Just had the opportunity to pull our Uganda team together for a quick prayer before they headed to the airport. Can’t wait to see how God uses them! I’m so proud of these guys.
Posted by Scott Hodge
Filed under: The Orchard
Hasn’t the One Prayer series been awesome?!? Scott kicked off the series with “Make Us Irreplacable”, then Craig Groeschel prayed “Make Us One”. Then last weekend, Dr. Wayne Cordiero led us to pray “Make Us Wise” as he dug into the importance of feeding ourselves on God’s word.
As part of his talk, Wayne talked about the importance of a couple of key tools… journaling and Bible reading plans. And I have to say, myself and the rest of the staff have been inundated with questions about these two tools. So I wanted to make sure to share some of the insights we have found useful regarding these great practices!
I had several people ask me what is the best journal to use… of course the best answer is “any journal that you WILL use”! A $.99 spiral binder, if used regularly is a great approach! But if you want something more than that, I can recommend the journal that both Scott and I have used for years – the Moleskine (as seen here). Thin, hardback, with just the right amount of pages, it fits well into a bag or briefcase. I buy mine at local bookstores. The other question I was asked was, “What should I write in my journal?”. Write prayers, thoughts, Bible verses… Wayne gave a great guide with his SOAP acronym this last weekend (Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer).
The other big questions we heard were about Bible reading plans. So I have gathered several plans that I have used over the years that all work very well…
Bible Reading Plans
Mobile devices:
Bible Player – For audio learners; it works on the IPod and divides Bible into 365 daily audio readings.
Olive Tree – a version of the NLT Daily Bible for your mobile device, iPhone, Blackberry, or other smartphone
. Daily readings from the OT, NT, Psalms, and Proverbs.
Bound Books:
The One Year Bible – A devotional Bible with daily readings in OT, NT, Psalms, and Proverbs.
How to Read the Bible Every Day – A small, inexpensive ($3.99 on Amazon) book that lists plans to read through the Bible in one, two, or three years!
Online Plans:
Chronological – Read through the Bible chronologically, in the time order that the events happened.
OT/NT – A daily reading plan to read through the Bible in a year.
Let us know if you really like any of these tools! See ya next weekend!
Chris Bell
Filed under: The Orchard
Last week a group of us spent the week at Camp KidJam in Indiana. It was a memorable week of learning more about God’s word and how to apply it to our lives, building relationships, high energy worship, swimming, eating the best camp food ever, and playing awesome outdoor games.
Our kids won the GOLDEN CONVERSE for earning the most points in team competition and participation! Go Orchard Kids!
Posted by Kathryn Egly
Filed under: The Orchard
If you haven’t yet visited the One Prayer blog, go check it out! There are daily devotionals and great opportunity to interact with thousands of others around the world who are also taking part in this great series!
Filed under: The Orchard
I’m sitting in my office just a few minutes before the start of our Saturday night gathering here at The Orchard and I’m really excited about what’s going to be happening tonight and tomorrow as we continue our One Prayer series.
For one, our friend, Craig Groeschel, from LifeChurch.tv will be sharing his “one prayer” with us this weekend!
In case you don’t know who Craig is, I just have to say…….Craig is one of those guys where the more I get to know him, the more I respect and love for this guy. The ways God us using him and his church is stretching and just downright mind blowing! The church he leads now has 13 campuses all over the US…..and they truly are doing some of the most innovative stuff I’ve EVER seen a church do!
Learn more about lifechurch.tv by clicking here.
Gotta run! Band is starting.
Hope to see you this weekend!
Posted by Scott Hodge
Filed under: The Orchard
Last night we had our monthly First Wednesday service at The Orchard. First Wednesday is a time that we take to slow down, recalibrate ourselves, and engage in community and worship in a way that we don’t always get to on the weekends.
For the last few months we have been exploring and experiencing worship through the lens of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth is so much more than just coming to church on the weekend and singing… we have led The Orchard Church Community in various worship activities: journaling, praying, drawing, silence, communion, and many more. We also have been focusing on how worship is to be a 24/7 activity… lived out as a lifestyle of acts of service and love to those that God loves… all as an act of worship.
And this weekend we begin One Prayer… to date over 1200 churches are partnering together to ask the question “If our church had just ONE PRAYER, what would that be?”. This weekend is going to be foundational, as we unpack what it takes to make The Orchard a truly IRREPLACABLE community. If you are around the Orchard this weekend, you DON’T want to miss it!
-Chris
Getting ready for First Wednesday here at The Orchard. It’s an opportunity for us to get together as a church community and practice keeping first things first.
This month we are going to look more at worship. The last couple of months we’ve been diving into a few of the many facets of worship. For me personally, they’ve been some great opportunities for connection – I love meeting God as a community of believers.
If you’ve never been to First Wednesday at The Orchard (or if you’ve been many times before), I invite you to be a part of the experience here Wednesday, June 4th, at 7pm. It’s going to be a great time!
Posted by Mike Jones.
Filed under: The Orchard
If we could pray ONE PRAYER for the church, what would it be?
That’s the journey we’re about to answer as we begin a new series at The Orchard called, “One Prayer.”
It all begins this coming weekend and I am REALLY, REALLY excited about it!
Part of what makes this series so unique is the opportunity we are taking part in of joining together with over 1,200 churches from all across the US and beyond as we express our number one prayer for the church.
I REALLY hope you’ll be a part of this series. I can’t wait to see what God does in our lives individually as well as together as a church community!
One more thing… I would like to ask those of you who consider The Orchard your church home to do everything you can to BE HERE this coming weekend (June 7-8) as I launch the series by sharing my #1 prayer for The Orchard. You won’t want to miss it!
You can learn more about One Prayer by going here.
Have a great week
Posted by Scott Hodge
The Orchard Blog 
