Good Shepherd Gardendale

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our worship series for the Easter season called "Resurrection Realities." Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward these realities we still face in this life. Today's service looks at the reality of identity and how the ways in which we identify ourselves shift in light of the resurrection of Christ.

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our worship series for the Easter season called "Resurrection Realities." Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward the realities we still face in this life. Today's service looks at the reality of evangelism and how the ways in which we share the Gospel with others reflects the light of the resurrection of Christ.

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our Easter worship called “Resurrection Realities.” Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward the realities we still face in this life. Today’s service looks at the reality of relationships and how our interactions with one another change in light of the resurrection of Christ.

Thank you for joining us for this service as we continue our worship series for the Easter season called “Resurrection Realities.” Each service in the series focuses on a portion of the book of 1 Peter and looks at the new approaches St. Peter says we all should have toward the realities we still face in this life. Today’s service looks at the reality of lifestyle and how the way in which we live changes in light of the resurrection of Christ.

Thank-you for joining us for today’s worship as we start a new series for the season of Easter called “Resurrection Realities”. Each service in this series focuses on a section from 1st Peter as he guides the post-Easter church on how to look at the complexities of life as we follow our Resurrected King. In part 1 we will look at the “reality of suffering and trials” and how we approach them with Jesus in mind.

Happy Easter Friends! The celebration of Easter is about one thing…Life! Christ has risen from the dead, he has destroyed the power of sin, death, and the devil, and today we celebrate that He is alive, and that because He Lives so shall we! May God bless your life in Christ, and may you experience the life he gives.

Welcome to this Palm Sunday service. In this service we remember that when Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time amid palm branches and praises, he knows the suffering that awaits him there, yet he does not turn back. He willingly chooses the path of suffering because of his deep love for us. We therefore can embrace moments of suffering today, because we know that the Lord will bring joy in the morning.

It's not uncommon to see people who call themselves Christians but who don't act like Jesus. If we're not careful, we can find ourselves doing the work of God without bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Instead of focusing on production, we need to focus on connection with God. This is part 6 of our series Christian-ish. In today's message we will look at what happens, "When We Get It Wrong - How to Bear Fruit the Right Way."

In our world we are kind of used to the idea of "transactions" when it comes to relationships. It's where we get the idea of, "you scratch my back, and I scratch yours." Sometimes it's easy to treat our faith like a transaction—doing our part and expecting God to do His. But this creates a distorted belief that turns our relationship with God into a contract and we miss the heart of God. But faith works differently. Faith means trusting God and stepping into something much greater than a simple exchange. In Part 5 of our Christian-ish series we will explore what happens "When God Doesn't Do It?"

One of the classic Christian slogans when you are struggling or going through difficult moments is "Put God First." There is something in us that tells us "Put God First," but then we look at life and how we spend our time, money, and relationships and realize we "don’t put God first." We don't as Luther says, "fear, love, and trust" in God above all things. And the problem is that we have this heart that produces idols and clings to idols 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days out of the year. And for the Christian-ish this becomes even more predominant.

One more bite. One more episode. No big deal, right? The everyday choices we make might not feel important, but they shape our future more than we realize. Discover how we can break the cycle of choices that keep us stuck from living the life we want. Join us on this Lenten Journey for Part 3, “Small Choices That Keep You Stuck”. May the Lord Bless our Time Together.

"Christian-ish" means having a half-hearted faith or wearing the label of Christianity without truly following Jesus. God describes this way of life as being "lukewarm". In today's message we will explore the 5 signs of being lukewarm and how the Gospel can reactivate our faith when we are lukewarm. May the Lord bless our time together during this Lenten journey.

God's vision for the church has four foundational pieces: 1. It's a GIFTED church; 2. It's a UNITED church; 3. It's a POWERFUL church; and 4. It's a WISE church. Today we explore how God's wisdom is needed for the church as we learn to navigate the changing culture in the world. We need wisdom to express God's truths in a way that is authentic. We need wisdom to make good decisions and not compromise on who we are. We need wisdom to know when the "law" is needed and when the "gospel" is needed. May God make us a "wise" church.

