent series, "Carry The Day": We’re spending the season of Advent going through the book of Micah. Starting with chapter 1, Caleb begins the series by outlining the communal need for repentance that led Micah to prophesy to Israel. The story of God’s people doesn’t rush through tension, but acknowledges it all and waits for the One who can ultimately resolve it. For more...