This Friday, we’ll have our last meetings before the upcoming small group expansion. In February, we’re excited to launch a 4th group that will gather on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of the month at 7pm.
Outside of Sunday mornings, small groups are the most important moment in the life of our church. Rich opportunities to share in the joy of Jesus and apply his gospel to each other’s lives. Make it a priority to attend one this Friday.
In the church, we’re all called to counsel. To connect the truth of God’s word to the on-the-ground realities of one another’s lives. But are you confident to counsel? Do you wonder if you’re equipped for this? Do you know what distinguishes Biblical Counseling from other popular approaches to helping someone change? Do you know where you’d start to address the situations your brothers and sisters are facing and how to move those conversation onto the wisdom, remedies, and solutions that are found in Jesus Christ?
However you answered the questions above, God desires to use you as an instrument of grace in the lives of those around you. To help you grow in confidence and eagerness for this vital ministry, we’re excited to bring in Pastor & Biblical Counselor, Pete Payne from our sister church in Westminster, Colorado the evening of January 25. He’ll lay a foundation for what Biblical Counseling is, provide a model for how we can engage in it, and take all the questions we have to offer. Here’s what you need to know:
Date: Saturday, January 25
Time: 6pm-9pm
Location: The Lost Bean - 814 W Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92868
Additional Details: No cost to register. Refreshments offered. Childcare not provided but youth 13 and up are welcome to attend
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news” (Romans 10:15).
It's our first neighborhood outreach of the year! On Saturday, February 1st, we’re going into French Park and DTSA to have spiritual conversations with our neighbors. We’ll take the initiative to get to know them, ask how we can pray for them, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Love to do this sort of thing? Come on down! Scared to do this kind of thing? Then come on down as well! We’re expecting that the Lord will use us to extend his welcome to our neighbors as he takes our very ordinary efforts and blesses them in extraordinary ways.
We’ll meet at the Ebell parking lot at 9:45am to pray before we go out. We’ll wrap up around noon at Hidden House for a quick debrief.
Check out some snapshots from our last outreach & reach out to Robert Lopez with any questions about getting involved.
Every Tuesday we publish a blog post to lay out in one place what’s going in the life of the church for the upcoming week. See below for a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:
6:30am - French Park Grass Area
7:00pm - Houlton, Roenicke, and Erkelens Homes
10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
We’ve got an important update to share with you. Members of Cross of Grace, please make it a priority to attend this brief family meeting on Sunday, 2/2. We’ll meet in the Theater at 12:15pm after the service breakdown is complete and our regular reservation comes to an end.
James 5:7-12 returns to the theme of suffering that began the book. The believers addressed in the letter are experiencing oppression at the hands of “the rich” in their community (5:1-6). The wise pastor that he is, James knows that they, and we, can lose perspective when we’re in the thick of trials. We become disoriented in the moment of suffering, lose sight of what God is doing, and struggle to believe anything good is coming from this. God’s wisdom calls us to maintain a patient perspective to endure the challenges we face. To believe that the best treasures in suffering come at the end. To fuel our endurance, strengthen our faith, and lift our gaze above the weeds of difficulty we’re walking through, James offers much-needed perspective. Calling us to look within to examine the ways we’re prone to sin in our suffering. Encouraging us to look backward toward the faithful brothers and sisters who give us examples of patient endurance down through the ages. Declaring that we must look forward to return of the Lord and establish our hearts in the hope of his coming. We can take heart that all our suffering has an end-date, because Christ will come to make all things new, set everything right, and wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Below, you can find a list of recommended resources to 1) Encourage you by the examples of godly men and women who have gone before us, and 2) Establish your heart in the hope of Christ’s return.
The preaching of God’s word stands at the heart of our Sunday gatherings. Each and every week, the Father welcomes us to hear the gospel of his Son in the power of the Spirit. As the word goes forth from an ordinary wooden pulpit - and the very ordinary and imperfect pastors who stand behind it - God does an extraordinary work. Filling our hearts with faith, hope, and confidence in his promises. Assuring us of his love. Comforting us in sorrow. Convicting us of sin. Building up the household of God that is Cross of Grace and making our church an increasingly beautiful place to be.
We had the privilege of sitting under 53 sermons in 2024. Which ones did God use to shape your life and year?
Jeff
Ephesians 6:1-4 - Parenting - As someone in the thick of life with little ones, the truth that “children are a blessing from the Lord and not a burden to our lives” is a much needed reminder that bears frequent repeating. This sermon gave me fresh ambition to embrace the amazing responsibility of raising up children in the fear and admonition of the Lord and to enjoy my kids as God’s good gifts.
