Messages of the Orchard Church Doug Ellis

Marriage has been a part of societies since prehistoric times - it isn't unique to any particular religion or culture. And, generally speaking, marriage is viewed by most every one of these societies as a superior status in life over singleness.

This attitude can also be felt in the churches. People who are single can be made to feel as if they aren't quite measuring up, or that there's something deficient. That shouldn't be, because Jesus specifically told us that the Kingdom of God has a special kind of relationship in it, and it isn't marriage. Everyone is a brother or a sister. That's it.

There is an overwhelming amount of technology that surrounds us - every year it is more and more, with a pace that now seems to be doubling every few years. And, whenever some new tech or innovation is introduced, doesn't it seem that we just blindly adopt it, without considering if it could have a negative impact on our life? Just because we can add new tech and surround ourselves with so much of it ... should we?

The Bible describes a fairly simple phenomena of spiritual living that goes something like this: If you genuinely pour yourself into seeking God, you will find him. You will!

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, "seek and you will find." His words are quite similar to what prophets and writers of the Old Testament said of God, like from Jeremiah, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

Even though God is all around us, God can seem quite hidden from us. I wonder if people experience a lack of God because they aren't really seeking God? Well, today's message is a story of a woman who sought after God with all her heart, and she was the first one to see Jesus after his resurrection.

Imagine that your life is focused on climbing a mountain. All your training, vision, partnerships, and effort are focused on this mountain. Maybe you've been climbing it for 20 years or 60 years. You are probably struggling to get to the top, because only a few get there. For those who struggle, how do you react when an expert mountain climber tells you he can help you get to the top of a mountain, but everything you learned is wrong?

Also, you're climbing the wrong mountain.

Who wants to have an addiction in their life? An addiction robs us of time, money, relationships, joy - for that quick hit, there is a lot of cost to one's life.

With the word “addiction”, you may be thinking of things like alcohol, drugs, or the nicotine that is in vaping and cigarettes. Yet, there are other addictions that we overlook or minimize - we don't think they are serious because we just don't see their ugliness. These are things like over-shopping, pornography, hoarding, stress eating, or endless hours of TV, gaming, or social media. Spiritually, these are just as costly to our souls as crack, and just as deadly to our eternity as meth.

Whether you struggle with alcohol or chocolate, there are some basic scriptures that describe your pathway to freedom.