What is God's Vision for His church? What is the foundation and pillars of the church? What is the picture that God has for His church? In this series based on 1 Corinthians 1, we are given four pictures of the church: a gifted church, a united church, a powerful church, and a wise church. In today's message we will explore what it means for the church to be powerful in a way that is completely different from the world's image of power.

Last week we saw that God has a vision for his church. First, that vision is to be a church that is built around God's gifts. The second part of that vision is Paul's appeal to UNITY! That the church is one heart, one mind, and one faith. God doesn't desire the church to have any divisions but rather we walk together, in unity. This is part 2 of our series Called to Be Different, "A United Church."

What is God’s vision for the church? What does the church look like when it is fully engaged in God’s plan and mission? St. Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth paints a beautiful picture of the church in chapter 1. In this brand-new series, we will look at 4 images that Paul uses to paint an image about God’s Church. A church that is called to be different in the world. A church that is gifted, united, powerful, and wise.

Today we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. Jesus' baptism is a unique moment in his life as He first receives the blessings of His Father and second he fulfills as in his own words, "all righteousness." As we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus we take a moment to remember our Baptism and how our Baptism, according to Romans 6, 'changes everything' in our lives! This morning we are going to explore how our Baptism changes everything in our lives so that we can celebrate what God has done.

What are the blessings that you have that help you follow Jesus? One that you may not even realize is that you are a "peacemaker". God has given you the ability to not only be at peace with God but to be at peace with others. As we enter 2026 this is a great opportunity to think about this being a year of peace. First, we enjoy the peace we have with God because Jesus has made peace with us. Second, we have an opportunity to live in peace with one another because of the gracious work God is doing in our lives.

Welcome friends as we worship the Lord on this Sunday after Christmas! We rejoice that the little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay is our King of Kings forevermore. The Word Made Flesh reigns over heaven and earth, and we are loved and forgiven members of the Kingdom of God to life everlasting.

On this Christmas Eve, we celebrate and ponder the humble birth of Jesus as he rests in a manger of straw, though he is the Son of God. Jesus is the Word Made Flesh who is God With Us.

In this fourth service in The Word Made Flesh series for Advent, we rejoice that Jesus brightens our lives through his birth, dispelling the darkness of sin to bring forgiveness to light. How does light shine in darkness? Where do you need light to shine in your life today? What does it mean that Jesus is the light of the world, and we are lights also.

In this third service in The Word Made Flesh series for Advent, we give thanks that Jesus is our rock, a solid foundation on which to build a life of joy. When the storms come and life gets challenging it's so good to know we have something rock solid to cling to. May the Lord bless our time together in week 3 of our Advent Journey.

In week 2 of our "The Word Made Flesh" series for Advent, we remember that Jesus calls us to flavor the earth and to savor the good things that come from him through his birth. We are called to be the salt of the earth, but what does that mean? Why are we the salt of the earth? Can we lose our saltiness? And how does God make us the salt of the earth? May the Lord bless our time of worship in him!

In this first service in "The Word Made Flesh" series for Advent, we celebrate that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread, to nourish and strengthen us in our faith and feed us with his Word of truth to fill our lives. Today we explore what is the bread of life? Why do we need the bread of life? And how do we receive the bread of life? May the Lord grant his grace as we journey together this Advent season.

As we wrap up this series on the book of James, we are reaching a decisive moment if you will. James has been demonstrating how we take the gifts of God and oftentimes abuse them. But now we are given a gift that we cannot abuse but rather, it's a gift that brings healing and life. As we confess our sins before God we are forgiven, and as we confess our sins before one another we are healed. That’s the end goal of James. To find our healing and new life in Christ. May God bless our time of worship today.