Galatians 5:14 - Neighbors - This sermon answered the question “why do we exist as a church?” in ways that were deeply soul-stirring and eminently practical. We exist to spread the joy of Jesus to our Santa Ana neighbors, and to do this, we must be neighbors to them. The kind of people who know them, love them, go out of their way to serve them. The kind of people they would be sad to see leave. This is the kind of message that’s worth revisiting again and again, year after year.
Isaiah 36-39 - Complacency - This sermon spoke to where we’re so many of us likely find ourselves: not on the verge of quitting the difficult race of the Christian life, but just wanting to stop for a little while. Tempted to slow down, presume upon grace, and coast through life instead of running hard after God all the way to the end. The categories for complacency offered in this sermon were helpful lenses to look at my own heart and examine where I’m prone to settle for “bare minimum Christianity.”
Kyle
Acts 2:42-46 - Ordinary - This sermon served as a sweet reminder of the fact that there’s nothing impressive about us as a church, but that what IS impressive about us is our Savior.
Isaiah 6:8-13 - Holiness - This sermon captured my attention and “drove the nail” into my conscience of the importance of holiness both as a Christian and as a Christian leader.
Isaiah 40:1-31 - Comfort After Collapse - This sermon itself was God’s mercy, declaring, in the midst of my own compromise and sinfulness, just how eager God is through His Son to welcome me back into relationship with Him.
Jason
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 - Spiritual Gifts - Great reminder to pray boldly for the gifts and celebrate them among us, because God delights in giving them.
Isaiah 7-9 - Courage - Courage is a quality of a Christian not often talked about. To see it exemplified in Scripture and the God who is its the source was of great encouragement to press into it even when the danger is real.
Which sermons did the Spirit use to make an impact on your life last year? To jog your memory, here’s a list of all the sermons we heard in 2024. Go back and listen to one or two. Catch up on any you missed. Share the sermons that God used in particularly powerful ways with us on Slack or sending an email to the church office and let us know how his word shaped your life, changed your heart, and blessed your walk with Christ last year. We’d love to celebrate his grace alongside you!
In addition to the web links below, you can find every Sunday sermon on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
1/7/24- Ephesians 5:15-21 - Wear your new clothes everywhere
1/14/24- Ephesians 5:22-33 - Marriage is a picture of the beauty of the gospel
1/21/24- 1 Corinthians 4:1 - What is a pastor?
1/28/24- Ephesians 6:1-4 - Children are a blessing from the Lord, not a burden to our lives
2/4/24- Ephesians 6:5-9 - Every Christian is a slave of Christ
2/11/24- Ephesians 6:10-20 - Spiritual Warfare: We are new people in an old, embattled world
2/18/24- Ephesians 6:18-24 - Prayer: The armor of God and the blessings of God need God to work
2/25/24- Revelation 19:1-10 - From beginning to end, marriage is intended for your joy
3/3/24- Revelation 12:1-17 - Know Satan’s Story. Know Satan’s Strategies. Know Christ’s Victory.
3/10/24- Matthew 26:26-29 - Communion Homily - The Past, Present, and Future Tense of Communion
3/17/24- 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 - Spiritual Gifts: Earnestly desire all the grace that God has to give
3/24/24- 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - Membership Series: Our Gospel & Doctrine
3/31/24- Matthew 28:1-10 - Easter Homily - The old has really gone and the new has truly come
4/7/24- Philippians 3:7-9 - Membership Series: We are joyful
4/14/24- Romans 8:32 - Membership Series: We are generous
4/21/24- Psalm 119:89-96 - The Mighty Word of God
4/28/24- Acts 2:42-47 - Membership Series: We are ordinary
5/5/24- Galatians 5:14 - Membership Series: We are neighbors
5/12/24- Isaiah 1:1-31 - We need to be an uncompromising church
5/19/24- Isaiah 1-66 - How the story of Isaiah fits together
5/26/24- Isaiah 2:1-22 - Live now in light of then
6/2/24- Isaiah 6:1-7 - Why does God take our sin so seriously? Because he is uncompromisingly holy.
