If you’ve ever gone into a theater during the middle of an unfamiliar movie, you know how hard it is to understand the movie without knowing how it begins. The same is true of our lives. Whether we realize it or not, everyone is living out of some kind of “story,” some fundamental understanding of the universe: how it came to be, where it is going, who we are, what has gone wrong, etc. Needless to say, we are living in a culture with many competing stories. In the midst of this age - as in every age - the Bible declares itself to be the True Story, and the beginning of that story is the foundation for understanding everything else.
No one can navigate or complete the spiritual journey without others to assist and guide along the way. Such people are some of God’s greatest gifts to us. Do we know how to recognize them? Receive them? Learn from them? BE them to others?! Join us for our first series in the new year for a look at the companions God sends us for the different chapters of our lives.
How could so many people miss the birth of Christ when it occurred? Why did they not recognize it when the miracles took place right under their noses? Maybe a better question is: Why don’t WE recognize what Christmas means … for us today??! What we need is insight that comes through spiritual attentiveness to what God is doing in the world. Join us for this Advent series of messages to learn from the Christmas stories how we can “see” God in our own lives.
This fall we are going to journey together through the entire Gospel of Mark … seeing the story of Jesus with a birds-eye view … and looking at it from the standpoint of the disciples who underwent a conversion process throughout. We often think of “conversion” as a point in time, but it is really an extended process, and you will “hear” this story in a whole new way as we go through the Gospel of Mark.
The beginning of this new fall season is a great opportunity to DO SOMETHING that will grow you closer to God, love others through serving and find your place in the Body of Christ. Take full advantage of this three week series as we consider how to take stock of where you are spiritually and how you can take concrete steps that move you forward!
The Orchard, the place of cultivation and fruitfulness is right in our own hearts! That is the place God wants to grow beautiful - and tasty! - things ... like love, joy, and peace. And that’s just for starters. This summer we are going to do some spiritual gardening by looking at the biblical teaching on the Fruit of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22-23). Be sure to join us when you're in town, and catch up online when you're away. You don't want to leave any "gaps in your garden"!
This spring marks the 25th anniversary of our church’s time under the leadership of Frank Boswell as pastor. How are we to view and understand this quarter century from a spiritual standpoint? What, exactly, has God been doing? How has he grown us? Shaped us as a congregation? Where might He be leading us in coming years? Join us this spring for a once-in-a-lifetime series of messages that reflect on our own collective “story” of God’s dealings in our lives.
This series, which took place prior to the 2016 elections, has spiritual truth and orientation that will help in any election season -
The Book of Deuteronomy (which we studied this summer) is addressed to ancient Israelites living in a theocracy, but what is our responsibility to the society in which we live? What does the New Testament have to teach us? What biblical principles can help us understand the proper role of government and how Christians should live as responsible citizens in 21st century America? The election season this fall is the perfect time to seek fresh insight into a challenging but vital topic.
A series on prayer from 2011.