What’s the limit of your patience? Do you get frustrated waiting in line at the grocery store? Do you hate sitting in traffic? Do you find yourself losing it when others are late? Now what would happen if what you are being patient for took a lifetime of waiting. This morning we tackle the issue of patience in Part 10 of our series James: Real Faith. Real Life. May God bless our worship!

It was once said that arrogance is a creature. It has only a sharp tongue and the pointing finger. Today James addresses the arrogance in all of us as we look at the words we speak, the judgments we make, and the plans we push forward. How do we address this arrogance in all of us. This is part 9 of our series James: Real Faith. Real Life. May the Lord bless our worship as we are encouraged by him.

Anger is real. We feel it for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s not bad and sometimes it is uncontrollable. When anger strikes we can stuff it down or it can erupt. Today James tackles the issue of anger, where it comes from and how it affects us and others. This is Part 8 of our series James: Real Faith. Real Life. Today we also celebrate what is known as All Saints Sunday as we give thanks to the Lord for the people in our life who are now with the LORD!

Welcome to this special service for Reformation called "Trusting Only Thee." In this service, we celebrate and give thanks for the "ETERNAL GOSPEL" which points us to Christ Jesus, the one who came to save sinners. The Reformation is not about celebrating Luther and the reformers, it's about celebrating how God helped bring to clarity the powerful Gospel message we all need to hear. May the Lord bless our time of worship in him!

Throughout the book of James we are discovering the path of seeing what a faith that is active and alive looks like. A faith that allows you to see what a hearer and doer of the words of Jesus looks like. A faith that clings to the cross but also expresses itself in deeds. And today is no different. Today we see how James gives us clarity on how to relate to others with wisdom. That same wisdom that James said we should pray for so that we could learn to experience joy in the midst of suffering, is the same wisdom that's going to help us relate to others. Today we are going to pick up with Part 7 of our series James: Real Faith. Real Life.

What you say has the power to build a life or destroy it. You may think you are spiritual and not self-centered, but your words betray what’s in your heart. In this message, Pastor Dave continues our journey through the Book of James and offers insight on how to filter what you say by trusting the Holy Spirit to guide your heart and manage your mouth. This is Part 6 of our series James: Real Faith. Real Life. May the Lord bless our time together.

This morning we tackle one of the toughest and most-debated questions around: How does this combination of faith and works play itself out? Are you saved by faith alone? Are you saved by a combination of faith and works? Can you have a real faith and no works? What is a work? Find out today in Part 5 of our series James: Real Faith. Real Life as we explore: "Faith? Works? How Does it Work?" May God Bless Our Worship!

The book of James is written to followers of Christ who are scattered and living among people who are different. They talk differently, they were raised differently, and they worshipped different gods. So the question becomes "How Do We Treat People Right" who are different from us? This is Part 4 of our series James: Real Faith. Real Life. May the Lord bless our time together in worship today.

What kind of life are you living? Are you living a self-serving life which is all about you and what you want and what you want to accomplish and what you want to do with what you have? Are you living a scattered life which means you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to balance work, school, kids, friends, church, and any other commitment that comes your way? Or are you living the righteous life? And life that seeks to do life, "God's Way!" This is Part 3 of our series, James: Real Faith. Real Life.

In order to have a real faith that translates into a real life, our understanding of God has to be solid. There are many half-truths and false ideas about God floating around the world. They show up in Tiktok videos and viral soundbites. They are shared by the world but also false preachers and teachers. Today we are going to clear up 3 lies with 3 powerful truths about who God is. This is Part 2 of our series James: Real Faith. Real Life.

What do you consider pure joy in your life? A really good steak dinner? A delicious bowl of homemade peach cobbler with ice cream? A quiet trip to the mountains? Or how about some fun in the sun? We all have things that we would consider "pure joy," but trials are not one of them. Going through hard seasons of being tested doesn't make the list. And yet today we are invited by God to do just that. This morning, we are going to kick off our series, James: Real Faith. Real Life. by exploring why God tests our faith.

