The Good News From The Gardens Podcast

01/12/25 | Saved to Serve the Whole World

Saved to Serve the Whole World
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
In this scripture and message we hear Luke’s account of John’s baptism of Jesus. Jesus' baptism was God’s affirmation/anointing/kick off of God’s mission to the world through Jesus. Jesus was baptized because the people were getting baptized. He may have been without sin, but he was not too good to enter the turbulent and muddy waters of human life. He came to serve, so that others may learn to serve. In this message we celebrate and correlate Jesus’ baptism to ours, and what that means to us and God's creation. 
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01/05/25 | Lighting The Way

Lighting The Way
John 1:1-9 | Matthew 2:1-12
This Sunday we celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord. Epiphany means “manifestation”. In the John text, we hear how God manifested God’s self through the Word that was the light of the world. In the Matthew text we hear how curiosity in the Word manifested itself with the magi/wisemen. God is actively lighting a will for your way through the Word that is Jesus in 2025. Listen to this message to hear how God best illuminates your future. 
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12/24/24 | God's Mission to the World Began and Continues at the Margins

God's Mission to the World Began and Continues at the Margins
Luke 2:1-20
From the margins of the universe, a peasant girl in 1st century Judea, reviled shepherds in the fields, on up to this very moment in time, the Creator of all that is, makes its way to YOU. Listen to this message for a message of hope and renewal. 
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12/22/24 | What Do You See? (Guest Preacher Rev. Dr. Chuck Miller)

What Do You See?
Luke 1:39-55
There is so much that we see without realizing it is an illusion. If God created this world, what then is God’s vision?
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12/15/24 | What Then Should We Do?

What Then Should We Do?
Luke 3:7-18
In the gospel for this  week, John has made it clear that Abrahamic lineage is not a prerequisite to salvation, for God can raise up holy ancestry from stones! John says, “Bear fruits, worthy of repentance.” Meaning, if you repent of your sins, if you confess your sin, say you will turn to God, then there must be something to show for it. And the crowd ask, “What then should we do? Great question, right? This is a question we are all familiar with. At some point in time of our lives, we have asked that question. When the path forward is unclear we ask this question. We may ask it of ourselves, or someone else. When the assignment or expectations are unclear we ask “What then should we do?”. Listen to this message to ponder what bearing good fruits for a God who bared himself in human flesh for us looks like.
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12/08/24 | Peace is Present Where Preparation, and Proclamation Intersect

Peace is Present Where Preparation, and Proclamation Intersect 
Malachi 3:1-4 | Luke 1:68-79| Luke 3:1-6
Zechariah believed his son John was born for a distinct purpose. John would come to be known as John the Baptist. In the midst of religious and political turmoil, John declared through a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins people could begin aligning their lives with the Word of God about to become flesh. To repent means to essentially say, “I am unable”. We are unable to navigate our earthly lives without sin. Our thoughts, words and deeds affirm this. Through Christ, God makes us able. What is God making you able to do, to the benefit of yourself? Others? All of creation? For what purpose is God preparing and enabling you? Listen to this message, and ponder your holy purpose.
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12/01/24 | Living in the Meantime

Living in the Meantime
Luke 21:25-36
As faithful people living in the meantime, we are called to patience and hope. We don’t scramble and clamor for answers to fulfill our hearts desires.
Before we reach our heavenly destination, the end, the day or days of redemption, there is the journey, what I like to call the meantime. But being patient and hopeful in the meantime is not for the faint of heart, let alone the faint of heart for those with faith! What are you holding onto these days? What gives you peace and pause amidst the chaos of this world? Are you holding onto fear and foreboding, onto darkness, or holding onto light and life, hope and promise? Listen to this message to be reminded of how important it is to take in signs of God with us, so that we may be signs that God is with us.
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11/17/24 | The Sky Is NOT Falling!

Gifts of Love: The Sky is NOT Falling!
Mark 13:1-8
In this text…the disciples are distracted by big buildings, and Jesus dismisses the buildings grandeur and assures the disciples of their collapse. Rightfully so, they are concerned about this calamitous occasion. Jesus does not offer comfort, but ratchets up the mayhem, assuring them that there will be more chaos to come. However, in the last verse Jesus finishes with this, “This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” In this broken world, anything that is good is going to be met with disruption and difficulty. In the meantime, till Christ comes again, how do we handle life’s proverbial valleys? We live spiritually and emotionally grounded in God. Listen to this scripture and message for a hope-filled perspective on life ahead for us all.  
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11/10/24 | Gifts of Love: Peanut Butter Cups and a Mile High Meal with Mother Theresa

Gifts of Love: Peanut Butter Cups and a Mile High Meal with Mother Theresa
Mark 12:38-44
Jesus reports to us from the temple. While there, he rails against the scribes' accumulation of wealth and opulence at the expense of widows, and their inauthentic giving. In contrast, he lifts up a widow. A victim of the broken and unjust system. Jesus points out that she places the equivalent of 1/64 of a day’s wage in the temple treasury. Essentially nothing. A negligible amount for the treasury, but all that she had to live on. Join us this Sunday as we contemplate what giving and living out of a sense of abundance looks like, when sometimes all signs point to poverty. 
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11/03/24 | Poll Your Emotions

All Saints Sunday: Poll Your Emotions
John 11:32-44
Through the story of the raising of Lazarus, we experience Jesus accompanying us in our sorrow, and we believe that in Christ the power of death will be defeated. In and around the death of Lazarus, Jesus managed to keep it together in a situation that questioned his ability and sincerity, was stressful, and grief-laden. Like Jesus, how might we be led to check our anxiety and stress levels. How might check them at the cross? As saints of the present we are called to be spiritually and emotionally mature when it comes to death, and loss. We do what we do today because of those who have gone before us, and the future of those who are watching us. Have a listen of this message if you would like some perspective on what to carry with you to the polls and into God's world.
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