6/9/24- Luke 19:28-44 - Jesus is the King of Peace
6/16/24- Isaiah 6:8-13 - God wants us to be at home with holiness & really live in his house
6/23/24- Isaiah 7-9 - God with us puts courage in us
6/30/24- Isaiah 13-23 - The whole world needs the whole gospel
7/7/24- Isaiah 24-27 - There is a real heaven, and you can’t get it without getting God
7/14/24- Isaiah 14:12-16 - Behind every collapsing culture is the influence of the Original Compromiser
7/21/24- Isaiah 30-31 - Turning to Egypt is never the right decision, but trusting in God is always the right decision
7/28/24- Isaiah 35:1-10 - The uncompromising path to uncompromising life will be worth it in the end
8/4/24- Isaiah 36-39 - Don’t let your weariness or your confidence keep you from running hard after God
8/11/24- Isaiah 40:1-31 - Comfort after Collapse: We may grow weary, but the King never does
8/18/24- Isaiah 41-48 - God vs. Idols: God alone is worthy of our trust because God alone is: The Creator of the heavens and earth, the Redeemer of all mankind, and the Author of all history
8/25/24- Isaiah 49:1-7 - The most uncompromising thing about us is our uncompromising need for Christ
9/1/24- Isaiah 52:13-53:12 - You need an uncompromising substitute to be crushed in your place and heal your compromising heart
9/8/24- Isaiah 54 - The New Covenant: the unbreakable promise of uncompromising love
9/15/24- Isaiah 55 - God invites the worst, offers the best, and guarantees the result
9/22/24- Isaiah 58 - God is the goal and great reward of our worship
9/29/24- John 6:1-15 - What it means to be spiritually satisfied
10/6/24- Isaiah 61 - The grace of God is never in decline
10/13/24- Isaiah 65:17-25 - One day, we’ll do nothing but live in God’s world, in God’s way
10/20/24- Proverbs 1 - Wisdom is how you do life in God’s world right
10/27/24- James 1:1-4 - God’s wisdom leads us down the path of spiritual wholness
11/3/24- James 1:5-11 - To get wisdom, all we have to do is ask
11/10/24- James 1:12-18 - God-given trials are the surprising friend of happiness
11/17/24- James 1:19-27 - On the path of wisdom, faithful hearing always travels side by side with obedient doing
11/24/24- Titus 2:11-14 - God has given you what you need to run well: past, present, & future grace
12/1/24- James 2:1-13 - Love your neighbor regardless of what they can do for you
12/8/24- James 2:14-26 - We are saved by faith alone, but true saving faith is never alone
12/15/24- James 3:1-12 - Resting between your teeth is the rudder of your entire life
12/22/24- James 3:13-18 - The world’s wisdom climbs to the top. God’s wisdom kneels to serve.
12/24/24 - John 1:14-18 - Christmas Homily - You need to see Jesus Christ
12/29/24- James 4:1-12 - To wisely respond to conflict, we must think rightly about ourselves
As many of you know, the four LA wildfires have proven devastating in the past couple of days. We have friends, family, and members of our sister church, Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena, who are being affected by this crisis. As a church, the Lord has positioned us to serve them. The pastoral team has discussed and humbly ask you consider doing one or both of the following:
Pray - for those who have been affected. Asking God to protect and preserve life. Comfort those in mourning. Bring peace to the fearful and suffering. And sustain his church in LA. Using them to serve their neighbors in the midst of crisis. Praying specifically for our brothers and sisters at Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena. Many have evacuated and some have lost their homes.
Offer help - either by offering your home as a temporary place to stay, or connect with a pastor to provide other means of help for those affected.
Would “the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort,” comfort those in this affliction (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
We’re happy to announce that our Ebell Reservation has been extended to 12:15pm every Sunday! This means we get a little extra time to fellowship post-service.
While our reservation has extended we still ask that you pick up your kids from Children’s Ministry immediately after service to allow the volunteers to clean up their areas. But don’t rush out. We hope you would use the extra time for ministry together. Respond to the preached word by praying with one another, catching up with your brothers and sisters, introducing yourself to new guests, and so on.
If you are scheduled to serve, please begin to breakdown at 11:50am to ensure we exit the building by 12:15pm.
In the church, we’re all called to counsel. To engage in “the conversational aspect of Christian ministry” as we apply the riches of the gospel message to the particulars of one another’s lives. To connect the truth of God’s word to the challenges we face while living in God’s world. To comfort, care for, encourage, admonish, and build one another up in Christ.
We’re all called to counsel, but are you confident to counsel? Do you wonder if you’re equipped for this kind of ministry? Do you know what distinguishes Biblical Counseling from the approaches you’ll find in the culture around us? Do you know where you’d start to address the situations your brothers and sisters are facing and how to move those conversation onto the wisdom, remedies, and solutions that are found in Jesus Christ?
However you answered the questions above, God desires to use you as an instrument of grace in the lives of those around you. To help you grow in confidence and eagerness for this vital ministry, we’re excited to bring in Pastor & Biblical Counselor, Pete Payne from our sister church in Westminster, Colorado the evening of January 25. He’ll lay a foundation for what Biblical Counseling is and provide a model for how we can all engage in it. More details to come, but here’s what to know for now:
Saturday, January 25
6pm-9pm
No cost to register
Refreshments offered
Childcare not provided
Location TBD