For the past couple of weeks we have been exploring the impact of devotion upon our lives. We saw in week 1 the importance of the four devotions: apostolic teaching, prayer, breaking of bread, and fellowship. In week 2 we saw the impact of these four devotions as we experience: the awe of God, unity, radical generosity, and a joyous spirit. And now we bring it all together as we see how God takes our devotion and uses it in the life of others to bring them into a saving faith with Christ.

Last week we began our new series DEVOTED as we unpacked the 4 Devotions that are essential to our life in Christ. Those 4 Devotions are: Prayer, the Apostolic Teaching, Breaking of Bread, and Fellowship. This week in Part we will see the impact that these Devotions had on the church. We will see what happens to the church when life is lived this way.

On the day of Pentecost, we see the church come to life as the Holy Spirit poured out on thousands of new Christians. But what made the church so lifegiving and supernatural? What made the church so impactful that it changed the most powerful empire on the planet? What did the church look like as it gathered? This week we begin a brand-new three-part series called "DEVOTED" as we look at Acts 2:42-47 and God's Vision for the church!

Sometimes life gets a little chaotic ... ok, sometimes life gets really chaotic. What do you do when life begins to feel out-of-control and scary? Today we are going to look at the Biblical Process you can walk through when life feels out of control.

You don’t want to miss this weekend as we continue our God on Film series with the movie Twisters, what to do when life takes an unexpected turn. The truth is…life is full of unexpected twists: going through a divorce, getting a prognosis of cancer, losing a loved one, suffering a miscarriage or losing your job. What does God have to say to us when we experience these moments in life that catch us off guard?

Pastor Dave shares a report from the National Youth Gathering, the beautiful message of endurance, and the words of our teens who attended the gathering.

Life can be hard. And there are going to be moments where we get "knocked down, but God helps us back up." This weekend we are going to look at what the Bible says about developing resilience, perseverance, and determination. So that even when life gets hard, you can still get back up!

Sometimes we control our emotions. But sometimes our emotions control us. And when that happens…the results aren’t usually that good! This is best seen in the film Inside Out 2, a story of a young girl whose emotions are just starting to come out. THIS weekend we continue our GOD ON FILM teaching series by taking a deep dive into the world of our emotions and how to use them in a godly way.

Sometimes life can feel useless, tiresome, unfulfilling, insignificant, and uncontrollable. When this happens, you stop dreaming and you just start existing. You go through the motions, but don’t know where you are going. This morning, we are going back to the movies with our brand-new edition of God on Film. In this series we will see how God uses film to pose questions that God’s Word has the answer to. This week’s question, “what is God’s dream for my life?”

Today Pastor Dave returns from his sabbatical and wants to share what God has put on his heart over the last 30 days. Being able to disconnect and focus attention on the Lord brings clarity and peace. Today may we celebrate God’s renewing and healing work as Pastor Dave shares his heart to yours!

The story of Pentecost is a powerful reminder of God's great love for us as he poured out the Holy Spirit upon us. That same Spirit then empowers us to use our words to thank and praise His holy name. So this morning, Bob is going to share his heart to yours on why words matter, and how they have the power to build up or to tear down. Happy Pentecost!

Today we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord. We watch in awe and wonder as He heads home to be with His Father, but it is not the end of the story. We welcome Pastor George Murdaugh today, as he shares this message from his heart to ours!

During Habits of a Healthy Heart, we’ve learned how to self-examine. We have learned how to slow down and simplify. We have even learned to embrace sorrow. Every choice we make can have a dramatic impact on our lives. So how do we keep the momentum going and make these habits last? How do we finish the race? How do we stay faithful?

We’ve all done things we regret, and the guilt from our actions can weigh on our minds and hearts. You might even feel like you’re stuck in the past, constantly reliving your mistakes. Imagine what your life would be like if you could finally get rid of the guilt and move forward. Today, let’s explore how to get rid of guilt for good.