Bob Dylan once famously sang, “The times they are a-changin'.” The experiences of the last year may have left you feeling empty. These past few months remind us that sin is ugly. It wreaks havoc in our lives. There is only one answer, only one Savior who can provide meaning and hope to the seeming hopelessness of life. That’s Jesus—who walked out of his own grave on Resurrection Sunday, the victor over sin and death. Jesus is the answer to our struggle and the solution to the emptiness we feel.

How can a floating pulpit, a Rabbi, a miraculous fishing experience, and a terrified fisherman provide some answers for our emptiness?

Empty Sermon Series - Week 1 of 4 - 3.21.21

Jesus is called a ‘friend of sinners,’ by the Pharisees which was intended to be an insult, but nothing could be further from the truth. In many ways, the Bible is a story of friendship. There is friendship within the Godhead between Father, Son, and Spirit. God befriends Adam and Eve in the garden, but sin broke the friendship. As God’s revelation continues, people stay distant, and friendship with God repeatedly fails because of sin. Jesus came to restore our friendship with God.

What kind of a friend is Jesus? On the night when betrayal would be exposed, and those closest to him would abandon him, he called them friends. During the most intense suffering and pain, when Jesus had every right to lash out, he suffered for them. Jesus would demonstrate the greatest love for others as he laid down his life on the cross for his friends.

Is it possible to have a friend who knows you better than anyone, even better than you know yourself? A friend knowing everything about you, still loving you, and even liking you? Could you have a friend who would transform you to become a better friend to others? Yes. His name is Jesus. He is a friend of sinners. It seems complicated, but Jesus changes everything.

It's Complicated Sermon Series - Week 4 of 5 - 3.07.21

“To the Ancients, friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves; the crown of life and the school of virtue. The modern world, in comparison, ignores it.” – C. S. Lewis

Is this true? Are we ignoring friendship? Have we forgotten what friendship is all together? One study shows that in 1985 the average American had about three friends, defined as people whom we can confide in, people with whom we share the most important things in life. But by 2004, just nineteen years later, the average American only had two close friends, and one in four had no one this close at all. What efforts need to be made to recover friendship?

We are made for friendships, but It’s Complicated. Sin has corrupted our friendships. To be a sinner means living with the regular possibility that our friendships will suffer from our (and others’) selfishness, inattention, busyness, anger, pride, self-righteousness, fear, and laziness. Sin may do real and regular damage to our friendships, but our love for Christ and each other means we continually seek repair.

Only when we’re made whole in Christ can we enjoy genuinely healthy friendships with others because only then will we desire to give love as much as we want to receive it since we’ve already been satisfied by the God who created love. It’s Complicated, but Jesus changes everything.

It's Complicated Sermon Series - Week 3 - Friendships - 2.28.21

When a baby is born, the world stops and changes. Schedules are altered. Focus is redirected. Sleep is forfeited. God's kindness is on display. Children are a blessing from the Lord. Learning to eat, crawl, talk, and go potty seems to be the order of the day. Kids change so quickly. Preschool arrives as the world gets bigger and is filled with wonder. The question, "Why?" seems to repeat like a one-hit-wonder. The elementary years change everything as the world gets scheduled, and now our little ones have obligations and homework. However, about the time we decide we have things figured out, middle school hits, and our children realize that the world is broken and every day become s a new battle. Friends begin to have more influence, and we start to wonder what happened to our kids. Faith is changing, and questions begin to arise, and by the time high school arrives, these adults in training want control over everything as they prepare to leave the nest. 

In God's kindness, he has made the home a sanctifying community as our sin is exposed by the closeness we share. We battle our hearts and fight with each other. We learn about grace and see how time flies. The gospel's truth is transferred through relationships, and the home is intended to be a place of teaching and instruction. Relationships between parents and kids are complicated, but Jesus makes them better.

It's Complicated Sermon Series - Week 2 - 2.21.21

We are made for relationships, but It’s Complicated, and after a year like 2020, our relationships are showing wear. Sin has corrupted our relationships. To be a sinner means living with the regular possibility that our relationships will suffer from our (and others’) selfishness, inattention, busyness, anger, pride, self-righteousness, fear, and laziness. It’s not simply that our relationships break: it’s that we routinely do the breaking. This may not be the world we want, but it’s the world we have.

The reality that relationships are complicated does not mean resigning ourselves or giving up. Jesus told his disciples just hours before his betrayal and arrest that he was building a new community identified by their love for one another (John 13:35). Sin may do real and regular damage to our relationships, but our love for Christ and each other means we keep working. Only when we’re made whole in Christ can we enjoy genuinely healthy relationships with others because only then will we desire to give love as much as we want to receive it since we’ve already been satisfied by the God who created love. Yes, It’s Complicated, but Jesus changes everything.

