It’s graduation season! This Sunday, we’ll be recognizing our kids who are promoting/graduating from elementary, junior high, and high school. We’ll take the time to honor our graduates, present them with a gift, and pray for the next generation of Cross of Grace Santa Ana.
Additionally, this Sunday, all children ages 4 through 6th grade will move up to their new grade level Children’s Ministry Class.
We’re back at it again! Another evening of deep discussion, growing in faith, and all kinds of fun to the glory of God!
We’ve got a group of members we’ve been assessing and equipping to serve in the office of deacon. Your pastoral team commends each of these individuals as faithful saints who have displayed a heart for service and met the qualifications of a deacon as outlined in Scripture. We hope to install them before the church on Sunday, 6/8.
But before we get there, we want to hear from you. These candidates will be positioned to serve you in significant ways so we’re asking for your feedback on what you see in their lives and their suitability for the office.
1) Daniel Lee
2) Fernando Madrigal
3) Peter Robles
4) Truman Severson
5) Jennifer Williams
Please provide your input, affirmations, or concerns - specifically as it relates to the qualifications listed in 1 Tim. 3:8-13 - to our pastoral team.
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 The women likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
To learn more about the office of deacon and how it functions at Cross of Grace, click here.
Don’t miss out on our bi-annual Members’ Meeting! Next Sunday, stick around for about 30 minutes right after the service. We’ll take the time to communicate important updates in the life of our church, look back at what God has done in the last 6 months, and look forward to where we believe he’s taking us. Come eager to hear what God is up to at Cross of Grace.
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:
French Park Run Club
6:30am - French Park Grass Area
Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club
10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
Youth Ministry
6:30pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA
Find out more about Youth Ministry here
Church membership is not “membership in a club.” It’s “membership in a body.” As Paul says in Ephesians 4:25, we are one body, yet “members one of another” - vitally connected and working together for the good of the whole. In this way, becoming a church member is an expression of commitment to the people around you. A grace-empowered pledge to fulfill the “one anothers” of Scripture with a specific group. These others are the men and women identified in a particular local church. As members of Cross of Grace Santa Ana, we have the privilege of living out the Christian life with one another. We celebrate and grieve with one another. We build deep relationship with one another. We join arms to advance the joy of Jesus in a particular neighborhood with one another. We help one another pursue holiness. We remind one another of the sweetness of the gospel.
In light of this, we praise God for the new members - Jayce Prosinski & Ben Wold - we had the joy of introducing this last Sunday. Be encouraged by what Ben had to share with us during his new member testimony:
Just a little background: I moved to Santa Ana from Louisville, Kentucky about seven weeks ago. A major reason for my move is due to the influence of the Williams, which at this point, should really just be a full-time ministry for them.
Over the years, I’ve come out to visit them and, naturally, ended up visiting this church too. Through those visits, God started putting a desire in my heart to be here and to be with you all— and in His kindness, here I am.
In just the short time I’ve been here, I’ve seen God’s grace through this church in so many ways. I wanted to share three specific things that stand out to me and make me excited to be a part of Cross of Grace.
The first is your love for God’s Word. A small example would be receiving daily Slack notifications of how the men in this church are setting aside time in the morning to spend time with God in His word.
The second is your love for each other. This church is a family.
The third and final thing is your love for this city. As I’ve spent time with some of you, I’ve heard stories of how you’re faithful to the gospel in your individual workplaces.
Thank you for how you’ve welcomed me. This already feels like home, and many of you already feel like family. You’ve welcomed me into your homes leading to night conversations, you’ve invited me on surfing trips and even road trips.
I’m excited this is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to get to know each of you better and serve alongside you as we do life together and further the gospel here in Santa Ana.
We thank God for adding new laborers to the harvest that’s before us. We’re excited for these new members to join us in spreading the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana!
On Sunday, we heard from 1 Timothy 2:8-15 and considered the ways that both men and women are called to play their part in building up the church. We were reminded that men and women were made equally valuable but differently glorious and designed for particular purposes in the household of God as well as their own homes.
This is a topic of foundational importance as we seek to faithfully live our lives in Christ and demonstrate to a watching world the goodness of God’s design for gender and sexuality. Below, you’ll find a short list of resources to help you be who God has created you to be as male or female and redeemed you to be as a man or woman in Christ.
Scripture:
God’s good creation & man’s fall into sin - Genesis 1-3
Marriage, divorce, and re-marriage - Matthew 19:1-9; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16
Roles in marriage - Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18; 1 Pet 3:1-7
Roles within the church - 1 Timothy 2:8-15, 3:1-7, 3:8-13, 5:3-16; Titus 1:5-9, 2:1-6
Parenting - Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 145:1-7; Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:20-21
Examples of godly masculinity - Jesus (Mark 10:42-45); Joseph (Genesis 37-50); David (1 Samuel 17)
Examples of godly femininity - Mary (Luke 1:26-56); Ruth (Ruth 1-4); Abigail (1 Samuel 25)
Our Statement of Faith & Shared Values within our family of churches:
Section 4, par 1-4 - Creation, Providence, and Man
Articles:
Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by Josh Blount
For men
Not Safe, But Good: The Men We Desperately Need Today by Greg Morse
To Men who Want to Marry: How to Prepare to Lead Well by Bryan Stoudt
For Single Men and Women (And the Rest of Us) by John Piper
For women
Her Many and Marvelous Ministries: How Women Give Life to the Church by Scott Hubbard
Wife, Double His Strength by Tilly Dillehay
Every Woman’s Call to Work by Abigail Dodds
Gender Roles and the Single Woman by Amber Komatsu
Books:
Church
Men and Women in the Church by Kevin DeYoung
Marriage
Love that Lasts by Gary & Betsy Riccuci
Parenting
Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley
Parenting by Paul Tripp
For men
Leadership and Emotional Sabotage by Joe Rigney
Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes
For women
(A)Typical Woman: Free, Whole, and Called in Christ by Abigail Dodds
Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney
In 1 Timothy 2:8-15, we come to what's arguably the most-controversial topic in all the letter as far as our contemporary culture is concerned. In the ordering of God's household, Paul has particular instructions for how men and women should act at church. According to God's word, our sexuality is significant. Our gender matters. It's not a social construct, but a creational one. Because of this, we must reject the bad beliefs that men and women are basically interchangeable, that biblical gender roles are ancient norms we were always meant to move on from, and that our growth in Christ is gender-neutral. In order to build up God's house, we must be who he created and redeemed us to be. We must embrace the masculine and feminine strengths bound up in God's good design. We must seek God's grace for the particular masculine and feminine temptations we face.
Each month, the ladies of CGSA gather for a time of discussion where “women talk like women” about God, experience rich fellowship, and encourage one another. All to promote the growth of women in Christ as women in Christ.
Tonight, they’ll continue their discussion of the Shaping Virtues of our family of churches & ask how they can embody the virtue of godliness as women in Christ. We hope to see you there!
This upcoming Sunday, we have the privilege of welcoming new members into our midst. These are people who have committed to participating in the life of the church and performing the “one anothers” of Scripture with this local body of Christ. They’re also individuals with whom we commit to do the same. We praise God for sending more laborers into his harvest, adding more members to our family, and advancing his gospel in Santa Ana.
