We have been rolling along for several months now at The Orchard Church, and I really like what we are doing. The food each Sunday morning is great, worship music is awesome, the videos are fun. The Truth of God’s Word is life-changing. We do a lot of great things. But are we doing the most important thing? Paul, writing to the Corinthian church clearly explained what the most important thing is:
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
1 Corinthians 15:3
Over the past few weeks, we have been SO blessed to have a huge group of first-time guests. Our Sunday morning crowd has swelled from around 90 just a few weeks ago, to over 130 this past weekend! Man, that rocks! But, the lingering question continues to ring in my head… Are we doing the MOST IMPORTANT thing? We eat, sing, teach, fellowship, laugh, and learn. These are all important. But are they the most important?
I honestly believe that, as important as these things are, they all hinge on ONE thing. The most important thing… The good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins. Without this as our foundation, none of the rest of it matters. We fellowship because of the good news. We sing and are able to worship because of the good news. The Gospel is the key to everything that happens in church. Without it, nothing else matters. At all.
Up to now, we’ve been intentional about sharing the Gospel at The Orchard Church, but we haven’t been as consistent as we could be. We haven’t always explained the Gospel as clearly as we could. My desire is that we would be known all around as a church that preaches the Good News.
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes- the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Romans 1:16