Orchard Community Church Sermon Audio

How does the gospel change our human relationships?  This is the question Paul turns to in our passage, Colossians 3:18 - 4:1.  This is a difficult passage because it deals with relationships as they were in Roman Society about 2000 years ago.  We have to enter into their world and see how they think, to truly understand what Paul is saying.  Only after we have carefully done this can we apply the...

How do we live as Christians?  This is a question that every sincere follower of Jesus Christ must ask.  In a sermon called "Living the Gospel" we look at Colossians 3:5-17 where we are challenged to live differently because we trust in the gospel.  There are things in our life that we must get rid of and other things we must put on like a new set of clothes.  We don't do these thin...

Winston Churchill famously once said, "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Where we choose to focus our thoughts and desires changes us.  It changes our perspective, our will and our emotions.  Many modern secular and even religious philosophies focus on having a positive mental attitude.  The problem is that our positive mental attitude is only as strong as the trut...

It is amazing what you can find shopping online.  A search for potato peelers on Amazon brings up about 500 results!  With this incredible access to so many different products, you quickly realize that not all of them are created equal.  Some are quality items that will work and last for a long time.  Others are cheaply made and won't actually work at all.  If you shop online, hopefully you a...

Summertime brings warm days and vacations.  For my family, we look forward to a trip we take to the beach at the end of August.  Thinking about how we will get to spend together on the ocean fills us with excitement and brings a real sense of joy.  Having hope in what our vacation brings us helps us get through tough days.  We read in 1 Peter 1 how the Apostle Peter wanted to give the church a Liv...

I have worn glasses since I was about 13 years old.  I see everything through two lenses that I wear at all times and I would not be able to see anything correctly without these lenses.  We all interpret our world through a lens.  Our understanding of right and wrong, good and evil, normal and absurd all are part of this lens.  We are constantly developing our lens as we experience and learn new t...

I remember teaching my kids to walk.  My wife and I would sit on the floor a few feet apart. One of us would steady our child while the other would wait with outstretched arms.  As our child took his or her first steps, we would encourage them, saying, "Keep going, you can do it!" They would take one tentative step, and then maybe another.  But they would teeter, wobble, and then go down...

The gospel is an amazing truth.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took our place on the cross. He died so that we can live.  He paid the price that was ours to pay.  This truth is powerful and powerfully changes us.  But at the end of chapter 1 of Colossians, Paul points out that something is "lacking" in this gospel.  We are looking at Colossians 1:24 - 2:5 in a sermon called "The Gos...

A river overflowing its banks can be a catastrophic event.  This dangerous situation often begins by a small trickle running outside the natural boundaries of the river.  This trickle creates another channel.  The water flows, the channel widens and allows more water to flow. Soon a torrent of water is gushing outside the normal riverbanks.  In a sermon called "Stay the Course", we look...

Is Jesus enough?  If we think Jesus is not enough for our problems and the situations we face today then we will always be looking for something more.  Something that will help us make sense of our changing world.  If our understanding of Jesus is that He is greater than all things, the creator and sustainer of all things, and is the purpose for which all things exist, then we must conclude that J...

When I was younger I was fascinated, and somewhat terrified, by the idea of amnesia.  I cannot imagine not knowing who you are, where you have come from, or how you got where you are.  This sermon looks at Colossians 1:9-14 and is called "Remember" because in it Paul prays that Colossian Christians would know who they are in Jesus Christ.  They are not without a past.  God has an eternal...

A watershed is a topographical feature of the land that determines which direction water flows.  For instance, on one side of a watershed the water may flow to the Great Lakes while on the other side it might make its way through many streams and rivers to the Gulf of Mexico.  The watershed is the determining factor that determines the course the water will take.  We also use the idea of a "w...

