Messages of the Orchard Church

God is not a set of rules. God is love. We often think of morality as avoiding bad behavior, but the core of all things from God is love, and all morality flows from love. God wants us to love, and God doesn't want us to participate in anti-love. Truly, we will never be able to be moral, or even desire to be moral, unless the Spirit of God is within us.

Jesus has become popular after the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, and people from all directions are intrigued by Him and want to get close to Him. But Jesus is more than a momentary curiosity, and if you want to come to Him, then it is a matter of life and death … or, actually, death and life.

When Mary anointed Jesus, Jesus said that this moment would become famous. Why? Mary was performing a sacred act that looked foolish to the intelligent world around her - it looked like a waste of money. But Mary was guided by a sacred intelligence that can understand the will of God and participate in the will of God. What of you? Do you seek God with worldly intelligence or sacred intelligence?

Jesus taught about the afterlife, resurrection, heaven and hell. But like all things regarding truth, the teachings of God are intended to be received with power. This is the point of the resurrection of Lazarus. For us, if we are not enjoying the power and presence of our Lord right now, then heaven is always going to seem better than hell, but not quite as good as remaining here on earth. People...

Most of us are aware of these words of Jesus, "If you love me then you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). But how? Some might suggest obedience like a soldier (out of duty), or a child (out of fear), or through accountability, or penance, or to demonstrate love. But what if we still desire to sin? What if that battle for our behavior still rages? God knows that we are weak and vulnerable. Go...

God has been speaking to humanity since he first created us, and he typically does this through prophecy. But, we know from Scripture that there can be false prophecy, so how can we know what is truth and what is myth? How can we know who is a prophet and who is not?

Prayer is one of the most common activities of Christianity, and yet so many still have questions about it. How do I do it? Why is her prayer answered, and mine is not? Do I need to use "amen" or "in Jesus name" at the end? I am going to answer five of the most common questions that people ask me regarding prayer, and in so doing hopefully drive home an important point - prayer is always easy, but...

The effective communication of the Gospel out into the world is widely understood to be the central purpose of the Church. But how? Too often, we see this merely as proclaiming the Gospel using words, brochures, websites, etc. We dust off our hands, and feel that we've done our duty - successful with evangelism. As I read through Scripture, I see that the Gospel is communicated by much more than m...

The Occult describes activities that attempt to connect with hidden spirit forces, either to gain knowledge or to access power. You may be familiar with some practices of the occult, such as witchcraft, palm reading, astrology, fortune telling, and seances. But there are also modern occult practices that masquerade as goodness, are not so easy to identify, but still have the same core pursuits of...

The topic of Spiritual Warfare gets a lot of attention in some corners of Christianity, with teachings that are sometimes more speculative and sensationalized, than biblical. In other corners of Christianity, the topic of Spiritual Warfare is rarely touched upon, and this negligence plays right into the hands of demonic activity. To introduce the arena of Spiritual Warfare, this message covers fiv...

Our integrity as a follower of Jesus is to be steadfast, to trust, and to remain committed even in tough times. This is the essence of the word "amen". But, we live in a hedonistic culture that struggles to remain committed. We are more interested in an easy way out than finding the way through. If you are serious about being a Christian, you need to practice "amen" and not just say it at the end...

God is ultimately concerned about the condition of our heart, and out of the heart flows actions consistent with the state of one's heart. But not only actions, for our words also tattle on the condition of the heart.

The common way that anyone views people is from their external appearance and status, and we treat them and relate to them based on this judgment. But, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, our approach to people is mercy rather than judgment. Judgment is free. Mercy is costly. Audio and Message Transcript: [Click]

Our religious activity can sometimes neglect doing core things that Jesus told us to do, sometimes substituting easier ideas, or watering down the intensity of something Jesus told us, or cherry-picking what we want to follow and ignore. This message contains a pivotal scripture that should cause you to wonder, "Am I following Jesus ... or something else?" Audio and Message Transcript: [Click]

The first chapter of James opens with trials - particularly trials of sin and temptation - that you and every Christian faces. God has wisdom to lead you through the trial, and he wants you to keep facing the trial, keep persevering, and keep adjusting until you discover and embrace His wisdom. This success is pure joy! Audio and Message Summary: [Click]

When we raise children, we are doing our best to help them become a cooperative and productive member of society, and to interact with our society in such a way that they remain healthy. To raise a child requires more than instruction, for they also need sufficient experience and mentoring to help them live out those instructions. When it comes to spiritual teachings, however, it seems that we may...

When a person is going through a crisis or stressful situation, it can cause them to become isolated and face the situation alone. Recovery will always begin with looking to God for help, just like Psalm 121 suggests, but God uses a variety of people to help a person get from bad to better. Will God use you? Even if you aren't naturally the kind of person who can be a comforter, an encourager, a g...

The topic of God and Suffering is vast, and I could never hope to address all the questions and the philosophical points that surround it. Countless are the books, sermons, and seminars. This message is focused on stress in the midst of suffering, and in particular two words that highlight an attitude God desires His people to discover in these times: perseverance and hope. It isn't easy to turn o...

There is a shadowy closet that most of us have in our lives. Few know about this closet, because we would feel shame if people discovered it in our lives. Perhaps it is gambling, or compulsive shopping, or pornography, or procrastination, or over-eating, or gaming, or endless social-media. We can't or don't want to stop, and we keep doing it over and over. These are called behavioral addictions, a...

America is wealthy, and the greed and stress that wealth produces is so infectious that it's hard for any of us to escape, even Christians. In this message, we're exploring the condition of the heart that gives rise to greed, coveting, and the love of money. This is bad stress, because it doesn't help us change or improve. And, we'll look at wisdom from the Bible to help us heal from these stresso...

Controversy is a passionate battle between two opposing views, with each side typically unwilling to entertain the other's arguments. The controversy that we mostly encounter in America is stressful, producing quarreling and few solutions. You may see slander, shouting, rage, propaganda, divisiveness, and sometimes violence. It's like an emotion-filled argument where both sides just shout at one a...

Whether you are a Christian or not, stress happens. But God uses some stress to help get us out of ruts, and realign our lives with God. Sometimes it is to help us re-prioritize or downsize our busyness, sometimes it is to teach us humility, and sometimes it is to help us see God's righteousness more clearly. Message Summary: [Click]