The Orchard Blog

I am in the process of writing and studying for a new series we are launching at the Orchard next weekend entitled, “The Other Side: What the ancient scriptures tell us about the afterlife.” And now I need your help.

What questions do you or people you know have about eternity/Heaven/afterlife/etc…?

The relevancy of this series is huge for anyone who considers themselves human – although, it will definitely hit some people in a greater way than others at this point in time (including me). But my overall goal for the series is to take our church community on a journey through the Bible and to discover what it has to say about things like Heaven, eternity, etc… And hopefully, when it’s all said and done, help people become more aware of the reality of Heaven and eternity so that our lives are lived in light of what’s to come VS. just the here and now.

I’d love your feedback, so comment away!

Just wrapped up three Christmas Eve services at The Orchard a couple of hours ago (wow, were they great!!) and man am I tired………. Hope you made it out. They were a blast! Our team pulled off some incredible services!

So now, I am heading to bed and I am looking forward to having a great Christmas morning here at home with my girly girls.

On behalf of my family, I want to say a very Merry Christmas to all of you. We are so thankful to have you as a part of our lives.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Scott & Amanda

See you in ’06!

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What are YOU doing on Christmas Eve??? Ok, let me rephrase that…

YOU and a handful of your friends & loved ones will be joining you at The Orchard for one of our three Christmas Eve Candlelight Services! 3pm, 5pm & 7pm.

Ok…do I sounds like a cheesy TV commercial announcer guy yet? I was trying hard…

I do hope that you are planning on joining us this coming Saturday for our special Christmas Eve Candlelight services. I am SO SO SO pumped about them! I promise that not only will you walk away impressed by the quality of these services, but MOST importantly, you will be reminded of how significant this Holy season really is.

So – pick up the phone. Send out an email. Text message. IM. Whatever you need to do and invite a few people with you to The Orchard’s Christmas Eve Candlelight Services!

Here’s a link with more information!

See you Saturday!

Currently I am reading a book that explores the wonder of the Christian experience. I thought I would invite you in on what I’ve been meditating on for the last couple of weeks, an excerpt from the book.

“Look at the Cross, now. Evil is seen for what it is — all the vileness in the human heart is there in the face of the perfectly pure. Evil is not covered up [at the Cross]. See again the marvel of God’s love that offers forgiveness of such evil. But even as forgiveness is offered, evil and love are seen in their full force in the triumph of one over the other. Only in the Christian faith will you see the reality of evil and love concretely expressed even as forgiveness and hope are made possible by the sure grace of God.”

Tell me your thoughts regarding this quote…

The test of your leadership is not how well you lead when you are in charge, but how well you follow when you are not in charge.

In case you haven’t heard, The Orchard now offers weekly podcasts of our Sunday talks! If you’re not familiar with the term “podcasting” let me explain…

Podcasting is the ability to automatically download an audio file into your iPod, computer or any other device capable of playing an .mp3 file. All you have to do is subscribe to the free podcast feed.

You don’t have to have an iPod to play podcasts. If you have Windows Media Player or Real Player or any other music player, you can take advantage of podcasting.

You can subscribe to The Orchard Podcast via iTunes by clicking here or by clicking here using our feed at feedburner.com.

If you need help figuring it all out, shoot us an email at info (AT) orchardvalleyonline (DOT) com. Also check out wikipedia’s podcasting page – great info!