Now in terms of worship, there is something about raw prayer and praise that cuts deeps. This Live at the Banks House album is what I believe is a prime example of this pure worship and you really need to listen to this. It may just change your life.

You can find the link here.

Beloved Garden family,

Praise God!  I’m officially back from my sabbatical (my first day back in the office today!)!  It’s so good to be back.  We missed The Garden soo much!  Sharon and I are so thankful to the Lord for giving us this precious time of sabbatical-it truly was a time to be refreshed, renewed, and refocused in our spiritual lives.  I am so thankful to our wonderful board, our competent and capable staff,  and our selfless serving leaders who led the church while I was gone.  While gone, I was at total peace knowing that the church was in the Lord’s hands and in the hands of such a godly assembly of the Lord’s servants.  I heard that God worked in powerful and miraculous ways at The Garden while we were gone.  Praise God!

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder” is definitely a truism… The absence from the Garden over the past three and a half months gave us a fresh appreciation and love for the brothers and sisters in our church family.  I love the Garden family and am so thankful to the Lord for each and every one of you.  He has hand picked each member of the body to partner together for God’s Kingdom work.  God has been so good to our church over all these years, and I know that He will continue to be faithful to us-that is simply Who He is.

One of the major things that the Lord spoke to me during the sabbatical was the significance of the name of our church.  It is the Lord Who has named us the Garden, giving us the Scripture of Isaiah 58:11 as a foundational verse.

¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;

he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

he Garden was the first place where Adam and Eve had intimate encounter and fellowship with the Living God-walking with the Lord in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:7)  This is what the Lord desires to have with each and every one  of His children at The Garden— an intimate face to Face relationship with our glorious God.   He is our loving Abba Father, and He simply wants to bless and be with His children.    As the Lord’s Garden,   He has called us to be a place of abundant fruitfulness for the glory of God.  ^“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  (John 15:8).  He gave the charge to Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply”– He gives us that same charge (The Great Commission!)

God has great things in store for the Garden family!  I am freshly recommitted to the Lord and to His church– to obey the Lord and to lead and serve His church with all my heart into the full destiny that He has for us.  I love you, Garden family.  In His amazing love, we join hands together as ONE to love and serve our great and mighty God.  In His amazing love, we love one another.  God is going to work great and mighty miracles through each and every one of your lives.  I can’t wait to see it all unfold, can you?

This Sunday is going to be a glorious Sunday with our baptism service after our worship services.  I look forward to sharing the fresh words from the Word that the Lord has place on my heart for the church.

It is a true joy and privilege to love and serve our King together!

In His Amazing Love,

Pastor David