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Orchard Community Church

Ripe: Life by the Spirit

Jesus makes it clear that a life of faith will bear good fruit. Paul outlines some of the key fruits our lives should bear when we live by the Spirit. If we do this our lives should bless others and be a pleasing aroma to God!

Locations & Times

8180 Telephone Rd, Ventura, CA 93004, USA

Sunday 10:30 AM

OrchardCommunity.Online.Church

Sunday 10:00 AM

Online Service

Join us Sunday mornings either under the Tent at Orchard or at on our Live Stream! The Service begins at 10:30 am. We invite you to be a part of our interactive online service starting at 10 am with announcements and chatting before the live stream of the service begins.

https://orchardcommunity.online.church/

Let us know you were here today!

Let us know you were here and also share your prayer requests and praise reports.

https://orchardventura.wufoo.com/forms/m87ol4d0kaymt1/

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https://pushpay.com/pay/orchardventura

♪ Singing Praises To The KING

We have come into this place, To feel Your presence, seek Your face, Our praise is all we have to bring, Let this be our offering Hallelujah, hallelujah, We lift our hands and sing, Hallelujah, hallelujah, Singing praises to our King No more worry, no more fear, Because forever You are near, The day will come when we shall see, Jesus coming in victory When the trumpet sounds in that final hour, We shall see Him come in glory, Then every knee shall bow, And every tongue confess, And we will be with Him forever!

♪ Build My Life

Worthy of ev'ry song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe We live for You Jesus the name above ev'ry other name Jesus the only one who could ever save Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe We live for You We live for You Holy there is no one like You There is none beside You Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are And fill me with Your heart And lead me in Your love to those around me I will build my life upon Your love It is a firm foundation I will put my trust in You alone And I will not be shaken CCLI Song # 7070345

♪ Overwhelmed

I see the work of Your hands Galaxies spin in a heavenly dance oh God All that You are is so overwhelming And I hear the sound of Your voice All at once it's a gentle And thundering noise oh God All that You are is so overwhelming I delight myself in You Captivated by Your beauty I'm overwhelmed I'm overwhelmed by You And God I run into Your arms Unashamed because of mercy I'm overwhelmed I'm overwhelmed by You I know the pow'r of Your cross Forgiven and free forever You'll be my God All that You've done is so overwhelming I delight myself in You In the glory of Your presence I'm overwhelmed I'm overwhelmed by You And God I run into Your arms Unashamed because of mercy I'm overwhelmed I'm overwhelmed by You You are beautiful You are beautiful Oh God there is no one more beautiful You are beautiful God You are the most beautiful You are wonderful You are wonderful Oh God there is no one more wonderful You are wonderful God You are the most wonderful You are glorious You are glorious Oh God there is no one more glorious You are glorious God You are the most glorious I'm overwhelmed I'm overwhelmed by You CCLI Song # 6219031

The real issue a lot of times isn’t knowing what to do, it’s finding the power to do it, the power to change bad behavior or to resist temptations and peruse what is good and right and life-giving.

We’re focusing on living by the power of God’s spirit in order to embrace all these great things. And following this, each week we’ll take one of these things, these fruits, and really dig into what it means for us to live into deeply into it so that you might say it becomes “Ripe” within us!

Matthew 7:15-20

Jesus calls us to watch out for those whose words sound good, but whose lives don’t reflect the gospel, as well as those whose teaching isn’t sound.

“Fruit” was a Jewish metaphor for both character and conduct. So, Jesus is saying that we are to evaluate prophets/teachers not just by their gifts, but also by their fruits.

(V. 17-18) Jesus is saying here isn’t just about discerning good and bad teachers and prophets, it’s also about discerning what our own lives will be about.

We have a choice, we can follow God- the path of good fruit and life, or we can follow the path away from God- a path of bad fruit that leads to destruction. It’s a call for us to think about what kind of tree we want to be.

Galatians 5:16-26

The Apostle Paul begins in v. 16 by calling the Galatians and us to "walk” or “live by the Spirit” and saying that if we do, we “will not gratify the desires of the flesh”

Instead of being ruled by our desires, Paul calls us to live under the direction and power of God’s Spirit.

But with v. 17 Paul explains that our “flesh” is at odds with the Spirit.

Jesus pointed out this same truth saying, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” That’s the battle within us if we seek to live by God’s spirit.

With v. 19-21 Paul moves on to explain what these “desires of the sinful nature (flesh)" are. And it’s not rocket science; Paul says it’s pretty “obvious,” for the most part. It’s a laundry list of awfulness.

With v. 22 Paul now turns to describe life in the spirit. And he does this using the same image Jesus did, of good character qualities as “fruit,”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and in v. 23 gentleness and self-control.

Jesus and Paul have laid out these two paths before us. There’s the way of our broken human nature, our flesh. Or the way of Jesus, & life by God’s spirit. It’s about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, & faithfulness. Which way do you want to go?

Paul states again in v. 25 that if we are to live in this new way “by the Spirit,” then it will mean doing things differently, it means keeping “in step with the Spirit.” It means giving control of our lives over to God and letting ourselves be led by his spirit.

Here it is, one of the most counter initiative truths of faith; it’s only in surrendering to Jesus that we become truly free. Only then have we laid down our plans and all our striving to do things by our own strength, only then are we free from all of that to let Jesus take control and empower us to live by God’s Spirit.

2 Corinthians 2:14

The image here is of us being led in triumphal procession by Jesus, spreading the aroma or knowledge of him. Paul goes on in this passage to say it’s an aroma that pleases God as it wafts out among people.

