Garden City Church

Garden City Church Pittsburgh
  • 5.0 (2)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Garden City Church Podcast

Welcome to the weekly audio podcast for Garden City Church in Pittsburgh, PA. You can find and listen to messages from our weekend worship gatherings here. It's our hope that these messages encourage you to know and love God more, and to live out your faith well in your local communities.

  1. We Live as Exiles

    3 DAYS AGO

    We Live as Exiles

    Benjamin Chua continues our series, "People of the Kingdom." If we are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom of God, then the country we find ourselves in is not our true home. As citizens of the Kingdom we live in America as exiles, not dissimilar from the Israelites who were exiles in Babylon or how the early church identified as exiles within the Roman Empire. We are foreigners and strangers on earth. And yet, as Christians we've sought to make our home in America by adopting a Christianed version of the American Dream and claiming it as God's promise to us. So, if we're exiles, what does that mean? How are we supposed to live here and now if we're active outposts of the Kingdom? If we can live out Jesus' words as Kingdom-minded exiles distinct from American culture we'll get to watch God's rule and reign spread all across our neighborhoods, cities, and country.

    31 min
  2. We are Citizens of a Kingdom

    SEP 8

    We are Citizens of a Kingdom

    This week, we start a new series titled, "People of the Kingdom." Over the next eight weeks we'll explore the idea that the church in America's first political task is to become the church Jesus intended. And that starts by recovering our true citizenship. As the people of God we are citizens of the Kingdom, first and foremost. Only secondarily are we citizens of the country we live in. Our first and primary allegiance is to Jesus and His Kingdom. Our ways of living and being are to be shaped exclusively by the Kingdom, yet many of us have been profoundly formed by the empire we live within. How do we live as citizens of the Kingdom and as an active outpost of the Kingdom in the places we find ourselves today? It all starts in Philippians when Paul reminds the women and men in Philippi that their citizenship has its roots in a heavenly commonwealth.

    37 min
  3. Junia, the Apostle

    SEP 5

    Junia, the Apostle

    This week Pastor Shaq Hager introduces us to Junia, an apostle, who helped lead and build the early church. Junia's status as an apostle, however, has been questioned. From approximately the 13th centurty until about 1980 Bible translators added an "s" to Junia's name, making it Junias, which was a male name. Yet, early Christian writers like John Chrysostom make it clear Junia is a woman, and Origen even states that Junia was one of the 70 who were also called apostles. Paul describes Junia as a person who was imprisoned and "in chains" for the Gospel. In Junia, we have an example of a courageous woman who lived into her gifts as an apostle and helped advance the Gospel and build the early church.

    22 min
  4. Priscilla, the Ministry Leader

    AUG 25

    Priscilla, the Ministry Leader

    This week, Carrie Bucker walks through Priscilla's story. Paul identifies Priscilla as a co-laborer in the ministry of proclaiming and living out the Gospel. He even identifies her and her husband, Aquila, as having protected his life and saving the early church, ensuring it was able to thrive and flourish. There's even a story about Priscilla taking aside a young, charismatic, and gifted teacher named Apollos, and identifying some of his theological weaknesses and teaching him. Priscilla being a woman was not a hindrance for Paul or God. She was living out the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in her leadership and teaching, and she was performing her role in the body of Christ for which God had equipped her.

    27 min
  5. Phoebe, Carrier of the Gospel Message

    AUG 18

    Phoebe, Carrier of the Gospel Message

    This week we start a three week series focused on women leaders in the early church, and what their lives and ministries can teach the church today about following Jesus. Phoebe was entrusted by Paul with carrying, arguably, Paul's most theologically substantive letter. Not only was she expected to deliver Paul's letter to the Romans, but she was also expected to teach and discuss it with the church in Rome to ensure they understood it. In a sense, she was a physical representation of Paul's teaching and ministry for the Roman Christians. She was a servant-leader, a protector, and a provider who used her life and resource to advance the Gospel and build the Kingdom.

    30 min
  6. Acts in Retrospect

    AUG 11

    Acts in Retrospect

    This week we take a look back across sixty-three sermons and our study of the book of Acts to identify major themes and what they mean for us today. In particular, the conversation focuses on the expansive and inclusive nature of the Gospel, the Kingdom of God breaking into and challenging the kingdom of man, the call to go to our neighbors, what it means to wait on the Spirit, and how everywhere we find ourselves is an opportunity to be a signpost to the hope and love of Jesus. Every one who taught as part of the series was included in the conversation: Reverend Eleanor Williams, Carrie Buckner, Julia Allan, Benjamin Chua, Pastor Shaq Hager, and Pastor Dennis Allan. Katie Long facilitated.

    50 min
  7. The Invitation of Acts

    AUG 5

    The Invitation of Acts

    Luke ends the book of Acts with Paul in Rome, imprisoned, meeting with a group of Jewish people. He shares the Gospel with them, proclaiming the ways the Old Testament foretold Jesus as Israel's true Messiah and prophesied that, through Jesus' death and resurrection, the Kingdom of God had been inaugurated. While some chose to believe the Gospel, most did not. Even the people most committed to following God's laws are capable of missing out on what God's doing. Paul's vision of the Kingdom is a scandal to many. It's a Gospel that's radically inclusive, wildly expansive, and it lifts Jesus high. The invitation Luke extends to all of his readers is this: Jesus' ministry and Paul's ministry are now ours to continue. We are to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom to everyone, everywhere we go. Because God wants all His kids to come home.

    27 min
  8. Relationship vs. Rightness

    JUL 28

    Relationship vs. Rightness

    Sometimes we're so convinced we're right about a particular belief, a specific way of seeing or understanding the world, or, even, a way of interprepting a particular portion of Scripture that we tell ourselves it's more Jesus-like to remove ourselves from relationship with people who think or believe differently than we do. In essence, we can believe purity of doctrine or adherence to biblical interpreptations is more important than extending love and relationship to those we disagree with. This week, Pastor Shaq Hager focused on Acts 28:11-22, leading to a congregational conversation focused on three questions: What beliefs do you find problematic in other Christians?Which of your own beliefs do you think other Christians might find problematic?How can we, as Jesus prays in John 17, be one as followers of Jesus while also holding space for our disagreement? *In the podcast, you'll hear Pastor Shaq set-up the discussion and then you'll hear a few seconds of quiet. Then, Pastor Shaq will lead a brief prayer. Feel free to pause the sermon after Pastor Shaq introduces the conversation questions and reflect on them on your own.

    25 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to the weekly audio podcast for Garden City Church in Pittsburgh, PA. You can find and listen to messages from our weekend worship gatherings here. It's our hope that these messages encourage you to know and love God more, and to live out your faith well in your local communities.

Information

  • Creator
    Garden City Church Pittsburgh
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2024
  • Episodes
    109
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 Garden City Church Pittsburgh
  • Show Website
    Garden City Church

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