Orchard Hill Church Blog
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Quiet Acts of Obedience (Part 1)
As part of my moms’ study group, we decided to read a book over the summer called Risen Motherhood. While reading, a quote that stayed with me is “All our quiet acts of obedience will be seen, rewarded, and praised for the glory of God.”
What is Our Trust Rooted In?: Dealing with Life's Trials as a Christian
While I agree that it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, I also know how much the volume of these things affects my thinking. When we’re constantly bombarded by trials, sadness, and evil, it's easy to allow these things to consume our thinking and warp our view of God.
How God Teaches Us to be More Christ-like (Psalm 32 Devotional)
There is one trait that is perhaps the most important for a teacher. That they care about the student so much that they’ll do just about anything to get them to understand the material. The same is true of God.
Second Message - Dr. Philip Ryken
Guest speaker Dr. Philip Ryken concludes the Second Message series teaching out of Romans 8 explaining the inseparable love of God.
Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?
One question many people have thought about or are currently considering is: “If God is good, then why would he allow bad things to happen?” This is a difficult question to answer, and I know that no one will be able to provide you the perfect answer. But together we can explore how God works amid these situations to bring about His purposes.
Refined by Christ
“I asked God: Why the cutting? Why the shaping? Why the sanding edges smooth? Why the growing and the pruning, and the constant tweak and tune? Then He answered: There are kingdoms rising, falling full of skewed and blurring lines. I’m not built to fit inside yours; you are made to fit in mine.”
Christian Single
The perspective many single adults encounter in the church is often more representative of the values of culture than the teachings of scripture and that can be a frustrating and even discouraging thing. So how do the teachings of the Bible come to bear on this conversation?
Unburdened #5 - Living Without Fear
Dr. Kurt Bjorklund concludes the Unburdened series on Romans 8 looking at the culmination of Paul's arguments on how we should respond as Christians and how we can live without fear as part of our daily life.
Unburdened #4 - Living Without Pride
Dr. Kurt Bjorklund continues in Romans 8 looking at the seriousness of pride in our life and 3 assertions we can make to help us move towards humbleness.
Unburdened #3 - Living Without Despair
Continuing to verses 18-27 of Romans chapter 8, Dr. Kurt Bjorklund takes note of the word "groaning" that repeats itself. What is it that we groan about and what do we do with our pains and problems?
Unburdened #2 - Living Without Bondage
Dr. Kurt Bjorklund continues in Romans 8 looking at 3 different kinds of relationships we can have with the Holy Spirit in our journey through faith.
Unburdened #1 - Living Without Condemnation
Kicking off a new series, Dr. Kurt Bjorklund looks at Romans 8 and how we can make the journey of our life less burdened by coming to Christ.
Preparing for Easter: Hope in Christ’s Resurrection & Return
As I read through Romans 8:11-25 today, I couldn’t help but see the current state of our world. The picture of our present reality couldn't have been painted more clearly. The Spirit that we’ve received from the Father does not make us slaves that live in fear but reminds us that we’ve been adopted to sonship!
Preparing for Easter: Life in the Spirit
It is easy to read Romans 8 as a religious person and miss its challenge. At first, this passage seems to show the distinction between good people and bad people. If we read Romans 8 and think “there are bad people who just react to their flesh, and then there are good people like me,” we’ve missed the point.
The Significance of Biblical Hope
We all need hope. Life can be challenging, and we all feel anxious, depressed and defeated at one time or another. It’s in those moments that hope - rightly directed - can affect our minds and bodies, and even contribute to our healing.
Peace in Chaos
Life can be challenging and chaotic at times which leaves us with feelings of disorder and loss of control. We are distracted and tempted by things that draw our attention away from the Lord. So how do we find peace in a chaotic world?
The Pathway to Truly Loving Others
Every time I read the book Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller, one quote sticks out to me as particularly profound: He writes, “The surest way for any couple to succeed in marriage is for both partners to say ‘The greatest threat to our marriage is my own self-centeredness.’”