Orchard Ridge Church

He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. – Psalm 37:6 In our nation, if a citizen is arrested, they are read their “rights.” The first thing an officer says before an interrogation goes something like this, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Acts chapter...

So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. – Acts 24:16 If you like good courtroom drama, Acts chapter 24 provides it. The Apostle Paul escapes death from a failed conspiratorial plot on his life in Acts 23 and now finds himself on trial before the Roman Governor Felix as his enemies falsely accuse him of crimes they hope will lead to his execution. In both chapters 23 and...

The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. – Acts 23:12 Conspire… Dictionary definition: to agree together, especially secretly, to do something wrong, evil, or illegal: used in a sentence, “They conspired to kill the king.” Chances are you didn’t need that definition because we live in a modern world FULL of con...

The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them…. – Acts 23:10a Violence. If you haven’t noticed, it’s making headlines recently. But violence is anything but recent. It’s historic. It dates back to the first family of Adam and Eve. One of their two sons murdered the other. And the blood has flowed down through the centuries to this very day. As we...

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‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ – Acts 22:10 Jesus’ invitation, to those first 12 apostles and to every Christ follower since, is a step by step – day by day journey! “Come, follow me!” today… Don’t think about tomorrow. Stay in today. As the Apostle Paul retells his storied encounter with Jesus on the Road to Damascus...

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For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. – Philippians 1:21 Let me pose a question. If you are warned that the road ahead in your life’s journey has pain and suffering, and you have the option to re-route or abort the mission entirely, what do you do? Are you safe to assume that pain and suffering = “not God’s will?” Most would assume EXACTLY that. In fact, in Acts 21, the entire church in...

“…my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me…” – Acts 20:24 What do you say when you’re with people you love and quite possibly this is the last time (in this life) that you’ll see them. Some of us have lived out this situation. It’s emotional. You move quickly to what truly matters. Small talk and “how’s the weather?” aren’t in discussed these moments. In...

Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. – Acts 20:9 I remember as a child in Sunday School being told the story of a boy named Eutychus. He was sitting in a window sill listening to the Apostle Paul teach into the night. The teaching wa...

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“…Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. – 1 Corinthians 13:12b Meaningful relationships are formed when two parties learn one another. If you’ve ever “fallen in love” you know what I am talking about. You desire to know as much as you can about the person you love. In that learning you learn about their past – upbringing, failures, successes, their family, experien...

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. – Acts 17:11 Ask the person on the street, “What book do Christians read?” and you’ll almost always hear them say, “The Bible.” They are not wrong. Or at least I HOPE they are not wrong (that we actu...

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9a I think it’s a fair assumption to say that we all know what a chain is. The thing that holds the swings, that makes sure your dog doesn’t run away, that anchors the ship so it doesn’t float away. A chain is used to restrict the full motion of something. Sometimes in our lives there are things that can...

Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. - 1 Timothy 1:2 It’s Father’s Day weekend. And once again we find ourselves receiving a Word in our study of Acts in church this Sunday that lends itself fully to the occasion of the day. If you were blessed, as I was, to have had a great father who loved you, provided for you, spent time with y...

They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. – Acts 15:39-40 As we move into the second half of the Book of Acts I can’t help but notice how the Apostle Paul’s life is broken down into eras known as the First, Second, Third and Fourth Missionary Journeys. We...

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30 As we read the pages of the four Gospels, we see that Jesus’ mission was to reconcile lost people to Himself. The motivation was love. It still...

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. – Acts 15:8-9 In Acts chapter 15 an “issue” arises in the church in Antioch (Syria). Acts 15 of course is written by Luke. But a parallel account of Acts 15 appears in Galatians chapter 2. This telling, o...

Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. – Acts 14:22 How can you identify a “good church?” Is it the friendliness of the people? Good coffee and refreshments? Fantastic music and worship team? (good luck getting consensus on what defines “fantastic music!”) The pastor and his preaching...

There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. – Acts 14:1 Implied in the above verse is that the opposite might be true. We can speak ineffectively to the point that people do not believe. It’s the gap between encouragement and discouragement. Words matter – don’t kid yourself. Not only what we say but how we say it. Fear of getting it wrong might push some into...

The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jewish leaders… stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” - Acts 13:49-50 If the Spirit of the LORD is moving, and eternal good things are happening, you can be sure the spirit of darkness isn’t far behind. The Enemy is the Great Imitator! He attempts to copy God. After the Gospel reached pe...

We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors – Acts 13:32 The Good News! The Gospel. Bought, paid in full by Jesus on Good Friday. Work completed on Resurrection Sunday! What is the Good News? It is this: That sinners who have lived as an offense to a Holy God (all of us) can be cleansed of our past transgressions. All of them. We can begin again (and again, and again). Jesus is the...