It's Complicated Sermon Series - Week 1 - 2.14.21

What's Next has been a series that is a parable of the Christian life. Jesus comes to save us from the slavery of sin, and as his grace transforms us, we are very different from the person we were in the wilderness. In obedience, we pass through the waters of baptism to obey God and declare our love and trust in him to the world. We daily work to fix our eyes and Jesus as we rest in our Passover lamb and share his life by the Spirit. However, when the battle seems impossible, we must remember that nothing and no one can stand before the Commander of the heavenly host. The victory is his and ours! Keep trusting. Keep worshipping. Keep obeying. Keep the faith. Step Out in confidence.

What's Next Sermon Series: Step Out - February 7, 2021

Waiting. Patience may be a virtue, but it feels more like a pain. It seems that the world has been on hold because of COVID. People talk about getting back to normal while words like postponed, canceled, and everyday activities are unrecognizable. Joshua and the children of Israel have just spent forty years in the wilderness wandering. The land promised to Abraham must have felt more like a vanishing dream than a divine covenant soon to be fulfilled. What are you supposed to do when the river is at flood stage, and there’s no way to cross? What’s the way forward? What’s Next? Step In.

What's Next Sermon Series - Week 2 of 4 - January 24, 2021

On May 19, 2014, US Navy Admiral, William H. McRaven, gave a commencement speech at the University of Texas, often referred to as the “Make Your Bed” speech. He said, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” This decorated officer has seen a lot, but he knows the importance of doing the little things like making your bed before changing the world for generations to come.

Uncertainty. Loneliness. Perhaps fear. Joshua has been commanded to be courageous, but he knows that he is too small for his given task. The test of faith has come to Joshua. God will test us for our good, but the enemy tempts us for our destruction. Joshua has received God’s word. God had given Joshua his promise to be with him to take the land, and he could approach it with confidence, but how God would accomplish the task were not to be presumed and would be given along the way. What should he do? Joshua believed God and began his planning.

The decision to send spies was the standard operating procedure. Details about Jericho would help plan a battle strategy and attack. Joshua does not yet know that God is preparing to act on behalf of his people miraculously. God works typically through ’natural’ means, but he may do the miraculous. Joshua does not yet understand what God has been doing and what he is about to do. Joshua believed God and began planning and praying, and although the plan didn’t work perfectly, it confirmed that he was working to keep his promise.

Joshua does not know that God is about to deliver Jericho into the hands of his people in a miraculous way, but he knows that prayer and provisions are both needed. What about us? The world seems crazy right now. What will happen during the inauguration later this week? What about the vaccine? Yes, these things have massive implications and could change the course of history, but what about the small things? What about the ordinary means of grace and the simple things we know to do? What about standard operating procedures for Christians? When we face times of uncertainty and change, we need to remember God’s promises and rely on his presence. Nothing is impossible for God, but his primary focus is his glory, not our comfort. What should you do when you are faced with uncertainty, anxiety, or fear? What’s Next? Just One Step… Faith.

On Pastor Sam Shaw's final Sunday, he leaves a message for The Orchard and Pastor John Nix.

January 10, 2021

Join us as Pastor Sam Shaw walks us through Philippians 1:12-21, answering the question, "Where does our confidence and courage come from?"

Stand-Alone Sermon - January 3, 2021

James 4:13-17 says: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Join us as Co-Pastor Sam Shaw walks us through three mistakes to avoid when planning for an uncertain future.

December 27, 2020

For many of us, this is not exactly what we expected for Christmas Eve. Being forced to gather online in our homes  is not how many of us would have planned it. But as Luke, Chapter 2 shows us, sometimes plans can change. Join us for a Christmas Eve Message from Pastor John about how God often breaks through when plans change and in unexpected ways. 

Christmas Eve. 2020

Peace? What is peace? It usually depends on who you ask… To those at war, it is a ceasefire. To those with hectic lives, it is calm and still. For those with anxiety or depression, it is inner tranquility. To the parent of small children, it is a moment of quiet. To those in complicated relationships, it is a lack of conflict, whether internal or external. A lack of peace affects individuals, families, communities, and nations. People can try to manufacture peace or fake peace by pretending not to care or that everything is fine, not realizing that any peace we produce is fragile. 

Jesus came on a peace mission to save sinners, so He entered the conflict as a baby. The first Christmas was not a peaceful experience. Mary and Joseph's lives were turned upside down. The shepherds' night was interrupted by a terrifying experience. Born probably in a cave, our Lord Himself would spend His early days as a refugee from the bloodthirsty and vindictive madman. Advent is about the Prince of Peace and his peace mission. 

Advent 2020: Peace Sermon Series - 12.20.20

he peace we are looking at is not subjective, inner calm in one’s spirit, those who never engage in disagreement, or a compromising spirit. The biblical concept of peace is different. It is not merely the lack of conflict, hostility, or Wherever Jesus goes, he brings peace. He is the Prince of Peace. When he was born and came to earth, the angels cried, “Peace on earth.” Peace was the farewell gift he left to his disciples. The greatest “peace” Jesus achieved for us is that He took away the enmity between us and God by His death on the cross.  

