Orchard Community Church Sermon Audio

It is easy to get caught up in thinking certain things will last forever.  We might look at our culture, our political system, or our economy and think surely these things will endure.  Sometimes, especially when we are younger, we look at our own success and believe things can only continue to get better for us.  Yet things that we trust in are often not as certain or permanent as we think.  At t...

In a sermon I'm calling "Hit the Brakes" we look at Matthew chapter 23.  Sometimes when we are driving we need to hit the brakes before we get into a dangerous situation.  In this chapter we see Jesus warning the people not to follow the hypocritical religious leaders.  Sometimes we need to be aware that following certain people can lead to dangerous situations and we need to hit th...

"Pastor, I've got a question for you..."  I hear this phrase a lot because people have lots of questions about God that they hope I can answer.  Sometimes we have questions because we want to learn more.  Sometimes our questions come from our doubts.  In a sermon called "I've Got Questions," we  look at Matthew 22:15-46.  In this passage we see that sometimes the ques...

I will often ask my kids "which one of us is the parent?" when they are trying to act like they have authority over each other or even over me and my wife.  It is a not-so-subtle reminder that God didn't put them in charge.  We need this reminder in our relationship with Jesus as well.  In this sermon, titled "By What Authority?", we look at Matthew 21:23 - 22:14 where the...

In Matthew chapter 21, Jesus enters Jerusalem like a king.  Many in Jerusalem ask an important question by saying, "Who is this?"  This is a great question!  Everyone should ask the question "who is Jesus" and by that I mean who is he really?  Not just our own ideas about him or our expectations, but who he really is.  In a sermon called "Who is this?", we look at Mat...

As we continue in our sermon series on the Gospel of Matthew, called "The King Has Come", we  look at Matthew 20:17-28 in a sermon called "The Way of the Cross".  In this passage, Jesus and his disciples, along with a large crowd, are on their way to Jerusalem.  Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to be crucified in Jerusalem and then, on the third day, will be raised to...

In our previous sermon we looked at the rich young man who went away sad because Jesus told him he had to give away his riches and follow Jesus.  But Jesus doesn't just tell him to give everything up for no reason, he says "and you will have treasure in heaven" (Mt. 19:21).  In this sermon,  we look at this idea of treasure in heaven and why we can trust that the treasure we are giv...

Try harder...do better...be perfect.  We hear this from the world and we put this pressure on ourselves.  We think that if we can just find that perfect next step or that perfect fix to our problems, then we'll be good.  But there's a problem with this.  What if our idea of perfection is wrong?  What if our way of being perfect is wrong?  What if we can never actually fulfill this standa...

What is the point of marriage?  What does that word even mean any more?  Who gets to decide what marriage is?  In a sermon called "What God Has Joined" we look at Matthew 19:1-12 where Jesus is tested with a very difficult question to see who he agrees with regarding ideas about marriage and divorce.  Although this happened two thousand years ago, followers of Christ often find themselve...

Previously, we began looking at the idea of "Extreme Forgiveness" in Matthew 18:21-35, but we didn't get past the first two verses!  This sermon concludes this important passage in a sermon called "Extreme Forgiveness Part 2." Orchard Community Church  www.orchardcommunitychurch.com Listening to sermons online can be a great way to keep up with a sermon series if you are u...

We are revisiting Matthew 18:21-35 in a sermon called "Extreme Forgiveness".  Previously we had looked in depth at Matthew 18:15-20 and then quickly looked at Matthew 18:21-35.   In this sermon we look briefly at the first section and spend the majority of our time in the second as we examine what Jesus means by telling Peter to forgive someone "seventy-seven" times and then Je...

In the passage for this sermon, Jesus talks about two types of people who cause problems in the church.  The first is the person who refuses to repent when rebuked for their sin.  The second is the person who refuses to forgive someone who sins against them.  This important passage talks about the process of personal reconciliation, church discipline, the importance of repentance, the necessity of...

Jesus tells his disciples that they must become like children, but what does he mean by that?   In a sermon called "Like a Child", we look at Matthew 18:1-14 where we will see Jesus use a child to help us understand how we should see ourselves and other believers. Orchard Community Church  www.orchardcommunitychurch.com Listening to sermons online can be a great way to keep up with a ser...

