The Orchard Blog

Whew… I don’t know if I’ve recovered YET! It’s Christmas evening, and I am still pumped about the four great Christmas Eve services we got to participate in yesterday. If you were able to attend, you know how powerful they were!

As I sit here in my living room, surrounded by three boys running around playing with Christmas gifts, I just HAD to take a minute and say THANK YOU…

• To the passionate energy displayed by EVERY member of our worship team – YOU ROCKED!
• To the technical wonder our PRODUCTION TEAM brought forward… you guys made it happen!
• To the warmth of our WELCOME TEAMS… you guys greeted, seated, lit, and collected (as in offering) from more people than in any other time in the Orchard’s history. When people remember the Orchard as friendly, it is because of all of YOU!
• To the caffeinated display put on by our COMMON GROUNDS coffee bar team… you single handedly got the staff through the event 🙂 Kidding! You provided liquid energy and Christmas espresso to MANY guests. Thanks!
• To my POLAR BEARS… our PARKING TEAM (great job Ben Hammond!). Those human Popsicles out in the lot made sure we got everyone in and out safely, and ushered record crowds into our building. Thank you so much for all your work.
• To my fellow staff team members… some of the best I have ever served alongside. Your weeks and weeks of dedication and hard work paid off!
• To anyone else who served, brought food, helped out, and unselfishly gave of their time on Christmas Eve!

Anyway – thanks to all who played a part! Hope your Christmas was a good one. See you this weekend. We have a great weekend planned!

-Chris

We are just days away from Christmas Eve, and am I excited! We have handed out over 1200 tickets so far to our four Christmas Eve services (1, 3, 5, and 7pm). Add all of the walk-ins and drive-bys that we get every year, and we are going to have the opportunity to impact a LOT of people with the good story of Christmas! And we are not turning anyone away! Ticket or not, if you want to come to a service we will find somewhere to put you – even if it is standing room only!

This service is one of the GREATEST opportunities we have all year long to tell the story of Jesus to those in our community who don’t normally attend church anywhere! So our parking, welcome, production, worship, coffee bar, and creative teams are all gearing up to be at our ABSOLUTE BEST. We want to remove ANY and EVERY obstacle that hinders our community from connecting with the greatest story ever told – the story of the Savior.

Bring your friends. Come early to get a good seat (get here about 15 minutes before the service starts). And get ready to experience the celebration of a lifetime… Let’s celebrate Jesus’ birth together! See you Monday!

-Chris

The conspiracy to eliminate the Savior failed. The next attempt has been more effective, and that is to distract us from the true advent.  One way to keep from being distracted is to not be consumed by a consumerist mindset.  Giving gifts that are relational are longer lasting and more memorable.  They resemble the relational gift that God gave us in his Son.

Here’s the music setlist from the 8th and 9th (with links to iTunes to purchase the original recordings):

• Run Rudolph Run – Bryan Adams (walk-in)
• Majestic – Lincoln Brewster
  
• All Because Of Jesus – Steve Fee
  
• Away In A Manger – Traditional
• Better Days – Goo Goo Dolls *****

Resist the push and pace.
Relational gift giving – giving one another a gift as simple as spending time together.
Redistribute – with the money we save by giving relationally we can redistribute the money we saved to the least of these in our communities and world.

Posted by Mike Jones

*****(Please use discretion when previewing or purchasing other songs by this artist as other songs on this album may contain inappropriate lyrical content.)

Some of my favorite Christmas memories are NOT gifts I received, but times shared with my family. When I was young, my mom used to allow us to invite a friend over…we’d have a fire, drink hot chocolate, she’d do everyone’s hair and take pictures. Another year we all went to see a Christmas movie, then we spent time talking about it afterwards. One favorite memory is when our neighbors came over and built a snowfort with us in the back yard. Why were these experiences so powerful? They are examples of Relational Gift Giving.

Tonight at The Orchard’s First Wednesday service we talked about Relational Gift Giving. The idea is that instead of just giving a gift off of the store shelf, you invest yourself into the gift… you give a gift that only YOU could give. A gift that far outlasts the credit card bill, and leaves memories that stretch for generations!

In fact, at First Wednesday we handed out a helpful tool to facilitate Relational Gift Giving… a worksheet to help you brainstorm Relational Gift Giving opportunities, with a list of ideas on the back. Click on the link below to download that handout.

I hope that you take this handout, work through it as a family, and then set aside some time to Relationally Give Gifts this Christmas season. Imagine how you and your family’s lives will be changed as you pour into each others lives, and the lives of your other significant relationships, this Christmas.

AC RGG Handout

-Kathryn

There was a conspiracy that first Christmas – a plan to eliminate the advent, or arrival, of Jesus as the savior. 

This weekend as we began our new series Advent Conspiracy, we looked at the choices of three groups of people.  These people chose to allow the advent of Christ to happen.  It all came down to trusting and obeying God.  Today we have very similar choices.

This season will you allow the advent to become personal to you?  Trust that God will guard your reputation, guide your journey and give you the courage to obey him.

Here’s the music setlist from this weekend (with links to iTunes to purchase the original recordings):

• Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – MercyMe (walk-in)
• Awesome Is The Lord Most High – Chris Tomlin
• Mighty To Save – Hillsong
• O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Selah
• Believe – The Bravery *****
• Trust In You – Jeremy Camp

Resist the push and pace.
Relational gift giving – giving one another a gift as simple as spending time together.
Redistribute – with the money we save by giving relationally we can redistribute the money we saved to the least of these in our communities and world.

Posted by Mike Jones

*****(Please use discretion when previewing or purchasing other songs by this artist as other songs on this album may contain inappropriate lyrical content.)

In the deepest parts of us, peace is something we long for more than anything.

This month, Orchard Kid’s are learning that peace is proving that you care more about others than winning an argument.

God is the Creator and Provider of peace (Phil 4:7). He wants to bring peace to us. He even sent Jesus to make that possible. He wants us to live in peace too—to have it within our own hearts, with each other, and with Him. When we don’t have peace with others, anger grows and pushes out any room for peace. This week, help your kids recognize anger they may have toward themselves, others, or God, and teach them to make the choice to deal with it before it grows.

For more tips on how to bring PEACE into your home, visit familytimes.org.

Posted by Kathryn Egly