Charlie Chaplin said, “I am at peace with God. My conflict is with man.”  

The world seems to grow more hostile everyday. We live in an age of individual, ethnic, political and national aggression. Anger and frustration harness enormous energy and they want results fast. We live in a broken world marred by sin, but the command to live peaceably is meant, not for an ideal environment, but for this sinful world, a world inhabited by people like us.  

As Christians, we can have peace with God because of Jesus and then actively work to bring about peace and reconciliation where there is hatred and enmity. Peacemakers are not primarily concerned with themselves, their rights, or what others think. Peacemakers are recognized as members of God’s family. How can we pursue peace in a world gone mad?  

Advent 2020: Peace Sermon Series - 12.13.20

“The first great and primary business . . . every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord.” –George Mueller

Is it possible to be at peace with yourself? Our hearts and minds are under siege with a global pandemic, quarantines, closures, lost jobs, financial hardships, social unrest, and general uncertainty. Everyone seems to be struggling with something heavy right now. Mentally and emotionally we are a powder keg just waiting for the spark and, as the fuse burns, we could explode at any moment. 

Peace is a spiritual issue, but there are accompanying physical signs when it comes to anxiety as well: unusual mood swings, irritability, anger, sweating, rapid heartbeat, chest pain, exhaustion, nervous twitching, decreased concentration and memory, nausea, shortness of breath, hair loss, weight gain or loss, panic, indecisiveness, canker sores, muscle tension, insomnia, and high blood pressure to name a few. The struggle is real. 

What should we do about anxiety? God gifts us with a guardian and an antidote for anxiety.

Advent 2020: Peace Sermon Series - 12.06.20

Peace? What is peace? It usually depends on who you ask… To those at war, it is a ceasefire. To those with hectic lives, it is calm and still. For those with anxiety or depression, it is inner tranquility. To the parent of small children, it is a moment of quiet. To those in complicated relationships, it is a lack of conflict, whether internal or external. For some, it can be a greeting or signoff, but few things are more fragile than peace. 

A lack of peace affects individuals, families, communities, and nations. Marriages fill with strife. Parents and children argue. We may lack peace within ourselves. We may be unsettled, uncertain, conflicted. One moment we are angry. The next, we are sad. Then all of a sudden, we are happy—without understanding why we felt those things. People can try to manufacture peace or fake peace by pretending not to care or that everything is fine, not realizing that any peace we produce is fragile. False peace can be destroyed instantly by failure, doubt, fear, difficulty, guilt, shame, distress, regret, sorrow, or anxiety about the future, relationships, and possessions.

The biblical concept of peace is different. It is not merely the lack of conflict, hostility, or Wherever Jesus goes, he brings peace. He is the Prince of Peace. When he was born and came to earth, the angels cried, “Peace on earth.” Peace was the farewell gift he left to his disciples. The greatest “peace” Jesus achieved for us is that He took away the enmity between us and God by His death on the cross.

Advent 2020: Peace - 11.29.20

Join us as Pastor Sam walks us through Mark 15:33-39, detailing four events that explain why Jesus died, and what his death means.  

The Gospel According to Mark - The Servant King - 11.22.20

The cross, is the most recognized symbol in the world. It is roughly analogous to an electric chair. How strange is it that a cross became the symbol of Christianity? Join us as Co-Pastor Sam Shaw walks us through Mark 15:1-32, and sheds light on the King and His cross.

The Gospel According to Mark - The Servant King - 11.15.20

Co-Pastor Sam Shaw makes a passionate plea to avoid the dangers of a wasted life, calling us to do what we can, to do all we can, and to do it while we can for Jesus.

The Gospel According to Mark - The Servant King - 11.08.20

There is nothing quite like a closely contested game at the end, and if one of your favorite teams is involved, it can be exhausting. The running joke in our house includes the effects of the game on hearing, and no one can even begin to fathom how long a game will last with less than two minutes on the clock. We obsess over the details, strategizing around personnel, the clock, and game management. Our voices get louder, and everything takes on more weight in the hopes that our team will be victorious. Some days we experience the thrill of victory, and other days, the agony of defeat.   

The clock is ticking as the most significant event in human history nears. Jesus is hours away from giving his life and rising from the dead. The disciples seem to be utterly oblivious to what is taking place around them. Coming out of the seemingly endless conflict in the temple complex, one of the disciples takes a moment to wonder at what for them was the height of human achievement, the religious center of Israel, and the great symbol of what it meant to be Jewish. They had no idea that one comment about the temple complex's beauty would release an unsettling and unthinkable reality. Jesus provides a prophetic glimpse of things to come, which raises more questions and devastates the disciples.  The Gospel According to Mark - The Servant King - 11.01.20