There are times in life when we feel uncertain that God cares.  We can feel that God is disconnected from us and the world we live in.  Fears and doubts come into our minds and hearts.  As we look at Daniel Chapter 2, God grounds us in who He is, what He is doing and where lasting hope lies.  As we look at this passage together, it is my prayer we are grounded individually and as a church. Orchard...

The phrase "Hitting Rock Bottom" usually refers to someone that can't get any lower in their life.  People arrive there for different reasons but it's often a slow process that is the result of numerous decisions.  In this sermon we read through the example of Israel and their slow march towards rock bottom.  What are the warning signs?  What are the warnings we get from God? ...

In this sermon we look at the "Hope of Easter".  We remember and proclaim the truth that Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, rose from the grave and conquered sin and death!  These truths form an anchor of hope.  A hope that is greater than our sin, greater than death, greater than the pain and sorrow of this world.  This hope was accomplished through the death and resurrection of our s...

Is God at work in the world?  Does he care?  Why do bad things keep happening?  How can we have hope?  These are serious and important questions.   As we conclude our sermon series called "God at Work" on the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we see that these are questions that people have faced for a long, long time.  This sermon is called "God is Still At Work" and ...

This sermon is called "Our Faith in God's Work" and looks at Nehemiah chapters 11 and 12. Here we see the people in Jerusalem make some difficult but important decisions out of their trust in what God is doing.  God has worked to bring them back to the promised land and to help them rebuild.  Now the people are taking some difficult steps because of their faith in God's work. ...

This sermon is called "A Committed People" and looks at Nehemiah 9:38 - 10:39 where we see the people of God making a public commitment to remain faithful to the Lord.  We look at the things they commit to and how they still apply to us today.  Commitment is something that has fallen out of fashion in today's culture and has instead been replaced by personal satisfaction.  Commitmen...

Do you ever get tired of the same old thing?  The same dishes to wash.  The same laundry to fold.  The same problems with the same people.  Sometimes the thing that is the same is us.  The same bad habits.  The same bad attitude.  The same repeated mistakes.  Have you ever wondered if God feels this way about us?  He is faithful time and time again, yet we sin and rebel repeatedly.  The Old Testam...

God's Word declares that God's people are to be different.  We are to be unique.  We are not to act the same as the rest of the world.  We are not to think the same or to value the same things as the rest of the world.  But how do we do this and why does it even matter? Answering these questions gets to the heart of our understanding about what it means to be God's people.  Who dete...

Do you ever feel like trusting in God is an uphill battle?  Sometimes it seems like everything is against you and you can feel overwhelmed and discouraged.  Faith is not easy.  The choice to trust in God is an anchor of hope for our souls, but the waves still crash against us.  In a sermon called "The Burden of Faith" we look at Nehemiah chapters 4 - 6.  In this passage we see God's...

Sometimes the problems seem greater than we can manage.  There is a heaviness in the world right now as we watch Russia invade Ukraine and see the suffering being broadcast live over the internet.  What should we do?  In this sermon called "God's People at Work", we look at Nehemiah 2:11 - 3:32.  In this chapter Nehemiah looks at a problem they were facing and gets the people togeth...

There is an old saying, "We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."  We do not determine when or how God will work, but we can be ready.  We can know who God is and how He works so that we recognize when He is working.  Through the power of Christ in us and the Word of God at work in our lives we can be ready to be used by God for His work.  We continue our sermon series ca...

What happens when God works?  One pattern that emerges as we study Scripture is that when God works, people repent.  Repentance is a natural and important response to what God is doing.  It is us admitting we have gone our own way instead of God's way.  It is us turning from our own way and committing to trust him and follow where He leads.  In a sermon called "God's Work Brings Rep...

We all want to see God at work in our lives and in our world, but how does this happen?  How can we be used by God for the work he is doing in this world?  As we continue our sermon series on Ezra and Nehemiah called, "God at Work," we look at Ezra chapters 7 and 8 in a sermon called "God's Word at Work".  Here we are introduced to the author of this book, Ezra.  The numbe...