The problem is, often we don’t give off a sweet aroma of faith, often we give off a musty order of apathy, or worse a rotten smell of sin that drives people away from Jesus rather than attracting them.

Last week I was on a Zoom with about a dozen Ventura pastors. Their most common concern was how poorly some of their people were behaving on social media. “I can’t get them to share Jesus, but they’ll share this…”

I want us all to be clear that we’re not somehow free to behave online in ways that are counter to our faith. We’re called there, just as we’re called when we are face to face, to be people who live by God’s spirit and are ripe with the fruits of the spirit, with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and faithfulness.” Remember- Jesus said, “By their fruits, you will recognize them.”

So, does the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on you? Is it time for you to finally surrender? Or the question might be, where do you need to surrender a little more deeply? Where’s God calling you to take one more step forward into living by his spirit?

♪ Whom Shall I Fear

You hear me when I call You are my morning song Though darkness fills the night It cannot hide the light Whom shall I fear You crush the enemy underneath my feet You are my sword and shield Though troubles linger still Whom shall I fear I know Who goes before me I know Who stands behind The God of angel armies is always by my side The One who reigns forever He is a friend of mine The God of angel armies is always by my side My strength is in Your name For You alone can save You will deliver me Yours is the victory Whom shall I fear Whom shall I fear (Whom shall I fear) (And) nothing formed against me shall stand You hold the whole world in Your hands I'm holding on to Your promises You are faithful You are faithful CCLI Song # 6440288

Today's Music
Orchard's Streaming and Song Select CCLI# 160190

Worship Options

We are excited to be able to worship under the Tent together. If you are not wanting to be under the Tent, feel free to sit in the front row of parking spots of the Orchard Parking Lot your car and tune your radio to 100.1 FM to listen to the service.

1. Masks must be worn while on the Orchard Campus (both inside and out)
2. Please maintain the Social Distance
3. Sunday Morning Children's program. Children are always welcome in the service and we do not mind the noises that come with children. Children are a healthy sign of a healthy congregation.

Orchard Kids Sunday School (For preschool through 5th grade)
We encourage families to bring your own blanket and beach chairs and distance on the lawn as much as you like. Children will worship with their families and be dismissed following the kids’ message, escorted by our Orchard Kids’ Leaders to our beautiful outdoor classroom space in the children’s play yard. We will have our Bible story, activities, crafts, and games in a specially designed format following current health and safety guidelines. Parents, please come to the children’s area immediately following the worship service and find all of your children in one place. Each family will receive a “My Church Bag” to be brought each week with basic supplies already included plus items from home: water bottle and mask for each child and a blanket for all siblings. Our team is so excited to see your family! See you Sunday!

Nursery care for children birth to 3 years old is available by RSVP only to Melinda Hoyt at melinda@orchardventura.org.

Interested in being a Volunteer? Middle school through adult, please contact Melinda Hoyt at melinda@orchardventura.org.

While we understand that some may not feel comfortable coming back in person or having to wear masks while on the Orchard campus, we encourage you to stay home and join us online with our Live Stream.

Office Hours
Monday – Thursdays from 10 am to noon.
Masks and social distancing are required.
If you are unable to make it in during our office hours, please send an email to info@orchardventura.org and or leave a message at (805) 647-3757.

Live Stream

Join in on Sunday mornings where ever you may be!

https://orchardcommunity.online.church/

Enjoy the company of other parents at 9:00 on Zoom (or in the library eventually) on Sunday mornings discussing what God says about life as a family. Make life more enjoyable and less frustrating by strengthening your relationship with God, Find life filled with opportunities, We will be following the children's curriculum, using stories from throughout the bible, taking some from unusual perspectives. This group is facilitated by Rich and LuAnn Smith. Please email Rich to get the Zoom Link and password at R_smith122@hotmail.com

Women's Bible Study What does it mean to live a "Spirit-filled life"? Women, this fall is your opportunity to find out! Women's Ministries is pleased to announce that we will be studying "Relying on the Holy Spirit" by Charles F. Stanley this fall in our Bible study groups. We will be starting September 8 and 9, with Tuesday evening groups from 7:00pm-8:45pm and Wednesday morning groups from 10:00am-11:30am. For the foreseeable future, we will continue to meet via Zoom. We have experienced great success with this method of being together and hope you will join us. This is a wonderful way for us to be encouraged as we study and share with one another. There are a number of us who are able to walk you through the simple process of learning how to Zoom, so if the technology makes you uncomfortable, please reach out! We are requesting that you order your own book, which you can do so on Amazon or via your favorite local or Christian bookstore. For any questions, you can contact Linda Young at Lyoung5380@aol.com. Join us as we learn that God wants each of us to understand who the Holy Spirit is and how we can be led by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.

Congregational Meeting - September 13, 2020

On September 13, immediately following the service, there will be a Congregational Meeting for the purpose of approving the following Elders and Deacons to serve a 3-year term beginning January 2021. All Members of Orchard Community Church are encouraged to attend and cast your vote. Elder Dave Fuhrmann Tim Callahan Lauri Kail Sue Boyd Deacon Jean Callahan Ruth Hale Ron Stevens Alberta Stevens Mary Ellen Hummel Colleen Schulze If you have questions for the nominated Elders or Deacons, we encourage you to reach out to them. For those attending the service online, there will be an anonymous ballot linked in the chat section of the Live Stream for you to use to cast your vote.

Orchard Community Church

http://orchardventura.org/