Have you ever been cooking and found that you were missing a key ingredient in a recipe?  When this happens to me, I go on the internet and look up a substitute for that ingredient, thinking there must be something that has the same taste.  Often the finished product doesn't taste like it should because I used a substitute ingredient instead of what the recipe called for.  This is usually not...

What would you do if you were face to face with God?  Scripture has a lot to say about what it is like to be in God's presence.  In a sermon called "In God's Presence", we look at Matthew 17:1-13.  In this passage, some of the disciples get to see who Jesus truly is in an amazing experience known as the transfiguration.  The impact on them was profound and the truth of what the...

We like things simplified to just a few easy steps.  In this sermon we look at three steps to being a Christian from Matthew 16:21-28.  Step one - deny self; Step two - take up your cross; and Step three - follow Jesus.  Sounds easy, right?!  Seriously, though, the challenge Jesus gives to his disciples, and all of us who would follow Jesus, is something we need to take to heart today.  This sermo...

In a sermon called "The Unshakeable Church", we look at Matthew 16:13-20.  This passage has caused a lot of debates, especially between Catholics and Protestants.  We will focus on what this passage is saying about the importance of the church being based on the truth about who Christ is and the mission this gives us in this world. Orchard Community Church  www.orchardcommunitychurch.com...

Who is Jesus Christ?  This is the most important question we will ever answer.  On this Easter Sunday, in a sermon titled "Who Do You Say I Am?", we look at Matthew 16:15 where Jesus asks his disciples this important question.  If you're struggling, looking for meaning and purpose, looking to be healed from past hurts, or looking to overcome guilt and shame in your life, know that h...

We have heard the phrase "stop the spread" a lot over the past year or so as we have endured this worldwide pandemic.  We have become educated on how easily viruses spread and what we can do to try to stop them.  In this sermon called "Stop the Spread", we look at Matthew 16:1-12 where some religious teachers come to Jesus with a demand that shows us that their faith is infecte...

Hatred between people groups is not a new problem and was present during the time of Jesus.  Jewish people and non-Jewish people (called Gentiles) did not like each other very much.  This sermon looks at Matthew 15:21-39 and is called "Come to the Table."  In this passage we see an interesting, and somewhat perplexing, interaction between Jesus and a Gentile woman.  Then we see a miracle...

Are you a hypocrite?  In a sermon called "The Heart of Worship", we look at Matthew 15:1-20  where Jesus confronts the religious leaders of his day and tells them that they are hypocrites, blind guides, and that all of their worship of God is in vain.  Ouch.  I pray that as we look at this challenging passage we will ask ourselves if we are living with hearts that truly worship Jesus. Or...

Sometimes we are put in impossible situations.  In this sermon on Matthew 14:13-36 called "Facing the Impossible", we look at a time when the disciples faced two impossible situations.  The great difficulty of these two situations is that Jesus put the disciples there.  Sometimes Jesus sends us into difficult situations so that we can understand our weakness and learn to trust in his str...

It is a horrible feeling to meet someone and feel like they just dismiss you as being unimportant.  You feel judged and belittled.  You wonder how this person who doesn't even know you can just write you off as meaningless.  Yet we do this so often with Jesus.  In a sermon called "Dismissing Jesus", we look at Matthew 13:53 - 14:12.  In this passage we see the people of Jesus'...

What is your greatest treasure?  What could you not live without?  What do you have that is absolutely irreplaceable?  Maybe you have things of great sentimental value such as family heirlooms.  Maybe you have things of great monetary value.  Whatever it is that you might think is your greatest treasure, I guarantee that  being saved by Jesus Christ and brought into His kingdom is greater.  In a s...

Why does God allow bad things to happen? Why doesn't He fix the world now?  In a sermon called "Why God Waits", we look at Matthew 13:24-43 where Jesus tells several parables that help us to understand God's purpose in waiting before He brings His justice to the world. I pray we will be taught to be patient in our hope as well as to be urgent in our mission to spread the gospel...